US authorities have arrested Telangana-born software engineer Avinash Narne for the alleged murder of his wife, Raajitha Sabbineni, in Washington. Prosecutors claim he strangled her and staged the death as suicide. The case was reclassified as homicide following the autopsy findings.
The Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court held that women doctors cannot be denied salaries during maternity leave once leave is granted under service rules. The Court ruled maternity benefits are constitutional rights flowing from dignity, equality and reproductive autonomy, not government charity.
The Supreme Court Bar Association condemned a litigant’s disruptive conduct in court and urged the Union government to frame guidelines regulating the recording, editing and circulation of courtroom proceedings and videos to preserve judicial decorum and prevent misuse.
The Patna High Court quashed a photo studio owner’s conviction for attempted rape, holding that the allegations constituted outraging modesty but did not satisfy the legal ingredients of attempt to rape. The Court cited absence of medical evidence and any unequivocal overt act establishing attempted rape.
The Allahabad High Court temporarily transferred custody of a five-year-old girl to her father, observing that she appeared “heavily tutored” and was being used as a “pawn” in her parents’ matrimonial dispute. The interim order was passed in a habeas corpus petition.
A US federal court directed Gautam Adani to file an affidavit by July 15 disclosing whether any promise, offer or agreement was linked to the US Department of Justice’s request to dismiss the criminal indictment against him and seven others in an alleged bribery case.
Delhi High Court flagged an emerging trend of complainants adding rape and other sexual misconduct allegations in matrimonial disputes to pressure in-laws into hefty settlements, observing that such accusations are increasingly being used to compel compromise after the Arnesh Kumar ruling.
The Enforcement Directorate informed a Delhi court that its money laundering investigation into the Shikohpur land deal is continuing, particularly regarding DLF’s role. The case under the PMLA names businessman Robert Vadra and others over the Manesar-Shikohpur land transactions in Haryana.
The Supreme Court refused immediate relief to IPS officer Urvashi Sengar, holding that joining Phase-II training midway would undermine its purpose. However, the Court orally agreed that her challenge to the 1993 MHA Office Memorandum on maternity-related interruptions appeared to have substantial legal merit.
The Madhya Pradesh High Court held that a husband’s care and attention towards his parents, or disputes with in-laws, cannot justify a wife leaving the matrimonial home and subsequently claiming maintenance under the law.
