The Allahabad High Court has recently denied bail to a man accused of circulating indecent images of a woman via WhatsApp, emphasising the grave impact of digital crimes.

Justice Ajay Bhanot remarked that the misuse of digital technology is altering the face of crime and the public circulation of such images can “destroy lives.”

The accused, arrested in January 2025, faces charges under various BNS sections and Section 67A of the IT Act.

The Court also flagged the poor quality of cybercrime investigations and directed expedited trial proceedings, with the trial to be preferably concluded within a year. (Ramdev vs. State of U.P.)

In a fresh twist in the Meghalaya honeymoon murder investigation, Guwahati Police summoned an English news anchor and Shrishti Raghuwanshi, the cousin of the deceased Raja Raghuwanshi, for allegedly making defamatory statements about the Kamakhya Temple during a news interview . 

The anchor claimed that "human sacrifice" is practised at the temple, a statement Shrishti purportedly echoed .

Both were issued notices under Section 35(3) of the BNSS 2023 after failing to appear on June 23–24 . The police registered an FIR for hurting religious sentiments and disrupting communal harmony . 

The murder case involves Raja’s death during his honeymoon, allegedly orchestrated by his wife, Sonam and her paramour.

The Karnataka High Court has stayed proceedings against BJP MP Dr K Sudhakar and Govindappa in a case linked to the seizure of ₹4.8 crore ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. 

Justice M Nagaprasanna passed the interim order after hearing both parties. The police had filed charges of alleged voter bribery under the IPC and Representation of People's Act.

The petitioners argued there was no direct evidence of bribery and the money's source was unproven. They also contended the case should be heard by a special court for elected representatives, not the JMFC court in Nelamangala. (Dr. K Sudhakar v. State of Karnataka)

The Kerala High Court has asked the State government to clarify if it has an action plan to address increasing drug abuse among children in Kochi.

The Bench of Chief Justice Nitin Jamdar and Justice C. Jayachandran was hearing petitions, including one by a parent, Sumi Joseph.

The Court observed that Kochi reports the highest number of child drug abuse cases in Kerala and noted the absence of proper qualitative data.

The Kochi District Police Chief has been directed to submit suggestions. The State referred to its ongoing anti-drug campaign, ‘Operation D-HUNT’. (Kerala State Legal Services Authority v State of Kerala & ors)

The Advocate’s Association Bengaluru (AAB) has written to Chief Justice of India BR Gavai, urging the Supreme Court Collegium to swiftly address the 17 long-pending judicial vacancies in the Karnataka High Court.

The AAB highlighted that only 45 judges are currently serving, causing severe backlog and delays, with many civil cases and ‘B group’ writ petitions pending for years.

Emphasising the need for timely justice delivery, the Association also urged the Collegium to ensure social diversity in judicial appointments and called for swift measures to strengthen the High Court’s functioning.

A Bengaluru City Civil and Sessions Court has temporarily restrained actor Kamal Haasan from making defamatory statements against the Kannada language, its literature, land, and culture. 

The order was passed after the Kannada Sahitya Parishath (KSP) filed a plea objecting to Haasan’s comment that "Kannada was born out of Tamil" made during the launch of his film Thug Life in Chennai.

The court barred Haasan from issuing, publishing, or distributing such statements until the next hearing.

The KSP also sought an unconditional apology, arguing that Haasan’s claims lacked historical or linguistic backing.

The Delhi High Court dismissed nearly 300 petitions by the Ministry of Defence challenging Armed Forces Tribunal orders granting disability pensions to soldiers.

The Bench held that such pensions rightfully acknowledge the physical and mental hardships endured by soldiers, regardless of whether disabilities arose during active combat or peace postings.

The Court stressed that military service involves continuous stress and ordered that Release Medical Boards must provide clear reasons when declaring disabilities as unrelated to service. (Union Of India & Ors. Vs Col. Balbir Singh (Retd))

The Delhi High Court has refused to grant the Japanese company Toyota an interim injunction against the Indian firm LMW Limited in a patent infringement case over spinning machine technology. 

