2024 INSC August

Constitution of India, 1950; Article 15,16– The judgment in EV Chinniah v. State of Andhra Pradesh [[2004] Supp. (5) S.C.R. 9722004 INSC 644], which held that sub-classification amongst the Scheduled Castes for the purpose of giving more beneficial treatment to a group in the larger group of the Scheduled Castes is not permissible, does not lay down a good law; (ii) that sub-classification amongst the Scheduled Castes for giving more beneficial treatment is permissible in law; (iii) that for doing so, the State will have to justify that the group for which more beneficial treatment is provided is inadequately represented as compared to the other castes in the said List; (iv) that while doing so, the State will have to justify the same on the basis of empirical data that a sub-class in whose favour such more beneficial treatment is provided is not adequately represented; (v) that, however, while providing for sub-classification, the State would not be entitled to reserve 100% seats available for Scheduled Castes in favour of a sub-class to the exclusion of other castes in the List; (vi) that such a sub-classification would be permissible only if there is a reservation for a sub-class as well as the larger class; (vii) that the finding of M. Nagaraj, Jarnail Singh and Davinder Singh to the effect that creamy layer principle is also applicable to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes lays down the correct position of law; (viii) that the criteria for exclusion of the creamy layer from the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes for the purpose of affirmative action could be different from the criteria as applicable to the Other Backward Classes. [Conclusion of Judgment by BR Gavai J is the majority judgment]

Compassionate Appointment – Fraud vitiates all proceedings. Compassionate appointment is granted to those persons whose families are left deeply troubled or destitute by the primary breadwinner either having been incapacitated or having passed away. So when persons seeking appointment on such ground attempt to falsely establish their eligibility, as has been done in this case, such positions cannot be allowed to be retained – SC expressed surprise towards the actions of the appellant-employer who appointed the respondent-employees on the basis of questionable documentation, which was later found to be forged, fabricated and bogus: How could someone be appointed to a government job without proper checking and verification of documents? The Railways are recorded to be one of the largest employers in the country and yet such incidents falling through the cracks, ought to be checked. (Para 11)

Constitution of India, 1950; Article 311 –A person who held a post which he had obtained by fraud, could not be said to be holding a post within the meaning of Article 311 of the Constitution of India. In this case, a person who was not a member of Scheduled Castes, obtained a false certificate of belonging to such category and, as a result thereof, was appointed to a position in the Indian Police Service reserved for applicants from such category. (Para 13-15)

Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act, 2006; Section 9 -“Framework for Revival and Rehabilitation of MSMEs”- The Instructions/Directions issued by the Central Government under Section 9 of the MSMED Act and by the RBI under Section 21 and Section 35A have statutory force and are binding to all the Banking companies- when it is mandatory or obligatory on the part of the Banks to follow the Instructions/Directions issued by the Central Government and the Reserve Bank of India with regard to the Framework for Revival and Rehabilitation of MSMEs, it would be equally incumbent on the part of the concerned MSMEs to be vigilant enough to follow the process laid down under the said Framework, and bring to the notice of the concerned Banks, by producing authenticated and verifiable documents/material to show its eligibility to get the benefit of the said Framework. (Para 17-18)

Banking Regulation Act, 1949; Section 21,35A- Directions issued by the Reserve Bank of India to the Banking companies are binding on them and they are bound to comply with such directions- Section 21 and Section 35A of the said Act empower the Reserve Bank of India to frame the policy and give directions to the banking companies in relation to the advances to be followed by the banking companies. Such directions have got to be read as supplement to the provisions of the Banking Regulation Act and accordingly are required to be construed as having statutory force and mandatory. (Para 9-13)

National Housing Bank Act, 1987; Section 50 – sub-Section (1) of Section 50 is pari materia with Section 141 of the Negotiable Instruments Act- Unless assertions, as required by sub-Section (1) of Section 50, are made, vicarious liability of the Directors of the first accused company is not attracted- in the absence of the averments as contemplated by sub-section (1) of Section 50 of the 1984 Act in the complaint, the Trial Court could not have taken cognizance of the offence against the third to seventh accused, who are allegedly the directors of the first accused company.

Summary: Writ petition seeking a direction for convening a re-test on the ground that (i) there was a leakage of the question paper; and (ii) there are systemic deficiencies in the modalities envisaged for the conduct of the examination- SC Held: Ordering the cancellation of the entire NEET (UG) 2024 examination is not justified-There are no abnormalities in the results for 2024 when compared with the results for the past two years – The leak of the paper does not appear to be widespread or systemic. It appears to be restricted to isolated incidents in some cities, which have been identified by the police or are in the process of being identified by the CBI- The manner in which NTA has organised the exam this year gives rise to serious concerns. The Court is cognizant of the fact that national-level exams with participation from tens of lakhs of students require immense resources, coordination, and planning. But that is precisely the reason for the existence of a body such as NTA. It is no excuse to say that the exam is conducted in myriad centres or that a large number of aspirants appear for the exam.

Examinations – The cancellation of an examination, either for the purposes of gaining admission into professional and other courses or for the purpose of recruitment to a government post, is justified only in cases where the sanctity of the exam is found to be compromised at a systemic level. Courts may direct the cancellation of an examination or approve such cancellation by the competent authority only if it is not possible to separate the tainted candidates from the untainted ones- The purpose of testing whether the integrity of the exam has been compromised at a systemic level is to ensure that the cancellation of the exam which has already taken place and the conduct of a fresh examination is a proportionate response.14 This is also why courts are required to assess the extent of the use of unfair means and separately, consider whether it is possible to separate tainted and untainted candidates. A holistic view must be taken – In arriving at a conclusion as to whether an examination suffers from widespread issues, courts must ensure that allegations of malpractice are substantiated and that the material on record, including investigative reports, point to that conclusion. There must be at least some evidence to allow the Court to reach that conclusion. This standard need not be unduly strict. To elaborate, it is not necessary for the material on record to point to one and only conclusion which is that malpractice has taken place at a systemic level. However, there must be a real possibility of systemic malaise as borne out by the material before the Court. (Para 64-67)

Code Of Criminal Procedure, 1973; Section 438 [Section 482 BNSS] – After forming an opinion, taking note of all relevant aspects, that bail is grantable, conditions shall not be put to make it impossible and impracticable for the grantee to comply with – The ultimate purpose of putting conditions while granting pre-arrest bail is to secure the presence of the accused and thus, eventually to ensure a fair trial and also for the smooth flow of the investigating process – Courts have to be very cautious in imposing conditions while granting bail upon finding pre-arrest bail to be grantable. [Putting conditions requiring a person to give an affidavit carrying a specific statement in the form of an undertaking that he would fulfil all physical as well as financial requirements of the other spouse so that she could lead a dignified life without interference of any of the family members of the appellant, can only be described as an absolutely improbable and impracticable condition]- We stress upon the need to put compliable conditions while granting bail, recognizing the human right to live with dignity and with a view to secure the presence of the accused as also unhindered course of investigation, ultimately to ensure a fair trial. In respect of matters relating to matrimonial cases, conditions shall be put in such a way to make the grantee of the bail as also the griever to regain the lost love and affection and to come back to peaceful domesticity. (Para 7-9)

Legal Maxim – ‘Lex non cogit ad impossibilia’ -The law does not compel a man to do what he cannot possibly perform. (Para 1)

Summary: Central Administrative Tribunal set aside an order dismissing an employee from service – HC upheld it – Dismissing appeal, SC observed: Disciplinary Authority must indicate an independent application of mind to the findings in the enquiry report followed by opportunity of hearing to the charged officer and only thereafter, the order imposing a major penalty can be passed against the charged officer-Disciplinary Authority must afford an opportunity of hearing to the charged officer before proceeding to impose the major penalty like dismissal from service- Even in a case of ex parte enquiry, it is essential that the department must lead evidence of witnesses to bring home the charges levelled against the delinquent employee.

Summary: Supreme Court directed the respondents to re-schedule the re-medical test that was to be conducted on 14.07.2015, which the petitioner (UPSC candidate) unfortunately missed.

Grant Of State Largessee- Even assuming that the alleged lessee has leasehold rights concerning the plot, the rights of the State as the owner and lessor can be transferred only by adopting a fair and transparent process by which the State fetches the best possible price. In case of the sale of a leasehold plot by the lessor, the rights of the lawful lessees do not get affected, as their tenancy will be attorned to the purchaser in view of Section 109 of the Transfer of Property Act,1882. Therefore, the rights of the State as the lessor can only be sold by a public auction or by any other transparent method by which apart from the lessee, others too get a right to submit their offer. Selling the plot to its alleged lessee at a nominal price will not be a fair and transparent method at all. It will be arbitrary and violative of Article 14 of the Constitution of India. (Para 8-9)

Gujarat Value Added Tax Act, 2003; Section 11(3) – The purchase price would not include purchases on which no value added tax was claimed nor granted and the component of value added tax stood already paid on purchases. Accordingly, the taxable turnover of purchases would have to be calculated after deducting both the components as has been detailed aforesaid. Therefore, the calculation of taxable turnover of the purchases and reduction value of purchases on which no tax credit was claimed nor granted, and component of value added tax already paid on purchases, was rightly excluded from the total turnover of the Respondent dealer while computing his tax liability under Section 11(3)(b) of the GVAT Act. (Para 17-18)

Interpretation of Statutes – The first and foremost duty of the Court is to read the statute as it is and if the words therein are clear and unambiguous then only one meaning can be inferred. The Courts are bound to give effect to the said meaning irrespective of the consequences so far as the taxation statutes are concerned. Article 265 of the Constitution of India, 1950 prohibits the State from extracting tax from the citizens without the authority of law. The tax statute have to be interpreted strictly which means that the legislature mandates taxing certain persons in certain circumstances which cannot be expanded or interpreted to include those who were not intended or comprehended. The assessee is not to be taxed without clear words and, for that purpose, the same must be according to the natural construction of the words which have been used in that statute. These words have to be read as it is and thus cannot be added or substituted which may give a meaning other than what is expressed in the provision. (Para 12)

Summary: Conviction modified from Section 302 IPC to Section 304 Part 1 IPC – Taking into consideration the nature of injuries sustained by both the accused persons as well as the deceased, the possibility of the incident taking place in a sudden fight in the heat of passion, upon a sudden quarrel cannot be ruled out.

Motor Accident Compensation Claims -The perquisites/allowances have to be added to the basic salary of the deceased before applying the rise by future prospects -Components of house rent allowance, flexible benefit plan and company contribution to provident fund have to be included in the salary of the deceased while applying the component of rise in income by future prospects to determine the dependency factor.

