LEXIS AND COMPANY

 A group of 21 lawyers have sought Delhi High Court’s immediate intervention to stop the “ugly raids” against two advocates representing Muslim victims of the February Delhi riots and “restrain the police from proceeding with its uncontrolled vindictive campaign”. According to the lawyers, the raids on the offices of Mehmood Pracha and Javed Ali and the manner in which they were conducted were a matter of grave concern for the entire lawyers’ community in particular and litigants in general. “The shocking fact is that after procuring a search warrant from the court, the police raided the offices of the advocates and seized computers, confidential data and electronic digital devices which contain professional as well as personal data,” the 21 lawyers have said in a letter to the Delhi High Court Bar Association, beseeching it to take up the matter with the high court. “An advocate enjoys special attorney-client privilege. The police cannot raid a lawyer’s office in this manner and look

 A couple, who were on their way to get married in a court were shot dead in broad daylight by the woman’s uncle and his aides in Haryana’s Rohtak on Wednesday, police said. The deceased have been identified as Pooja, 27, and Rohit, 25, of Rohtak. Rohit’s brother Mohit was also injured in the firing. He is undergoing treatment at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (PGIMS) and is stable. Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Sajan Singh said the woman’s uncle Kuldeep Singh, his son Kapil Kumar and three other persons have been arrested on the complaint of Rohit’s father. They have been booked under Sections 302 (murder), 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the IPC and Section 25 of the Arms Act. “We are interrogating the accused. Prima facie, it appears to be a case of hate crime. We are looking into all angles,” the DSP said. A police official said Pooja was a divorcee. “She was an orphan and raised by her uncle Kuldeep, a property deale

 Infosys’ joint venture partner in Saudi Arabia has filed a lawsuit in a California court alleging that the Bengaluru-based IT services provider violated US law on corruption. In the lawsuit filed in the District Court of California on December 21 — reviewed by ET -- Saudi Prerogative Company (SPC) said Infosys NSE 0.72 % had violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). SPC has interests spanning IT, communications, defence and homeland security, construction and transportation in the West Asian nation. SPC alleged that Infosys falsely claimed that it was not making money from certain contracts and requested it to reduce its 8% commission by at least half or waive it off completely, which led to financial losses. The Saudi firm, however, said it discovered later that the IT services provider had made substantial money on the same contracts. Infosys confirmed to ET that a lawsuit had been filed and said it would defend itself vigorously against the allegations

 A Sessions Court in Mumbai granted Anticipatory Bail to an elderly couple accused of harassing their daughter-in-law & observed that "talking sarcastically & taunting by in-laws is part of the wear & tear of married life".  The woman got married in 2018 to a Dubai-based school friend. The woman alleged that when she was preparing documents for the registration, a few days before the wedding, she realised that her husband was the biological child of the domestic help. The man had been adopted & raised by the elderly couple.  Woman not allowed to touch fridge The woman claimed that her parents gave her diamond & gold jewellery worth Rs 1.5 crore but she did not get any gifts from her in-laws. The woman said that the accused didn't allow her to touch the refrigerator & gave her stale food. She further claimed that the accused made her sleep in the living room & did not allow her to visit her mother, the news agency reported.   When the woman comp

 In a major victory for 469 contractor labourers working with the civic body, the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) has deposited an amount of ₹38 crore in their accounts by way of arrears and interest on unpaid amount, following an order by the Supreme Court. Claiming that the labourers have won a hard-fought 20-year-long battle, labour leader Yashwant Bhosale, president of the Rashtriya Shramik Aghadi, on Tuesday said the court judgment will now become a precedent and the contract labourers will be treated on par with permanent employees in terms of salaries. “We fought a court battle with the PCMC for 20 years to get justice for contract labourers, who basically are safai karmacharis,” said Bhosale. He said the PCMC had allocated the cleanliness contract of various departments — slum rehabilitation, civil works, health — and of YCM Hospital to Sulabh International, Vishal Enterprises and M P Enterprises from January 1998 to 2004. “… The Rashtriya Shramik Aghadi had been

 The Karkardooma Court of Delhi in, State v. Aarif@Mota, granted bail to a Muslim, accused of killing another Muslim in North-east Delhi communal riots. Court states that it was obfuscatory that a Muslim boy would become a part of the unlawful assembly of Hindus in a communal riot. Facts FIR was registered with respect to the death of a man that occurred during the North-East Delhi communal riots which took place earlier this year. A person accused was arrested. He has applied for bail. Contention of Applicant The counsel argued that the accused had been falsely implicated in the matter. He stated that there was an unexplained delay of 24 days in the registration of FIR. No recovery was made. He further stated that a Muslim boy lost his life and all the other accused were Hindus whereas the applicant was the only Muslim, which is quite appealing. The eyewitnesses, he stated, are planted. He stated that the applicant was an innocent bystander. It was further argued that pre-trial detent

 The Punjab and Haryana High Court has observed that only the family members or “near relatives” of the deceased person can file a complaint of defamation on any such findings, as only they can acquire the status of “persons aggrieved” in order to file a complaint under Section 499 of the Indian Penal Code. Case of the Complainant Sant Kanwar, an Arya Samajist and freedom fighter had filed a defamation complaint againt former MP Raj Kumar Saini alleging that he made several defamatory statements against late Hooda. Thus Saini moved High Court in order to quash the complaint and the summoning order passed by the magistrate in the present case. Observation of the Court The Court reiterated the provisions of Section 199 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, observing that a defamation complaint can be made by a “person aggrieved” Justice Sanjay Kumar further stated that Explanation 1 to Section 499 of IPC that imputing anything to a deceased person would amount to defamation, if such imputat