Justice Saurabh Banerjee noted that Toyota’s patent expired on May 24, 2025, and granting an injunction would be legally ineffective. 

While the Court acknowledged Toyota’s prima facie case and potential losses, it held that once a patent expires, it enters the public domain and is no longer enforceable. 

However, LMW was directed to furnish financial details related to its use of the technology, pending final adjudication. (Kabushiki Kaisha Toyota Jidoshokki v. LMW Limited)

The Jharkhand High Court has upheld a family court order granting maintenance to a widowed daughter-in-law and her minor children under Sections 19 and 22 of the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956.

The Court held that if a widow is unable to maintain herself and the in-laws hold coparcenary property, they are legally bound to provide maintenance.

The bench found that the widow had no source of income, the joint family property remained unpartitioned, and statutory conditions were met.

The in-laws’ appeal challenging the order was dismissed, confirming their obligation to support her and the children. (Surendra Das & Anr. v. Anita Das & Ors.)

The Madras High Court upheld the doctrine of global prior use in trademark law, allowing MediaMonks, a Netherlands-based digital advertising firm, to remove the respondent’s "Media Monk Label" trademark. 

Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy held that international usage since 2001 gave the petitioner superior rights, despite the respondent's Indian registration in 2009. 

The court found the respondent acted in bad faith, knowingly adopting a deceptively similar domain and brand. 

Citing Milmet Oftho v. Allergan, the court emphasized that global brand recognition can establish prior use, and delay alone does not bar rectification without evidence of acquiescence. (M/s Media Monks Multimedia v. Pachala Murali Krishna)

The Supreme Court has dismissed a plea filed by the Vidhayahar (hereditary religious authority) of the Sri Subramaniya Swamy Temple in Thiruchendur, Tamil Nadu, challenging the scheduled timing of the temple’s Kumbhabhishekam (consecration) ceremony on July 7. 

The petitioner opposed the Madras High Court’s acceptance of a five-member Agama expert committee’s recommendation to conduct the ritual between 6:00 AM and 6:47 AM, claiming it violated his traditional authority, where he sought to fix the ceremony’s timing during a different time slot – 12:05 PM to 12:47 PM.

However, the Supreme Court held that it was not equipped to determine auspicious timings for religious rituals and found no grounds to interfere with the High Court’s decision.

The Delhi High Court directed the Sentence Review Board (SRB) to reconsider the remission plea of Santosh Kumar Singh serving for life for raping and murdering law student Priyadarshini Mattoo. 

The Court noted the SRB had failed to consider Singh’s good prison conduct, educational progress, and rehabilitation efforts. Similar relief was granted to three other life convicts. 

The Court directed the SRB to reconsider his plea within four months, mandating psychological evaluations and victim input as per structured guidelines.

The court stressed that decisions must be based on transparent, reasoned deliberation, not merely the offence’s gravity.

A Pune Special MP/MLA Court on Thursday dismissed an application seeking access to the book allegedly referred to by Rahul Gandhi during his controversial London speech against Vinayak Savarkar.

Judge Amol Shinde ruled that Rahul Gandhi could not be forced to produce the book, as doing so would violate his constitutional protection against self-incrimination under Article 20(3) of the Constitution.

The Court emphasised that the burden of proof rests on the complainant, Satyaki Savarkar, Savarkar’s grandnephew.

The complaint alleges Gandhi made false and defamatory claims about Savarkar to damage his reputation. The case will now continue as a summons trial.

The Delhi High Court permitted a minor rape survivor to carry her 27-week pregnancy after AIIMS recommended prolonging it to 34 weeks for safer delivery and better child health outcomes.

Initially, a single judge had allowed termination, but the order was modified following AIIMS’ fresh medical advice.

The Court directed AIIMS to provide free medical care to both the minor and the child for five years. The court also asked the Delhi Government to outline additional support, including education and vocational training for the survivor and the child.

The matter will be heard next on October 15.