Code Of Civil Procedure,1908; Section 100– Unless substantial questions of law are formulated at the time of admission of the appeal or any time subsequent thereto, a second appeal cannot be finally heard. The reason is that a second appeal can be finally heard only on a substantial question of law formulated earlier. In fact, the act of finally hearing a second appeal without framing any substantial question of law is itself illegal. (Para 3)

Contempt Of Courts Act, 1971; Section 19- An appeal under Section 19 lies only against an order imposing punishment for contempt -If the High Court, for whatsoever reason, decides an issue or makes any direction, relating to the merits of the dispute between the parties, in a contempt proceedings, the aggrieved person is not without remedy. Such an order is open to challenge in an intra-court appeal (if the order was of a learned Single Judge and there is a provision for an intra-court appeal), or by seeking special leave to appeal under Article 136 of the Constitution of India (in other cases).

Limitation Act, 1961; Section 5- No litigant stands to benefit in approaching the courts belatedly. It is not the length of delay that would be required to be considered while examining the plea for condonation of delay, it is the cause for delay which has been propounded will have to be examined. If the cause for delay would fall within the four corners of “sufficient cause”, irrespective of the length of delay same deserves to be condoned. However, if the cause shown is insufficient, irrespective of the period of delay, same would not be condoned -While deciding an application for condonation of delay the High Court ought not to have gone into the merits of the case. (Para 20-21)

Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957; Section 3(3)(b)(i)- The Lieutenant Governor of National Capital Territory of Delhi shall nominate 10 persons with special knowledge in municipal administration to the DMC -Whether the Lt. Governor can exercise that power of nomination as a statutory duty attached to his office or he is bound by the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers of NCTD as provided in Article 239AA(4) of the Constitution- Section 3(3)(b)(i) of the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act is a Parliamentary enactment vesting the power of nomination of persons with special knowledge in municipal administration with the Lt. Governor. The power is to be exercised as a statutory duty of the Lt. Governor and not as the executive power of the Government of NCTD. (Para 39)

Constitution Of India, 1950; 239AA(4) – Relations between the Union and the NCTD -A. Legislative Relationship (i) Legislative Assembly of NCTD shall have power to make laws (legislative power) for NCTD with respect to ‘any of the matters’ enumerated in State List or Concurrent List. (except entries 1, 2 and 18 of State List). (Article 239AA(3)(a)). (ii) Notwithstanding the above, Parliament shall have power to make laws (legislative power) for NCTD with respect to ‘any matter’ in the three lists. This is where there is a departure from the legislative powers of Parliament with respect to States. While Parliament does not have legislative competence over entries in List II for States, it has the power to make laws even with respect to matters enumerated in List II for NCTD [(Article 239AA(3)(b)]. (iii) Law made by the Parliament shall prevail, whether made before or after any law made by the Legislative Assembly of NCTD, and the law made by the Legislative Assembly, to the extent of repugnancy, shall be void. Only exception is when the law made by Legislative Assembly of NCTD receives Presidential assent. (proviso to Article 239AA(3)(c)) (iv) Once Parliament exercises its legislative power and makes a law on a subject in List II or List III, the Legislative Assembly of NCTD is denuded of its legislative competence to make laws with respect to that subject. Once there is no legislative power for Legislative Assembly of NCTD, there would be no executive power as executive power is always coextensive and coterminous with legislative power – Executive Relationship (v) Government of NCTD has the executive power in relation to all matters with respect to which Legislative Assembly of NCTD has power to make laws. The executive power extends to all matters enumerated in the Concurrent List as well as State List (Except Entries 1, 2 and 18 of State List). (vi) Union of India shall have exclusive executive power with respect to matters in Entries 1, 2 and 18 of the State List, which are specifically excluded from the legislative power of NCTD. (vii) The executive power of Government of NCTD shall be exercised through the Lt. Governor who shall act on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers [Art 239AA(4)] read with Section 44 of the GNCTD Act. Another constitutionally recognized departure for NCTD is that while Governor of a State under Article 163 acts on the aid and advice of Council of Ministers on all matters except when he is by or under the Constitution required to exercise his functions in his discretion, the Lt. Governor, under Article 239AA(4) is to exercise discretion, ‘in so far as he is, by or under any law, required to act in his discretion’. ‘Law’ requiring him to act in his discretion could be a law of the Legislative Assembly of NCTD or a Parliamentary law. -C. Statutory Regulation (viii) Once Parliament makes Law on a subject over which NCTD also has legislative competence and consequently executive power, the powers, duties and obligations of the authorities will then be governed by the mandate of the Law made. This position is already mentioned in statements (iii) and (iv). If the Law vests a power, duty or an obligation on the Lt. Governor, the Lt. Governor will act under the mandate of the Act and not as per the ‘executive power’ of Government of NCTD. Therefore, statutory provision alone will determine whether the power is intended to be exercised by the Lt. Governor on his own accord or on the aid and advise of the Council of Ministers.(ix) The statutory power under Section 3(3)(b)(i) to nominate persons of special knowledge was vested in the Lt. Governor for the first time by the 1993 amendment to the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957 to incorporate the Constitutional changes through Articles 239AA, 239AB and introduction of Part IX-A relating to municipalities. The power to nominate is therefore not a vestige of the past or a power of the Administrator that is continued by default. It is made to incorporate change in the Constitutional structure of NCTD. (x) The ‘text’ of Section 3(3)(b)(i) of the DMC Act, 1957 as amended by Act 67/1993 expressly enables the ‘Lt. Governor’ to nominate persons having special knowledge to the Corporation. The power expressed by the statute in the name of Lt. Governor, also seen in the ‘context’ of other provisions of the statute, demonstrates the statutory scheme in which powers and duties are distributed among authorities under the Act. The context in which the power is located confirms that the Lt. Governor is intended to act as per the mandate of the statute and not to be guided by the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers. (Para 22, 38)

Constitution Of India, 1950; Article 163, 239AA(4)- There is a clear distinction between the discretionary power of the Governor under Article 163 and that of the Lt. Governor under Article 239AA(4). While Article 163 requires Governor of a State to act on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers, ‘except in so far as he is by or under this Constitution required to exercise his functions or any of them in his discretion’, the exception in so far as the Lt. Governor, under Article 239AA(4) is concerned, he will act in his discretion, ‘in so far as he is required by or under any law’. Article 239AA of the Constitution takes into account the unique position of NCTD and therefore adopts the mandate of ‘law’ as a distinct feature for exercise of discretion. (Para 21)

Constitution Of India, 1950; Article 226,329– While the Courts shall always be guided by the settled principles regarding scope, ambit and limitations on the exercise of judicial review in delimitation matters, there is nothing that precludes them to check the validity of orders passed by Delimitation Commission on the touchstone of the Constitution -If the order is found to be manifestly arbitrary and irreconcilable to the constitutional values, the Court can grant the appropriate remedy to rectify the situation- Although Article 329 undeniably restricts the scope of judicial scrutiny re: validity of any law relating to the delimitation of constituencies or the allotment of seats to such constituencies, it cannot be construed to have imposed for every action of delimitation exercise. If judicial intervention is deemed completely barred, citizens would not have any forum to plead their grievances, leaving them solely at the mercy of the Delimitation Commission. As a constitutional court and guardian of public interest, permitting such a scenario would be contrary to the Court’s duties and the principle of separation of powers. (Para 5-7)

Summary: NGT directed to oversee the impact of silicosisprone industries and factories across India and ensure that the CPCB and the respective SPCBs comply with the earlier directions of this Court. Furthermore, we direct the NGT to undertake any additional necessary steps to prevent the spread of silicosis by such industries and factories- NHRC directed to oversee the compensation process across the respective states- ESIC and the Chief Secretaries of the respective states directed to adhere to the directions of the NHRC and collaborate with them to ensure that the compensation distribution process is carried out efficiently and without delay.

Service Law- The equivalence of a qualification is not a matter that can be determined in the exercise of the power of judicial review. Whether a particular qualification should or should not be regarded as equivalent is a matter for the State, as the recruiting authority, to determine- equivalence is a technical academic matter, it cannot be implied or assumed. Any decision of the academic body of the University relating to equivalence should be by specific order or resolution, duly published.

Code Of Criminal Procedure, 1973; Section 482– While exercising inherent jurisdiction under Section 482 of Criminal Procedure Code, 1973, the High Court is not supposed to hold a mini trial-The complicity of the accused in case of forgery will have to be addressed after a proper appreciation of evidence and such appreciation of evidence can be done only by undertaking the initial process i.e. by conducting the trial on the aspect of forgery.

Service Law – Distinction between re-designation and regular appointment – Redesignation cannot be said to be a regular appointment as it is only that one post/category/cadre which is given equivalence with another existing post/category/cadre – Whenever a Scheme/Policy is brought into force, ceteris paribus, the Court could not and would not import something which is not present therein and which may not be proper to be interfered with, especially when it relates to financial matters where primacy is required to be granted to the pay-master as to what scale was to be granted to the category of staff concerned. By its very nature, such exercise would fall under the realm of policy-formulation .

Motor Acccident Compensation Claims – If the deceased was holding a permanent job, 30% addition to the actual salary is to be made when the age of the deceased is between 40 to 50 years. (Para 6)

Code Of Criminal Procedure, 1973; Section 438 [Section 482 BNSS]- The practice prevalent in the State of Gujarat that the Courts while dealing with the anticipatory bail application routinely impose the restrictive condition whereby, the Investigating Officers are granted blanket permission to seek police custody remand of the accused, in whose favour the order of anticipatory bail is passed, is in direct contravention to the ratio of the Constitution Bench judgment of this Court in the case of Sushila Agarwal.

Code Of Criminal Procedure, 1973 ; Section 167- Remand – Before exercising the power to grant police custody remand, the Courts must apply judicial mind to the facts of the case so as to arrive at a satisfaction as to whether the police custody remand of the accused is genuinely required. The Courts are not expected to act as 60 messengers of the investigating agencies and the remand applications should not be allowed in a routine manner. (Para 48)

Blacklisting – Blacklisting has always been viewed as a drastic remedy and the orders passed have been subjected to rigorous scrutiny -Too readily invoking the debarment for ordinary cases of breach of contract where there is a bona fide dispute, is not permissible -Any decision to blacklist should be strictly within the parameters of law and has to comport with the principle of proportionality- where the case is of an ordinary breach of contract and the explanation offered by the person concerned raises a bona fide dispute, blacklisting/debarment as a penalty ought not to be resorted to. Debarring a person albeit for a certain number of years tantamounts to civil death inasmuch as the said person is commercially ostracized resulting in serious consequences for the person and those who are employed by him. (Para 22- 38)

Practice and Procedure– Ordinarily courts are not supposed to grant interest on interest except where it has been specifically provided under the statute or where there is specific stipulation to that effect under the terms and conditions of the contract. There is no dispute as to the power of the courts to award interest on interest or compound interest in a given case subject to the power conferred under the statutes or under the terms and conditions of the contract but where no such power is conferred ordinarily, the courts do not award interest on interest. (Para 23)

Motor Accident Compensation Claim- While allowing appeal and enhancing compensation, SC noted: In the attending facts and circumstances, merely because a person was attempting to overtake a vehicle, cannot be said to be an act of rashness or negligence with nothing to the contrary suggested from the record. Further, it is the claimant-appellant(s) who lost a member of their family. Not only was the claimant-appellant doing an act which is an everyday occurrence on the road that is overtaking a vehicle, but resultantly suffered extensive injuries himself. That apart, it has also been proved that the offending vehicle was driven rashly and negligently. These two factors taken together lead us to the conclusion that the finding of contributory negligence.

Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881; Section 138,139- The liability of the defence in cases under Section 138 of the NI Act 1881 is not that of proving its case beyond reasonable doubt- A n accused may establish non-existence of a debt or liability either through conclusive evidence that the concerned cheque was not issued towards the presumed debt or liability, or through adduction of circumstantial evidence vide standard of preponderance of probabilities. 22. Since a presumption only enables the holder to show a prima facie case, it can only survive before a court of law subject to contrary not having been proved to the effect that a cheque or negotiable instrument was not issued for a consideration or for discharge of any existing or future debt or liability. (Para 20-22)

Constitution of India, 1950; Article 136- Principles underlining the exercise of power to adjudicate a challenge against acquittal bolstered by concurrent findings: i) Criminal jurisprudence emphasises on the fundamental essence of liberty and presumption of innocence unless proven guilty. This presumption gets emboldened by virtue of concurrent findings of acquittal. Therefore, this court must be extracautious while dealing with a challenge against acquittal as the said presumption gets reinforced by virtue of a well-reasoned favourable outcome. Consequently, the onus on the prosecution side becomes more burdensome pursuant to the said double presumption. ii) In case of concurrent findings of acquittal, this Court would ordinarily not interfere with such view considering the principle of liberty enshrined in Article 21 of the Constitution of India 1950, unless perversity is blatantly forthcoming and there are compelling reasons. ii) Where two views are possible, then this Court would not ordinarily interfere and reverse the concurrent findings of acquittal. However, where the situation is such that the only conclusion which could be arrived at from a comprehensive appraisal of evidence, shows that there has been a grave miscarriage of justice, then, notwithstanding such concurrent view, this Court would not restrict itself to adopt an oppugnant view iv) To adjudge whether the concurrent findings of acquittal are ‘perverse’ it is to be seen whether there has been failure of justice v) In situations of concurrent findings favoring accused, interference is required where the trial court adopted an incorrect approach in framing of an issue of fact and the appellate court whilst affirming the view of the trial court, lacked in appreciating the evidence produced by the accused in rebutting a legal presumption. vi) Furthermore, such interference is necessitated to safeguard interests of justice when the acquittal is based on some irrelevant grounds or fallacies in reappreciation of any fundamental evidentiary material or a manifest error of law or in cases of nonadherence to the principles of natural justice or the decision is manifestly unjust or where an acquittal which is fundamentally based on an exaggerated adherence to the principle of granting benefit of doubt to the accused, is liable to be set aside. Say in cases where the court severed the connection between accused and criminality committed by him upon a cursory examination of evidences.

Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996- What is the correct and appropriate date to determine the foreign exchange rate for converting the award amount expressed in foreign currency to Indian rupees? foreign arbitral award is enforceable when the objections against it are finally decided- The relevant date for determining the conversion rate of foreign award expressed in foreign currency is the date when the award becomes enforceable- What would be the date of such conversion, when the award debtor deposits some amount before the court during the pendency of proceedings challenging the award – When the award debtor deposits an amount before the court during the pendency of objections and the award holder is permitted to withdraw the same, even if against the requirement of security, this deposited amount must be converted as on the date of the deposit- After the conversion of the deposited amount, the same must be adjusted against the remaining amount of principal and interest pending under the arbitral award. This remaining amount must be converted on the date when the arbitral award becomes enforceable, i.e., when the objections against it are finally decided.

Code Of Criminal Procedure, 1973; Section 154,161,162– When the police officer does not deliberately record the FIR on receipt of information about cognizable offence and the FIR is prepared after reaching the spot after due deliberations, consultations and discussion, such a complaint cannot be treated as FIR and it would be a statement made during the investigation of a case and is hit by Section 162 CrPC- Referred to State of A.P. v. Punati Ramulu 1994 Supp (1) SCC 590. (Para 29)

Criminal Trial -Sole circumstance of recovery of bloodstained weapon cannot form the basis of conviction unless the same was connected with the murder of the deceased by the accused – Referred to Mustkeem alias Sirajudeen v. State of Rajasthan (2011) 11 SCC 724. (Para 43)

Indian Evidence Act,1872; Section 21,26,27- confessions of the accused recorded by the Medical Officer while preparing the injury reports of the accused -These so-called confessions are ex-facie inadmissible in evidence for the simple reason that the accused persons were presented at the hospital by the police officers after having been arrested in the present case. As such, the notings made by the Medical Officer, ) in the injury reports would be clearly hit by Section 26 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872- As a consequence, we are not inclined to accept the said admissions of the accused as incriminating pieces of evidence relevant under Section 21 of the Evidence Act – The circumstance regarding identification of place of incident at the instance of the accused is also inadmissible because the crime scene was already known to the police and no new fact was discovered in pursuance of the disclosure statements. (Para 40-41)

Service Law – Any decision taken by the State Government to reduce an employee’s pay scale and recover the excess amount cannot be applied retrospectively and that too after a long time gap. (Para 21)

Disciplinary proceedings – If the Disciplinary Authority accepts findings recorded by the Enquiry Officer and proceeds to impose punishment basis the same, no elaborate reasons are required- Referred to Boloram Bordoloi v Lakhimi Gaolia Bank, (2021) 3 SCC 806 (Para 31) -Wherever and whenever the Disciplinary Authorities concerned impose a major punishment, it will be appropriate for their orders to better engage with the representations/submissions of the delinquent employees concerned. (Para 35)

Summary: Suo Moto proceedings initated against observation made by P&H HC judge Justice Rajbir Sehrawat – SC Observed ▶Compliance with the orders passed by the Supreme Court is not a matter of choice, but a matter of bounden constitutional obligation, bearing in mind the structure of the Indian legal system and the authority of the Supreme Court which heads the process of judicial adjudication of the country– ▶ In passing its orders, this Court discharges its plain duty. Parties may be aggrieved by an order. Judges are never aggrieved by an order which is passed by a higher constitutional or appellate forum-▶Whether individual judges are in agreement with the merits or otherwise of an order passed by a superior court is besides the point. Every Judge is bound by the discipline which the hierarchical nature of the judicial system imposes within the system.▶Observations (made by the judge) tend to bring the entire judicial machinery into disrepute. This affects not only the dignity of this Court, but of the High Courts as well.

Practice and Procedure – In an age where there is widespread reporting of every proceeding which takes place in the Court, particularly in the context of live streaming which is intended to provide access to justice to citizens, it is all the more necessary that Judges should exercise due restraint and responsibility in the observations which are made in the course of proceedings. (Para 9)

PMLA,2002; Section 45 – Code Of Criminal Procedure, 1973; Section 439– Right to bail in cases of delay coupled with incarceration for a long period should be read into Section 439 Cr.P.C. and Section 45 of the PMLA. (Para 44).

Bail -The prolonged incarceration before being pronounced guilty of an offence should not be permitted to become punishment without trial. (Para 54)- – From our experience, we can say that it appears that Trial courts and the High Courts attempt to play safe in matters of grant of bail. The principle that bail is a rule and refusal is an exception is, at times, followed in breach. – On account of non-grant of bail even in straight forward open and shut cases, this Court is flooded with huge number of bail petitions thereby adding to the huge pendency. It is high time that the trial courts and the High Courts should recognize the principle that “bail is rule and jail is exception”. (Para 53) -The objective to keep a person in judicial custody pending trial or disposal of an appeal is to secure the attendance of the prisoner at trial. (Para 55)

Summary: Bail granted to Manish Sisodia -Observations: In a matter pertaining to the life and liberty of a citizen which is one of the most sacrosanct rights guaranteed by the Constitution, a citizen cannot be made to run from pillar to post- In the present case, in the ED matter as well as the CBI matter, 493 witnesses have been named. The case involves thousands of pages of documents and over a lakh pages of digitized documents. It is thus clear that there is not even the remotest possibility of the trial being concluded in the near future. In our view, keeping the appellant behind the bars for an unlimited period of time in the hope of speedy completion of trial would deprive his fundamental right to liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution.

Summary: Rajkot Municipal Corporation was directed by Gujarat HC to refund a portion of the property tax, which was paid by the Respondent No. 02 herein, namely, Avenue Supermarts Limited – Supreme Court dismissed appeal filed by the Corporation.

Industrial Disputes Act, 1947; Section 34- The grant of authority under Section 34(1) is a condition precedent for filing a complaint under Section 34(2) of the ID Act. The authority granted under Section 34(1) must be in respect of a specific offence for which a complaint is intended to be filed- While exercising power under Section 34(1) of the ID Act of granting authority, there is a complete non-application of mind. If such authority is issued without any application of mind, the very object of providing a safeguard in the form of Section 34(1) will be frustrated. The object of the provision is to prevent frivolous complaints from being filed. Grant of authority is not an empty formality. (Para 10)

Industrial Disputes Act, 1947; Section 29 – Section 29 is applicable when any person commits a breach of any term of any settlement or award binding on him under the ID Act. Therefore, in the complaint alleging the commission of an offence punishable under Section 29 of the ID Act, there must be a specific averment regarding the existence of a settlement or award binding on the accused under the ID Act and how the same has been breached. (Para 6)

Code Of Criminal Procedure, 1973; Section 200– The object of recording a statement of the complainant under Section 200 of the Cr.PC is to bring the truth on record. (Para 7)

Summary: Issue raised in this appeal: Whether the High Court is right in reducing the percentage of disability suffered by the appellant from 25% as fixed by the Tribunal, to 20% while determining the compensation payable to him.? Allowing appeal, SC observed: Without assigning plausible reason, the High Court re-assessed the compensation by reducing the disability suffered by the appellant to 20%. We are of the view that the reduction of compensation was not required, particularly, when there is no basis in support thereof.

Limitation Act, 1963; Article 54 – Specific Performance – As per agreement to sell, the sale deed was to be executed and registered within one month i.e. up to 16.01.1990- Agreement to sell also incorporated a clause stating that the said agreement would be valid for five years. Since the sale deed was not executed, a suit for specific performance of the contract was filed in September, 1993- Trial Court dismissed the suit as barred by limitation – High Court allowed appeal and decreed the suit – Allowing appeal, SC observed: The limitation under Article 54 of the Limitation Act, 1963 for instituting a suit for specific performance of a contract would be three years from the date fixed for the performance, or, if no such date is fixed, when the plaintiff has notice that performance is refused- The performance was to take place within one month. The validity of the agreement is something different and does not change the date of performance. What was the reason for incorporating this clause of validating the agreement for five years is not spelled out in the agreement, but in any case, it does not change the date fixed for the performance-As such, the suit was liable to be dismissed on the ground of limitation alone. (Para 10-11)

Indian Penal Code, 1860; Section 353- Concurrent conviction under Section 353 IPC – Allowing appeal, SC observed: There is no evidence to indicate that the accused assaulted or used criminal force on the trap party in execution of their duties or for the purpose of preventing or deterring them in discharging their duties. In short, none of the ingredients of Section 353 are attracted. The jostling and pushing by the accused with an attempt to wriggle out, as is clear from the evidence, was not with any intention to assault or use criminal force.

