Allahabad High Court

Thirty years later in 2021, the Allahabad High Court stayed proceedings in the Kashi Vishwanath Mandir-Gyanvapi Masjid case in a Varanasi court, suspending a controversial archaeological survey of the premises to determine whether a Hindu temple was partially razed to build the 17th-century mosque.

The Allahabad High Court in its judgement in April had dismissed a petition challenging a Varanasi court's order to appoint an advocate as a Court Commissioner to inspect the Kashi Vishwanath temple-Gyanvapi mosque complex. Senior advocate Huzefa Ahmadi listed a plea before the apex court filed by the commitee of the management of Anjumane-e-Intezamia Masjid seeking a stay on survey of the Kashi Vishwanath temple-Gyanvapi masjid complex.

The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court, while refusing anticipatory bail to a government doctor, observed that corruption was a termite in every system and once it entered the system, it went on increasing. Dr Rajeev Gupta had filed the anticipatory bail application on behalf of his wife Dr Sunita Gupta, former senior divisional medical officer (DMO), Northern Railway, Charbagh, Lucknow. She was working with the radiology department.

The bail was granted by Justice Saumitra Dayal Singh of the Allahabad High Court on Saturday. A detailed order on Imam's bail is yet to be issued. Sharjeel Imam, a former JNU student and one of the key organisers of the Shaheen Bagh protest, was arrested last year from Bihar's Jehanabad. In his speech, Imam had purportedly asked protesters to cut off from India.

"The UCC is necessary and mandatorily required today. It cannot be made 'purely voluntary' as was observed by B.R. Ambedkar 75 years back, in view of the apprehension and fear expressed by the members of the minority community," said the court. It is the need of the hour that the Parliament comes up with a "single family code" to protect interfaith couples from being "hounded as criminals", said Justice Suneet Kumar

This assertion from the court came in response to an argument raised by the counsel for the accused applicant, who sought to presume that the woman was of easy virtue. The court denied anticipatory bail to a rape accused, who allegedly established physical relationship with a woman on the false promise of marriage after meeting her on a dating site.

In such a situation, the IO also cannot record her statements and proceed with the investigation further, the court added. In the matters in hand, the victim after giving her statement under Section 161 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) before the IO levelling allegations of rape against the accused, had changed her version later in her statement recorded under Section 164 of the Code before the magistrate.

The action had been taken by the state government against the Trust for failing to adhere to certain conditions on which the Trust was granted the land in 2005 for construction of an educational institution. While passing the order on Monday, the court said the encroachment of land and construction of a mosque inside the university premises cannot be justified.

The court said on Wednesday that when the country's culture and its faith get hurt, the country becomes weak. The court made this observation while denying bail to Javed who had been accused of cow slaughter. In his 12-page judgement, Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav noted that the applicant had, after committing theft of the cow, killed it, beheaded it and also kept its meat. "This is not the first offence of the applicant. Earlier also, he had committed cow slaughter which had disturbed the harmony of the society.

"As such, it is not only wrong behaviour but the same is misdemeanour, misdeed and delinquency of the cop," the court observed. The bench comprising Justice Rajesh Singh Chauhan passed the order on a writ petition filed by a police constable, Mohammad Farman. The court observed that growing beard by a member of the disciplined force may not be protected under Article 25 of the Constitution of India.