Railway Claims Tribunal – The initial burden would be on the claimant, which could be discharged by filing an affidavit of the relevant facts. Once the claimant did so, the burden would then shift to the Railways- The mere absence of a ticket would not negate the claim that the deceased was a bona fide passenger. (Para 13)

Post-mortem reports – Conclusions in post-mortem reports as to the time of death are approximations. This is also indicated by the fact that they usually provide a window of time in which the deceased may have died. A margin of error of about half a day in cases where compensation is at issue is not disproportionate, where the evidence is otherwise corroborated by the material on record. (Para 17)

Summary: Appellant claimed that her suffered a fatal fall from a moving train and died and sought compensation of Rs 4,00,000 – Railway Claims Tribuna dismissed the claim, concluding that the deceased was not travelling on the train- High Court dismissed appeal- Allowing appeal, SC observed: The appellant had duly filed an affidavit stating the facts and adverting to the report arising from the investigation conducted by the respondent, which showed that the deceased was travelling on the train and that his death was caused by a fall during the course of his travel. The burden of proof then shifted to the Railways, which has not discharged its burden. Therefore, the presumption that the deceased was a bona fide passenger on the train in question was not rebutted- From the material on record, it can be concluded that the deceased was a bona fide passenger on the train in question and that he sustained grave injuries leading to his death, due to his fall from the train- the appellant is entitled to compensation quantified at Rs 8,00,000.

Indian Penal Code, 1860; Section 191, 193– (i) The Court should be of the prima facie opinion that there exists sufficient and reasonable ground to initiate proceedings against the person who has allegedly made a false statement(s); (ii) Such proceedings should be initiated when doing the same is “expedient in the interests of justice to punish the delinquent” and not merely because of inaccuracy in statements that may be innocent/immaterial; (iii) There should be “deliberate falsehood on a matter of substance”; (iv) The Court should be satisfied that there is a reasonable foundation for the charge, with distinct evidence and not mere suspicion; (v) Proceedings should be initiated in exceptional circumstances, for instance, when a party has perjured themselves to beneficial orders from the Court. (Para 16)

Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967; Section 43D(5)- Bail – When a case is made out for a grant of bail, the Courts should not have any hesitation in granting bail. The allegations of the prosecution may be very serious. But, the duty of the Courts is to consider the case for grant of bail in accordance with the law. “Bail is the rule and jail is an exception” is a settled law. Even in a case like the present case where there are stringent conditions for the grant of bail in the relevant statutes, the same rule holds good with only modification that the bail can be granted if the conditions in the statute are satisfied. The rule also means that once a case is made out for the grant of bail, the Court cannot decline to grant bail. If the Courts start denying bail in deserving cases, it will be a violation of the rights guaranteed under Article 21 of our Constitution. (Para 21)

Summary : Patanjali Misleading Advertisement – Contempt Proceedings against Baba Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna- SC Closed contempt proceedings and observed: Given the attendant facts and circumstances of the case and the effort made by the proposed contemnors to absolve themselves of acts that amounted to breach of undertakings given to this Court, we are inclined to accept the apology tendered by them and close the matter. At the same time, they are cautioned to strictly abide by the terms of their undertakings. Any future intransigence on their part, whether by act, deed or speech that could tantamount to violating the orders of the Court or dishonouring the terms of the undertakings, shall be viewed strictly and the ensuing consequences could indeed be grave. In that eventuality, the sword of contempt that has now been returned to rest in its sheath, shall be flourished as swiftly as these proceedings were originally initiated.

Contempt – A party appearing before the Court can give an undertaking by filing an application or an affidavit clearly setting out the undertaking given to the Court or by giving a clear and express oral undertaking incorporated by Court in its order. An undertaking may also be given by an Advocate on behalf of a client and if duly and properly given, it has the same effect as one given by the client. An undertaking given to the Court has the same force as an order of the Court and breach thereof would amount to contempt in the same manner as a breach of an injunction. Whether a statement made by a party or its counsel could amount to an undertaking, would depend on the words used in the statement made and the facts and circumstances of a case. When an undertaking is given before the Court for any purpose, be it for payment of money or for vacating a property or for doing an act or for refraining from doing a particular act and compliances are not made, contempt proceedings can be drawn up. The bottom-line is that if a party or the advocate acts in such a manner so as to convey to the Court a firm conviction that an undertaking is being given regardless of the fact that the word “undertaking” has not been specifically mentioned, that party will be bound down and it will be no answer that he did not think that he was giving it or that he was misunderstood. (Para 50)

Conduct – Any apology tendered by a party in contempt proceedings must be unconditional and unqualified. Such an apology must also demonstrate that it has been made with a bona fide intention and not just to wriggle out of a tight situation. Tendering a qualified apology is akin to a game of dice. It could either have a positive outcome or a negative result. If the contemnor tenders a conditional apology and expects luck to play a role in the outcome of such an apology, then he should be ready to face the consequence of an outright rejection. (Para 43)

Summary: Murder accused acquitted-Allowing appeal against concurrent conviction, SC observed: A serious doubt is created whether PW1 had seen the incident of assault by the accused-Courts have convicted the appellant only based on evidence of PW1-He has already undergone incarceration for sixteen years. This is a shocking state of affairs.

Mineral Area Development Authority vs Steel Authority of India 2024 INSC 554 – Clarification – a. While the States may levy or renew demands of tax, if any, pertaining to Entries 49 and 50 of List II of the Seventh Schedule in terms of the law laid down in the decision in MADA (supra) the demand of tax shall not operate on transactions made prior to 1 April 2005; b. The time for payment of the demand of tax shall be staggered in instalments over a period of twelve years commencing from 1 April 2026; and c. The levy of interest and penalty on demands made for the period before 25 July 2024 shall stand waived for all the assesses. (Para 25)

Doctrine of prospective overruling– The doctrine of prospective overruling is applied when a constitutional court overrules a well-established precedent by declaring a new rule but limits its application to future situations. The underlying objective is to avert injustice or hardships- The following principles emerge on the application of the doctrine: a. The power of this Court to mould the relief claimed to meet the justice of the case is derived from Article 142; b. It is applied by this Court while overruling its earlier decision, which was otherwise final. It has also been applied when deciding on an issue for the first time; c. The object is to validate all the actions taken before the date of declaration in the larger public interest. The doctrine does not validate an invalid law, but the declaration of invalidation takes effect from a future date; d. Cases that have attained finality are saved because doing otherwise would cause unnecessary and avoidable hardships; e. It is applied to bring about a smooth transition of the operation of law without unduly affecting the rights of the people who acted upon the overruled law; f. It is a device innovated to avoid: (i) reopening settled issues, (ii) refund of amounts collected under invalid legislation, and (iii) multiplicity of proceedings; and g. It is applied to avoid social and economic disruptions and give sufficient time to the affected entities and institutions to make appropriate changes and adjustments- The doctrine of prospective overruling has been applied by this Court in situations where the new declaration results in the invalidation of legislation, which would otherwise have been valid under the old declaration. The doctrine has also been used where this Court has declared a legislation as ultra vires. In the case of taxing statutes, such a declaration would make the State liable to refund all amounts collected under the invalid legislation. Therefore, this Court declares the new rule to apply prospectively not only to secure the revenues of the State but also to protect the rights and obligations crystallized by persons and entities under the old regime. (Para 5-14)

Gujarat Civil Services (Pay) Rules, 2002; Rule 21-The Rule of stepping up shall apply only if the conditions specified therein are fulfilled. Specifically, condition no. (v) of Rule 21 stipulates that the anomaly must be the direct result of the application of this rule. (Para 31)

Indian Penal Code, 1860; Section 304 – High Court altered the conviction of the appellant from one under Section 304 Part I of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) to one under Section 304 Part II IPC but, sentenced him to undergo rigorous imprisonment (RI) for five years while maintaining the sentence of fine – Partly allowing appeal, SC held: While maintaining the conviction of the appellant under Section 304 Part II IPC, his sentence is modified to the period already undergone by him.

Summary: Supreme Court constitutes a National Task Force (NTF) to formulate effective recommendations to remedy the issues of concern pertaining to safety, working conditions and well-being of medical professionals and other cognate matters – The NTF shall while doing so, consider the following aspects to prepare an action-plan. The action plan may be categorized under two heads (I) Preventing violence, including genderbased violence against medical professionals; and (II) Providing an enforceable national protocol for dignified and safe working conditions for interns, residents, senior residents, doctors, nurses and all medical professionals.

Constitution Of India,1950; Article 226- Maintainability of the habeas corpus petition in the matters of custody of minor child – No hard and fast rule can be laid down – Whether the writ court should exercise its jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India or not will depend on the facts and circumstances of each case and the paramount welfare of the child – Referred to Nirmala v. Kulwant Singh 2024 INSC 370. (Para 15)

Summary: Allowing appeal of a father of child, SC observed: merely because of the unfortunate circumstances faced by the appellant as a result of which, respondents were given the temporary custody of the minor child and only because they looked after her for few years, the same cannot be a ground to deny the custody of the minor child to the appellant, who is her only natural guardian.

Summary: Writ Petitions challenging the decision of the Department of Medical Education of not allotting MBBS Unreserved (UR) Category Government School (GS) quota seats to the meritorious reserved candidates, who had passed from the Government Schools – HC Dismissed Writ Petitions -Allowing appeal, SC observed: a candidate belonging to any of the vertical reservation categories who on the basis of his own merit is entitled to be selected in the open or general category, will be selected against the general category and his selection would not be counted against the quota reserved for such vertical reservation categories- This principle would also apply to the cases of horizontal reservation- , the meritorious candidates belonging to SC/ST/OBC, who on their own merit, were entitled to be selected against the UR-GS quota, have been denied the seats against the open seats in the GS quota- the methodology adopted by the respondents in compartmentalizing the different categories in the horizontal reservation and restricting the migration of the meritorious reserved category candidates to the unreserved seats is totally unsustainable- The respondents directed to admit the appellants in the next Academic Session i.e. 2024-25 for MBBS Course against the seats reserved for UR-GS category.

Precedent– If the Division Bench of the High Court is of the view that the earlier decision of the Coordinate Bench of the same High Court is not correct in law, the only option available to it is to refer the matter to a larger Bench. (Para 17) – Referred to Official Liquidator vs. Dayanand (2008) 10 SCC 1 [In this case: When the Coordinate Bench of the same High Court based on same grounds of detention and on the basis of the same material, which was relied on by the detaining authority, had come to a considered conclusion that non-supply of certain documents had vitiated the right to make an effective representation of the detenus, another Coordinate Bench could not have ignored the same.]

Judgment writing- The ultimate object of writing a judgment is to ensure that the parties before the Court know why the case is decided in their favour or against them. Therefore, judgment must be in a simple language. The conclusions recorded by the Court in the judgment on legal or factual issues must be supported by cogent reasons- the Court can always comment upon the conduct of the parties. However, the findings regarding the conduct of the parties must be confined only to such conduct which has a bearing on the decision-making. A judgment of the Court cannot contain the Judge’s personal opinions on various subjects. Similarly, advisory jurisdiction cannot be exercised by the Court by incorporating advice to the parties or advice in general. The Judge has to decide a case and not preach. The judgment cannot contain irrelevant and unnecessary material. A judgment must be in simple language and should not be verbose. Brevity is the hallmark of quality judgment. We must remember that judgment is neither a thesis nor a piece of literature – When a Court deals with an appeal against an order of conviction, the judgment must contain (i) a concise statement of the facts of the case, (ii) the nature of the evidence adduced by the prosecution and the defence, if any, (iii) the submissions made by the parties, (iv) the analysis based on the reappreciation of evidence, and (v) the reasons for either confirming the guilt of the accused or for acquitting the accused. The appellate court must scan through the evidence, both oral and documentary, and reappreciate it. After reappreciating the evidence, the appellate court must record reasons for either accepting the evidence of the prosecution or for disbelieving the evidence of the prosecution. The Court must record reasons for deciding whether the charges against the accused have been proved. In a given case, if the conviction is confirmed, the Court will have to deal with the legality and adequacy of the sentence. In such a case, there must be a finding recorded on the legality and adequacy of the sentence with reasons. (Para 13-14)

POCSO Act; Section 19 (6)- It is the responsibility of the State to take care of helpless victims of such heinous offences- The right to live a dignified life is an integral part of the fundamental right guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. Article 21 encompasses the right to lead a healthy life. The minor child, who is the victim of the offences under the POCSO Act, is also deprived of the fundamental right to live a dignified and healthy life. The same is the case of the child born to the victim as a result of the offence. All the provisions of the JJ Act regarding taking care of such children and rehabilitating them are consistent with Article 21 of the Constitution of India. Therefore, immediately after the knowledge of the commission of a heinous offence under the POCSO Act, the State, its agencies and instrumentalities must step in and render all possible aid to the victim children, which will enable them to lead a dignified life. The failure to do so will amount to a violation of the fundamental rights guaranteed to the victim children under Article 21. The police must strictly implement subsection (6) of Section 19 of the POCSO Act. If that is not done, the victim children are deprived of the benefits of the welfare measures under the JJ Act. Compliance with Section 19(6) is of vital importance. Non-compliance thereof will lead to a violation of Article 21.

Code Of Criminal Procedure, 1973; Section 482– Even if the (rape/POCSO) accused and the victim (who has now attained majority) were to come out with a settlement, the High Court could not have quashed the prosecution. [In this case, HC quashed the conviction on these grounds: (a)There was a “non-exploitative” consensual sexual relationship between the two consenting adolescents; (b)The ground reality was that after the birth of the child, the accused is taking care of the victim and the infant/small child; (c)The victim has no support from her parents, and (d)A humane view is required to be taken to do complete justice.] (Para 20-23)

Constitution of India, 1950; Article 16- Reservation – The concept of “Vertical Reservations” and “Horizontal Reservations” explained – Referred to Indra Sawhney vs. Union of India 1992 Supp. (3) SCC 217. (Para 12) -The reservation for persons with disabilities would be relatable to Clause (1) of Article 16 and the persons selected against this quota will be placed in appropriate category i.e. if he/she belongs to Scheduled Category, he/she will be placed in that category by making necessary adjustments, and if he/she belongs to open category, necessary adjustments will be made in the open category-

Reservation– Concept of Overall Reservations and Compartmentalised Reservations explained – Referred to Anil Kumar Gupta vs. State of U.P (1995) 5 SCC 173 – Where the seats reserved for the Horizontal Reservations are proportionately divided amongst the Vertical (Social) Reservations and are not intertransferable, it would be a case of Compartmentalised reservations, whereas in the Overall Reservation, while allocating the special reservation candidates to their respective social reservation category, the Overall Reservation in favour of special reservation categories has to be honoured. Meaning thereby the special reservations cannot be proportionately divided among the Vertical (Social) reservation categories, and the candidates eligible for special reservation categories have to be provided overall seats reserved for them, either by adjusting them against any of the Social/Vertical reservations or otherwise, and thus they are intertransferable. (Para 14)

Public Employment – The candidates who consciously took part in the process of selection cannot be permitted to question the advertisement or the methodology adopted for making selection, on their having been declared as unsuccessful in the Preliminary Examinations. (Para 16)

Summary: High Court had issued an advertisement for the direct recruitment of 120 posts of Civil Judge and Judicial Magistrate under the Civil Judge Cadre – It declared the cut off marks for the persons falling under Compartmentalised Horizontal Reservation and not for the Overall Horizontal Reservation under which the appellants fall- Dismissing appeal, SC held: Such action could neither be said to be arbitrary nor violative of Article 14, 16 and 21 of the Constitution of India.

University – University, being a statutory body, any such conduct would tantamount to an arbitrary and unreasonable exercise of power, apart from being unfair. The discretion vested in the Executive Council should be exercised in a fair and non- arbitrary manner. It cannot be based on the whim and caprice of the decision-making authority. If asked to justify, the Executive Council must have good reasons to defend the exercise of power.

Bail – Excessive bail is no bail. To grant bail and thereafter to impose excessive and onerous conditions, is to take away with the left hand, what is given with the right. As to what is excessive will depend on the facts and circumstances of each case. (Para 23)

Surety – The Oxford Dictionary defines ‘surety’ as “a person who takes responsibility for another’s obligation”. Advanced Law Lexicon by P. Ramanatha Aiyar, 3 rd Edition 2005 defines ‘surety’ to mean “the bail that undertakes for another man in a criminal case- Sureties are essential to ensure the presence of the accused, released on bail. At the same time, where the court is faced with the situation where the accused enlarged on bail is unable to find sureties, as ordered, in multiple cases, there is also a need to balance the requirement of furnishing the sureties with his or her fundamental rights under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. An order which would protect the person’s fundamental right under Article 21 and at the same time guarantee the presence, would be reasonable and proportionate. As to what such an order should be, will again depend on the facts and circumstances of each case- Whether it is to get individuals, to stand as a guarantor for a loan transaction or as a Surety in a criminal proceeding, the choice for a person is very limited. It will very often be a close relative or a longtime friend. In a criminal proceeding, the circle may get even more narrowed as the normal tendency is to not disclose about the said criminal proceeding to relatives and friends, to protect one’s reputation. These are hard realities of life in our country and as a court of law we cannot shut our eyes to them. A solution, however, has to be found strictly within the framework of the law. (Para 21-23)

Summary: Supreme Court set aside the impugned judgement and remand the Writ Petitions to be heard a Division Bench of the High Court.

NDPS Act, 1986; Section 67 -Accused’s statement recorded under Section 67 of the NDPS Act is not admissible in evidence and cannot be read in evidence – Referred to Tofan Singh v. State of Tamil Nadu (2021) 4 SCC 1. (Para 9) [Conviction set aside]

Summary: High Court single bench allowed appellant’s writ petition against the order refusing to renew/extend her services- Writ appeal allowed and HC Division Bench set aside the Single Bench order – Allowing appeal, SC restored the Single bench order with a modification to the extent that the appellant shall be entitled to all consequential benefits including notional continuation in service at par with other similarlysituated employees, but with the back wages restricted to 50%.

Summary: Whether the appellants herein, despite being classified as temporary employees of a scheme managed by contributory pooling of funds, can claim entitlement to pensionary benefits in accordance with the 6th CPC? SC Held: The denial of pensionary benefits solely on the basis of their temporary status, without due consideration of these factors, appears to be an oversimplification of their employment relationship with the government. This approach runs the risk of creating a class of employees who, despite serving the government for decades in a manner indistinguishable from regular employees, are deprived of the benefits and protections typically accorded to government servants -the denial of pensionary benefits to the appellants is not tenable or justifiable in the eyes of law as the same is arbitrary and violates the fundamental rights as guaranteed by Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India- Respondents directed to extend the benefits of the 6th Central Pay Commission including the pensionary benefits under the Revised Pay Scale Rules, 2008 to the appellants herein.

Constitution Of India,1950; Article 12- Whether an entity can be considered an instrumentality or agency of the Government, and thus an “authority” under Article 12 of the Constitution of India. These tests include but are not limited to ; 1. Extent of financial support from the government; 2. Deep and pervasive control of the government; 3. Functions performed are of public importance and closely related to governmental functions; 4. Entity enjoys monopoly status conferred or protected by the State; 5. The government department has been transferred to the entity – Neither all the tests are required to be answered in positive nor a positive answer to one or two tests would suffice. It will depend upon a combination of one or more of the relevant factors depending upon the essentiality and overwhelming nature of such factors in identifying the real source of governing power, if need be by removing the mask or piercing the veil disguising the entity concerned- Referred to Ajay Hasia v. Khalid Mujib Sehravardi (1981) 1 SCC 722 and Pradeep Kumar Biswas v. Indian Institute of Chemical Biology (2002) 5 SCC 111. (Para 24-26)

Employment – The essence of employment and the rights thereof cannot be merely determined by the initial terms of appointment when the actual course of employment has evolved significantly over time- Referred to Vinod Kumar and Others v. Union of India 2024 SCC OnLine SC 1533. (Para 31)

Service Law -In any institution incentives may be given to a particular category of employees to get higher qualifications during service, considering their job requirements. Merely because different set of employees, who may be working in aid but governed by different set of rules and having different duties to discharge also obtain that qualification, will not entitle them to the benefits which were extended to different set of employees by the competent authority. (Para 10.1)

Summary: The Tribunal had allowed the application filed by the respondents, extending them the benefit of the scheme dated 27.02.1999 in terms of which a scientist was eligible for two advance increments as and when he acquires a Ph.D. degree in his service career – High Court upheld this order -Allowing appeal, SC observed: Merely because Study Leave Regulations, 1991 were extended to technical personnel, this would not entitle them to other benefits which are available to the scientists. The idea of grant of study leave for pursuing Ph.D. to the technical personnel was only to enable them to improve their qualifications. Merely after having Ph.D. qualification, the technical personnel will not become eligible for grant of two advance increments when the same has not been recommended for them.

SC-ST (Prevention Of Atrocities) Act,1989; Section 3(1)(r) – Mere knowledge of the fact that the victim is a member of the Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe is not sufficient to attract Section 3(1)(r) of the Act, 1989. The offence must have been committed against the person on the ground or for the reason that such person is a member of Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe. (Para 80) -all insults or intimidations to a member of the Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe will not amount to an offence under the Act, 1989 unless such insult or intimidation is on the ground that the victim belongsto Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe. (Para 58) – The words “with intent to humiliate” as they appear in the text of Section 3(1)(r) of the Act, 1989 are inextricably linked to the caste identity of the person who is subjected to intentional insult or intimidation. Not every intentional insult or intimidation of a member of a SC/ST community will result into a feeling of caste-based humiliation. It is only in those cases where the intentional insult or intimidation takes place either due to the prevailing practice of untouchability or to reinforce the historically entrenched ideas like the superiority of the “upper castes” over the “lower castes/untouchables”, the notions of ‘purity’ and ‘pollution’, etc. that it could be said to be an insult or intimidation of the type envisaged by the Act, 1989.(Para 61) – The term ‘humiliation’ as it appears in Section 3(1)(r) of the Act, 1989 must be construed, that is, in a way that it deprecates the infliction of humiliation against members of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes wherein such humiliation is intricately associated with the caste identity of such members. (Para 70)

SC-ST (Prevention Of Atrocities) Act,1989; Section 3(1)(u)– The offence under Section 3(1)(u) will come into play only when any person is trying to promote ill feeling or enmity against the members of the scheduled castes or scheduled tribes as a group and not as individuals. (Para 77)

SC-ST (Prevention Of Atrocities) Act,1989; Section 18,18A- Code Of Criminal Procedure,1973; Section 438 –If the complaint does not make out a prima facie case for applicability of the provisions of the Act, 1989 then the bar created by Sections 18 and 18-A(i) shall not apply and thus the court would not be precluded from granting pre-arrest bail to the accused persons .( Para 35)- Section 18 bars the remedy of anticipatory bail only in those cases where a valid arrest of the accused person can be made as per Section 41 read with Section 60A of CrPC – The bar under Section 18 of the Act, 1989 would apply only to those cases where prima facie materials exist pointing towards the commission of an offence under the Act, 1989. We say so because it is only when a prima facie case is made out that the pre-arrest requirements as stipulated under Section 41 of CrPC could be said to be satisfied. (Para 41- 46) – when the necessary ingredients to constitute the offence under the Act, 1989 are not made out upon the reading of the complaint, no case can be said to exist prima facie. As a sequitur, if the necessary ingredients to constitute the offence under the Act, 1989 are not disclosed on the prima facie reading of the allegations levelled in the complaint or FIR, then in such circumstances, as per the consistent exposition by various decisions of this Court, the bar of Section 18 would not apply and the courts would not be absolutely precluded from granting pre-arrest bail to the accused persons. (Para 47-48) -The duty to determine prima facie existence of the case is cast upon the courts with a view to ensure that no unnecessary humiliation is caused to the accused. The courts should not shy away from conducting a preliminary inquiry to determine if the narration of facts in the complaint/FIR in fact discloses the essential ingredients required to constitute an offence under the Act, 1989. It is expected of the courts to apply their judicial mind to determine whether the allegations levelled in the complaint, on a plain reading, satisfy the ingredients constituting the alleged offence. Such application of judicial mind should be independent and without being influenced by the provisions figuring in the complaint/FIR. The aforesaid role of the courts assumes even more importance when a prima facie finding on the case has the effect of precluding the accused person from seeking anticipatory bail, which is an important concomitant of personal liberty of the individual. (Para 50)

Interpretation Of Statutes –A penal statute must receive strict construction. A principle of statutory interpretation embodies the policy of the law, which is in turn based on public policy. The court presumes, unless the contrary intention appears, that the legislator intended to conform to this legal policy. A principle of statutory interpretation can, therefore, be described as a principle of legal policy formulated as a guide to the legislative intention. (Para 82)

Indian Penal Code,1860; Section 406, 415, 420-The offences of criminal breach of trust (Section 406 IPC) and cheating (Section 420 IPC) have specific ingredients. In order to constitute a criminal breach of trust (Section 406 IPC): – 1) There must be entrustment with person for property or dominion over the property, and 2) The person entrusted: – a) dishonestly misappropriated or converted property to his own use, or b) dishonestly used or disposed of the property or willfully suffers any other person so to do in violation of: i. any direction of law prescribing the method in which the trust is discharged; or ii. legal contract touching the discharge of trust (see: S.W.P. Palanitkar (supra). Similarly, in respect of an offence under Section 420 IPC, the essential ingredients are: – 1) deception of any person, either by making a false or misleading representation or by other action or by omission; 2) fraudulently or dishonestly inducing any person to deliver any property, or 3) the consent that any persons shall retain any property and finally intentionally inducing that person to do or omit to do anything which he would not do or omit (see: Harmanpreet Singh Ahluwalia v. State of Punjab, (2009) 7 SCC 712 : (2009) Cr.L.J. 3462 (SC))-In both the aforesaid sections, mens rea i.e. intention to defraud or the dishonest intention must be present, and in the case of cheating it must be there from the very beginning or inception. (Para 25-26) – If it is a case of the complainant that offence of criminal breach of trust as defined under Section 405 of IPC, punishable under Section 406 of IPC, is committed by the accused, then in the same breath it cannot be said that the accused has also committed the offence of cheating as defined and explained in Section 415 of the IPC, punishable under Section 420 of the IPC. (Para 27)- The case of cheating and dishonest intention starts with the very inception of the transaction. But in the case of criminal breach of trust, a person who comes into possession of the movable property and receives it legally, but illegally retains it or converts it to his own use against the terms of the contract, then the question is, in a case like this, whether the retention is with dishonest intention or not, whether the retention involves criminal breach of trust or only a civil liability would depend upon the facts of each case. (Para 29) – The distinction between mere breach of contract and the offence of criminal breach of trust and cheating is a fine one. In case of cheating, the intention of the accused at the time of inducement should be looked into which may be judged by a subsequent conduct, but for this, the subsequent conduct is not the sole test. Mere breach of contract cannot give rise to a criminal prosecution for cheating unless fraudulent or dishonest intention is shown right from the beginning of the ransaction i.e. the time when the offence is said to have been committed. Therefore, it is this intention, which is the gist of the offence. Whereas, for the criminal breach of trust, the property must have been entrusted to the accused or he must have dominion over it. The property in respect of which the offence of breach of trust has been committed must be either the property of some person other than the accused or the beneficial interest in or ownership’ of it must be of some other person. The accused must hold that property on trust of such other person. Although the offence, i.e. the offence of breach of trust and cheating involve dishonest intention, yet they are mutually exclusive and different in basic concept. There is a distinction between criminal breach of trust and cheating. For cheating, criminal intention is necessary at the time of making a false or misleading representation i.e., since inception. In criminal breach of trust, mere proof of entrustment is sufficient. Thus, in case of criminal breach of trust, the offender is lawfully entrusted with the property, and he dishonestly misappropriated the same. Whereas, in case of cheating, the offender fraudulently or dishonestly induces a person by deceiving him to deliver any property. In such a situation, both the offences cannot co-exist simultaneously. (Para 30)

Code Of Criminal Procedure, 1973; Section 204 -Summoning of an accused in a criminal case is a serious matter. Criminal law cannot be set into motion as a matter of course. It is not that the complainant has to bring only two witnesses to support his allegations in the complaint to have the criminal law set into motion. The order of the Magistrate summoning the accused must reflect that he has applied his mind to the facts of the case and the law applicable thereto. He has to examine the nature of allegations made in the complaint and the evidence both oral and documentary in support thereof. It is not that the Magistrate is a silent spectator at the time of recording of preliminary evidence before summoning of the accused. The Magistrate has to carefully scrutinise the evidence brought on record and may even himself put questions to the complainant and his witnesses to elicit answers to find out the truthfulness of the allegations or otherwise and then examine if any offence is prima facie committed by all or any of the accused. [Referred to Pepsi Foods Ltd. v. Special Judicial Magistrate : (1998) 5 SCC 749] (Para 13)

Code Of Criminal Procedure, 1973; Section 482– A petition filed under Section 482, CrPC, for quashing an order summoning the accused is maintainable. There cannot be any doubt that once it is held that sine qua non for exercise of the power to issue summons is the subjective satisfaction “on the ground for proceeding further” while exercising the power to consider the legality of a summons issued by a Magistrate, certainly it is the duty of the Court to look into the question as to whether the learned Magistrate had applied his mind to form an opinion as to the existence of sufficient ground for proceeding further and in that regard to issue summons to face the trial for the offence concerned. (Para 22)

Indian Penal Code,1860; Section 406 – In case of sale of goods, the property passes to the purchaser from the seller when the goods are delivered. Once the property in the goods passes to the purchaser, it cannot be said that the purchaser was entrusted with the property of the seller. Without entrustment of property, there cannot be any criminal breach of trust. Thus, prosecution of cases on charge of criminal breach of trust, for failure to pay the consideration amount in case of sale of goods is flawed to the core. There can be civil remedy for the non-payment of the consideration amount, but no criminal case will be maintainable for it. (Para 36)

Arbitration & Conciliation Act,1996; Section 31– The wording of Section 31(7)(a) marks a departure from Arbitration Act, 1940 in two ways: first, it does not make an explicit distinction between pre-reference and pendente lite interest as both of them are provided for under this subsection; second, it sanctifies party autonomy and restricts the power to grant pre-reference and pendente lite interest the moment the agreement bars payment of interest, even if it is not a specific bar against the Arbitrator.The power of the Arbitrator to award pre-reference and pendente lite interest is not restricted when the agreement is silent on whether interest can be awarded7 or does not contain a specific term that prohibits the same. VI. While pendente lite interest is a matter of procedural law, prereference interest is governed by substantive law. Therefore, the grant of pre-reference interest cannot be sourced solely in Section 31(7)(a) (which is a procedural law), but must be based on an agreement between the parties (express or implied), statutory provision (such as Section 3 of the Interest Act, 1978), or proof of mercantile usage. (Para 9)

Summary: Central Administrative Tribunal, Ahmedabad rejected application preferred by the appellant with a prayer that the respondents be directed to regularise her services in the Group ‘D’ post – High Court upheld this order – Allowing appeal, SC observed: Keeping in view the fact that an employee similarly placed but inducted in service after nearly six years from the date of employment of the appellant with the respondent-Department has been conferred the benefits of confirmation in service by way of appointment to the post of MTS, the appellant is entitled to claim the same benefits.

Consumer Protection Act,1986; Section 2 (7) -Consumer means any person who buys any goods for a consideration but does not include a person who obtains such goods for resale or for any commercial purpose. Therefore, purchase and sale of goods for resale or for commercial purpose is excluded from the purview of the definition of “consumer”- To determine whether the goods purchased by a person (which would include a legal entity like a company) were for commercial purpose or not within the meaning of the Act would depend upon the facts and circumstances of each case. However, ordinarily “commercial purpose” is understood to include manufacturing/industrial activity or business-to-business transactions between commercial entities. The purchase of the goods should have a close and direct nexus with a profit generating activity. If it is found that the dominant purpose behind purchasing the goods was for the personal use and consumption of the purchaser and/or the beneficiary, or was otherwise not linked with other commercial activities, the question whether such a purchase was for the purpose of “generating livelihood by means of selfemployment” need not be looked into. In short, the dominant intention or the dominant purpose of the transaction is to be looked into to find out if it had any nexus with some kind of profit generation as part of the commercial activities – Referred to M/s Daimler Chrysler India Pvt. Ltd. vs. M/s Controls & Switchgear Company Ltd. (Para 14-15)

Constitution of India,1950; Article 136– Article 136 can be invoked by a party in a petition for special leave to appeal from any judgement, decree, determination, sentence or order in any cause or matter passed or made by a Court or Tribunal within the territory of India. The reach of the extraordinary powers vested in this Court under Article 136 of the Constitution of India is boundless. Such unbridled powers have been vested in Court, not just to prevent the abuse of the process of any court or to secure the ends of justice as contemplated in Section 482, Cr.P.C, but to ensure dispensation of justice, correct errors of law, safeguard fundamental rights, exercise judicial review, resolve conflicting decisions, inject consistency in the legal system by settling precedents and for myriad other to undo injustice, wherever noticed and promote the cause of justice at every level. The fetters on this power are self imposed and carefully tampered with sound judicial discretion. (Para 19.6)

Code Of Criminal Procedure,1973; Section 482– Section 482 Cr.P.C recognizes the inherent powers of the High Court to quash initiation of prosecution against the accused to pass such orders as may be considered necessary to give effect to any order under the Cr.P.C or to prevent abuse of the process of any court or otherwise to secure the ends of justice. It is a statutory power vested in the High Court to quash such criminal proceedings that would dislodge the charges levelled against the accused and based on the material produced, lead to a firm opinion that the assertions contained in the charges levelled by the prosecution deserve to be overruled. 18.8 While exercising the powers vested in the High Court under Section 482, Cr.P.C, whether at the stage of issuing process or at the stage of committal or even at the stage of framing of charges, which are all stages that are prior to commencement of the actual trial, the test to be applied is that the Court must be fully satisfied that the material produced by the accused would lead to a conclusion that their defence is based on sound, reasonable and indubitable facts. The material relied on by the accused should also be such that would persuade a reasonable person to dismiss the accusations levelled against them as false. (Para 18.7-18.8)

Code Of Criminal Procedure,1973; Section 227– The expression “not sufficient ground for proceeding against the accused” clearly shows that the Judge is not a mere post office to frame the charge at the behest of the prosecution. The Judge must exercise the judicial mind to the facts of the case in order to determine whether a case for trial has been made out by the prosecution. The principles governing the scope of Section 227, Cr.P.C. – Referred to Union of India v. Prafulla Kumar Samal (1979) 3 SCC 4. (Para 20.2)

Constitution of India,1950; Article 149- CAG Report is subject to scrutiny by the Parliament and the Government can always offer its views on the said report. Merely because the CAG is an independent constitutional functionary does not mean that after receiving a report from it and on the PAC scrutinizing the same and submitting its report, the Parliament will automatically accept the said report. The Parliament may agree or disagree with the Report. It may accept it as it is or in part. [In this case, the Audit Report of the CAG has not been tabled before the Parliament for soliciting any comments from the PAC or the respective Ministries. Therefore, the views taken by the CAG to the effect that tremendous loss had been caused to the public exchequer on account of the coal rejects being disposed of by the KPCL and KECML remains a view point but cannot be accepted as decisive. ] (Para 11.2-11.5)

Negotiable Instruments Act,1881; Section 138- SC Restored Trial Court judgment convicting the accused and observed: if the parties amongst themselves, agreed to a rate which is not in conformity with the Tamil Nadu Act, it was for the respondent to raise an objection or move the appropriate forum for getting the same corrected/taken care of, so that the interest rate did not exceed 1% per month but having agreed to a rate of 1.8% per month, the subsequent amount of interest calculated @ 3% per month does not have much force for it was upon the respondent to challenge the rate of interest. The respondent also cannot be said to be a layman, and being a subscriber to a chitfund company, he is expected to be aware of the laws and also of what is beneficial for him. Having issued the pronotes, he cannot now take a plea in these collateral proceedings under the N.I. Act to contend that the rate of interest was more than what was permissible under the Tamil Nadu Act.

Finance Act, 1994 – Constitutionality of the Explanation added to Section 65 (19) (ii) of the Finance Act, 1994- The Explanation was omitted with effect from 01.07.2010. However, these cases pertain to the period prior to 01.07.2010- The mere insertion of an explanation cannot make an activity a taxable service when it is not covered under the main provision-This is because sale of lottery tickets is not a service in relation to promotion or marketing of service provided by a client, i.e., the State – Conducting a lottery which is a game of chance is ex facie a privilege and an activity conducted by the State and not a service being rendered by the State. The said activity would have a profit motive and is for the purpose of earning additional revenue to the State exchequer. The activity is carried out by sale of lottery tickets to persons, such as the assessees herein, on an outright basis and once the lottery tickets are sold and the amount collected, there is no further relationship between the assessees herein and the State in respect of the lottery tickets sold. The burden is on the assessees herein to further sell the lottery tickets to the divisional / regional stockists for a profit as their business activity. This activity is not a promotion or a marketing service rendered by the assessees herein to the State within the meaning of sub-clause (ii) of Clause 19 of Section 65 of the Finance Act, 1994-Lottery tickets are actionable claims -The sale of lottery tickets by the State is a privileged activity by itself and not rendering of a service .

Electricity Act, 2003; Section 125 – The restrictive scope of appellate jurisdiction is a product not only of the statutory preconditions, but also a necessary measure to enable freedom to statutory regulator and Tribunal to develop sectorial laws through a principled and consistent approach- the requirement under Section 125 is not merely a ‘question of a law’ but a ‘substantial question of law’. (Para 1,7)

Indian Contract Act, 1872; Sections 32 and 56 – Law on force majeure- When the contract contains an express or implied force majeure clause, it is governed under Chapter III of the Contract Act, specifically Section 32. In such cases, the ‘doctrine of frustration’ in Section 56 does not apply and the court must interpret the force majeure clause contained in the contract -A force majeure clause must be narrowly construed- Referred to Energy Watchdog v. Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (Para 10.1)

PMLA 2002; Section 45(1)- In a given case the accused even if a woman may not be automatically entitled to benefit of the said proviso and it would all depend upon the facts and circumstances of each case- When a statute specifically provides a special treatment for a certain category of accused, while denying such a benefit, the Court will be required to give specific reasons as to why such a benefit is to be denied- Referred to Saumya Chaurasia v. Directorate of Enforcement (2024) 6 SCC 401 : 2023 INSC 1073 – This Court used the phrase “persons of tender age and woman who are likely to be more vulnerable, may sometimes be misused by the unscrupulous elements”. This is vastly different from saying that the proviso to Section 45(1) of the PMLA applies only to “vulnerable woman”. Further, this Court in the case of Saumya Chaurasia (supra) does not say that merely because a woman is highly educated or sophisticated or a Member of Parliament or a Member of Legislative Assembly, she is not entitled to the benefit of the proviso to Section 45(1) of the PMLA. (Para 27) [Granting bail to appellant, SC observed that erroneously observed that the proviso to Section 45(1) of the PMLA is applicable only to a “vulnerable woman”]

PMLA 2002; Section 45 – Prolonged incarceration before being pronounced guilty of an offence should not be permitted to become punishment without trial- “Bail is the rule and refusal is an exception”- The fundamental right of liberty provided under Article 21 of the Constitution is superior to the statutory restrictions – Referrred to Manish Sisodia v. Directorate of Enforcement 2024 INSC 595. (Para 12-13)

Indian Penal Code,1860; Section 307 – A conviction under Section 307 of the IPC may be justified only if the accused in question possessed intent coupled with some overt act in aid of its execution. Ascertaining the intention to kill or having the knowledge that death may be caused as a result of the overt act, is a question of fact and hinges on the unique circumstances that each case may present. (Para 17)

Criminal Trial – Usually in matters involving criminality, discrepancies are bound to be there in the account given by a witness, especially when there is conspicuous disparity between the date of the incident and the time of deposition. However, if the discrepancies are such that they create serious doubt on the veracity of a witness, then the Court may deduce and decline to rely on such evidence. This is especially true when there are variations in the evidence tendered by prosecution witnesses regarding the sequence of events as they have occurred. Courts must exercise all the more care and conscientiousness when such oral evidence may lean towards falsely implicating innocent persons. (Para 13) –Circumstantial Evidence – The chain of evidence proffered by the prosecution has to be as complete as is humanly possible and it does not leave any reasonable ground for a conclusion consistent with the innocence of the accused and must instead, indicate that the act had indeed been singularly committed by the accused only. (Para 15)

Code Of Criminal Procedure,1973; Section 378 – When the Trial Court has acquitted the accused based on a plausible understanding of the evidence, and such finding is not marred by perversity or due to overlooking or misreading of the evidence presented by the prosecution, the High Court ought not to overturn such an order of acquittal. (Para 16)

Constitution of India,1950; Article 341,342- Any inclusion or exclusion in or from the list of Scheduled Castes can only be made through an Act of Parliament under Articles 341 and 342 of the Constitution of India. As a corollary thereto, neither the State Government nor the Courts have the authority to modify the list of Scheduled Castes as promulgated by the Presidential order under the above Articles- Referred to State of Maharashtra v. Milind (2001) 1 SCC 4. (Para 26)

Summary: Whether a person who joined the services of a Nationalized Bank/Government of India undertaking based on a certificate that identified him/her as belonging to a Scheduled Caste(‘SC’)/Scheduled Tribe(‘ST’) in the State of Karnataka, pursuant to the State Government’s notifications, would be entitled to retain the position after the caste/tribe has been de-schedu? SC held: Appellants are entitled to protection of their services by virtue of the Government circular dated 29th March, 2003 issued by the Government of Karnataka as ratified by communication dated 17th August, 2005 issued by the Ministry of Finance. The circular dated 29th March, 2003 issued by the Government of Karnataka specifically extended protection to various castes, including those which were excluded in the earlier Government circular dated 11th March, 2002. This subsequent circular covered the castes such as Kotegara, Kotekshathriya, Koteyava, Koteyar, Ramakshathriya, Sherugara, 22 and Sarvegara, thus, ensuring that individuals of these castes, holding Scheduled Castes Certificates issued prior to de-scheduling, would be entitled to claim protection of their services albeit as unreserved candidates for all future purposes. Additionally, the communication issued by the Ministry of Finance dated 17th August, 2005 reinforced the protective umbrella to the concerned bank employees and also saved them from departmental and criminal action.

Delhi Education Rules ; Rule 46-No recognised school or an existing class in the school, except an unaided minority school, shall be closed without offering full justification and without the prior approval of the Director. (Para 18)

PMLA 2002; Section 50– When a person is in judicial custody/custody in another case investigated by the same Investigating Agency, whether the statements recordeed for a new case in which his arrest is not yet shown, and which are claimed to contain incriminating material against the maker, would be admissible under Section 50? When an accused is in custody under PMLA irrespective of the case for which he is under custody, any statement under Section 50 PMLA to the same Investigating Agency is inadmissible against the maker. The reason being that the person in custody pursuant to the proceeding investigated by the same Investigating Agency is not a person who can be considered as one operating with a free mind. It will be extremely unsafe to render such statements admissible against the maker, as such a course of action would be contrary to all canons of fair play and justice. (Para

PMLA 2002; Section 45- Even under PMLA the governing principle is that “Bail is the Rule and Jail is the Exception”- All that Section 45 of PMLA mentions is that certain conditions are to be satisfied. The principle that, “bail is the rule and jail is the exception” is only a paraphrasing of Article 21 of the Constitution of India, which states that no person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to the procedure established by law. Liberty of the individual is always a Rule and deprivation is the exception. Deprivation can only be by the procedure established by law, which has to be a valid and reasonable procedure. Section 45 of PMLA by imposing twin conditions does not re-write this principle to mean that deprivation is the norm and liberty is the exception. -All that is required is that in cases where bail is subject to the satisfaction of twin conditions, those conditions must be satisfied- Article 21 being a higher constitutional 12 right, statutory provisions should align themselves to the said higher constitutional edict. (Para 11-12) – Court while dealing with the application for grant of bail in PMLA need not delve deep into the merits of the case and only a view of the Court based on the available material available on record is required. It held that the Court is only required to place its view based on probability on the basis of reasonable material collected during investigation. The words used in Section 45 are “reasonable grounds for believing” which means that the Court has to see only if there is a genuine case against the accused and the prosecution is not required to prove the charge beyond reasonable doubt. (Para 13) In view of the importance of the three basic foundational facts that the prosecution needs to establish, the counter/response to the bail application in the original Court is very significant in PMLA bail matters. In cases where the Public Prosecutor takes a considered decision to oppose the bail application, the counter affidavit of the Investigating Agency should make out a cogent case as to how the three foundational facts set out hereinabove are prima facie established in the given case to help the Court at the bail application stage to arrive at a conclusion within the framework laid down in Vijay Madanlal Choudhary. It is only thereafter the presumption under Section 24 would arise and the burden would shift on the accused. The counter to the bail application should specifically crystallize albeit briefly the material sought to be relied upon to establish prima facie the three foundational facts. It is after the foundational facts are set out that the accused will assume the burden to convince the court within the parameters of the enquiry at the Section 45 stage that for the reasons adduced by him there are reasonable grounds to believing that he is not guilty of such offence. (Para 15)

Code Of Criminal Procedure,1973; Section 439- Courts while granting bail are required to consider relevant factors such as nature of the accusation, role ascribed to the accused concerned, possibilities/chances of tampering with the evidence and/or witnesses, antecedents, flight risk et al. (Para 19) -. In cases where the allegations coupled with the materials brought on record by the investigation and in the nature of economic offence affecting a large number of people reveal the active role of the accused seeking anticipatory or regular bail, it would be fit for the Court granting such bail to impose appropriately strict and additional conditions. (Para 25)- At the end of the day, the interests of the victims of the scam have also to be factored in.

Stridhan -Wife or woman being the sole authority in respect of ‘stridhan’ – A husband has no right, and it has to then be necessarily concluded that a father too, has no right when the daughter is alive, well, and entirely capable of making decisions such as pursuing the cause of the recovery of her ‘stridhan’. (Para 5-10)

Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961; Section 6 -Giving dowry and traditional presents at the time of the wedding does not raise a presumption that such articles are thereby entrusted to the parents in-law so as to attract the ingredients of Section 6 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961. (Para 15)

Indian Penal Code,1860; Section 406- A person should have been entrusted with property, or entrusted with dominion over property; That person should dishonestly misappropriate or convert to their own use that property, or dishonestly use or dispose of that property or wilfully suffer any other person to do so; That such misappropriation, conversion, use or disposal should be in violation of any direction of law prescribing the mode in which such trust is to be discharged, or of any legal contract which the person has made, touching the discharge of such trust- Referred to Prof. R.K. Vijayasarathy & Anr. v. Sudha Seetharam (2019) 16 SCC 739. (Para 13)

Criminal Proceedings – The object of criminal proceedings is to bring a wrongdoer to justice, and it is not a means to get revenge or seek a vendetta against persons with whom the complainant may have a grudge. (Para 17)

Pleadings-For every fact which is pleaded, there has to be evidence, either oral or documentary, to substantiate the same. A bald averment or mere statement bereft of evidentiary material to back up such averment/statement takes such case nowhere. (Para 24)

Service Law– Final seniority list of Junior Engineers set aside by High Court – Allowing appeal, SC upheld the list and observed: The blatant error committed by the Division Bench of the High Court is that upgraded Sectional Officer, Grade-I, are directed to be given seniority in the cadre of Junior Engineers from a date on which they were not even born in the cadre as it was only after 11.10.2007 upgradation order that they became Junior Engineers, which was much after the direct recruitment made on 01.05.2003.

Compassionate Appointment– Any appointment made on compassionate basis is in the nature of a permanent appointment and is not liable to be treated as temporary or contractual- But The mere fact that a person was appointed on contract basis pursuant to the application for compassionate appointment would not make his appointment to be one under Dying in Harness Rules. (Para 12-16)

Service Law -The order of termination of his services, even if on contractual basis, has been passed on account of alleged misconduct without following the Principles of Natural Justice. The termination order is apparently stigmatic in nature which could not have been passed without following the Principles of Natural Justice. (Para 19)

Code Of Criminal Procedure, 1973; Section 216,227- Section 216 is an enabling provision which enables the court to alter or add to any charge at any time before judgment is pronounced, and if any alternation or addition to a charge is made, the court has to follow the procedure as contained therein. Section 216 does not give any right to the accused to file a fresh application seeking his discharge after the charge is framed by the court, more particularly when his application seeking discharge under Section 227 has already been dismissed. Unfortunately, such applications are being filed in the trial courts sometimes in ignorance of law and sometimes deliberately to delay the proceedings. Once such applications though untenable are filed, the trial courts have no alternative but to decide them, and then again such orders would be challenged before the higher courts, and the whole criminal trial would get derailed- Such practice is highly deplorable, and if followed, should be dealt with sternly by the courts. (Para 11)

Code Of Criminal Procedure, 1973; Section 216,397– The order dismissing application seeking modification of charge would be an interlocutory order and in view of the express bar contained in sub-section (2) of Section 397 Cr.P.C., the Revision Application itself is not maintainable. (Para 8)

Code Of Criminal Procedure, 1973; Section 397-The Court exercising Revisional Jurisdiction under Section 397 should be extremely circumspect in interfering with the order framing the charge, and could not have interfered with the order passed by the Trial Court dismissing the application for modification of the charge under Section 216 Cr.P.C., which order otherwise would fall in the category of an interlocutory order – scope of interference and exercise of jurisdiction under Section 397 Cr.P.C. is extremely limited. Apart from the fact that subsection 2 of Section 397 prohibits the Court from exercising the powers of Revision, even the powers under sub-section 1 thereof should be exercised very sparingly and only where the decision under challenge is grossly erroneous, or there is non-compliance of the provisions of law, or the finding recorded by the trial court is based on no evidence, or material evidence is ignored or judicial discretion is exercised arbitrarily or perversely by framing the charge. (Para 10)

Consumer Protection Act,1986 -The application(s) seeking condonation of delay preferred before the consumer fora prior to 04.03.2020 i.e., the date of pronouncement of New India Assurance Co. Ltd. v. Hilli Multipurpose Cold Storage (P) Ltd., (2020) 5 SCC 757 , must be decided on merits; and ought not to be summarily dismissed – Referred to Diamond Exports v. United India Insurance Co. Ltd., (2022) 4 SCC 169. (Para 4)

Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 -Madhya Pradesh Madhyastham Adhikaran Adhiniyam, 1983 – In this case, the award has been set aside only on the ground that the appellant ought to have invoked the provisions of the 1983 Act – Allowing appeal, SC observed: this is a fit case to exercise jurisdiction under Article 142 of the Constitution of India to ensure that complete justice is done. Therefore, by setting aside the impugned judgment, the appeal under Section 37 of the Arbitration Act will have to be restored with a request to the High Court to decide the same on merits- it will be unjust to set aside the award only on the ground of the failure of the appellant to take recourse to the 1983 Act. In fact, the appellant had taken recourse to the 1983 Act before seeking the appointment of an Arbitrator.

Code of Civil Procedure,1908; Section 100 & Order XLI- A Court cannot create any new case at the appellate stage for either of the parties, and the appellate court is supposed to decide the issues involved in the suit based on the pleadings of the parties. (Para 14)

Constitution of India, 1950; Article 21- Speedy Trial – Howsoever serious a crime may be, an accused has a right to speedy trial as enshrined under the Constitution of India- If the State or any prosecuting agency including the court concerned has no wherewithal to provide or protect the fundamental right of an accused to have a speedy trial as enshrined under Article 21 of the Constitution then the State or any other prosecuting agency should not oppose the plea for bail on the ground that the crime committed is serious. Article 21 of the Constitution applies irrespective of the nature of the crime- The over-arching postulate of criminal jurisprudence that an accused is presumed to be innocent until proven guilty cannot be brushed aside lightly, howsoever stringent the penal law may be. (Para 8-20)

Criminals – Criminals are not born out but made. The human potential in everyone is good and so, never write off any criminal as beyond redemption. This humanist fundamental is often missed when dealing with delinquents, juvenile and adult. Indeed, every saint has a past and every sinner a future. When a crime is committed, a variety of factors is responsible for making the offender commit the crime. Those factors may be social and economic, may be, the result of value erosion or parental neglect; may be, because of the stress of circumstances, or the manifestation of temptations in a milieu of affluence contrasted with indigence or other privations. (Para 18)

Citizenship Act, 1955; Section 7A- Iranian citizen (Wife) and is married to Indian Citizen (Husband) – She applied for Overseas Citizen of India(OCI) Card – Official insisted on the physical/virtual presence of her estranged spouse, who is admittedly an Indian citizen, for the purpose of processing her OCI card application – Allowing her writ petition, Delhi HC directed the Union of India to accept her Overseas Citizen of India(OCI) Card without the presence of her spouse as it is not mandatory u/Clause 21.2.5(vi) of Chapter 21 of the Visa Manual for personal interview to be conducted for the spouse by the Indian Mission/Post/FRRO- Issue in appeal before the Supreme Court was whether the presence of the estranged husband is mandatory to process an application for Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) Card, under Section 7-A of the Citizenship Act, 1955? SC held as follows: The Central Government is empowered to register the foreign spouse of a citizen of India as an OCI holder “subject to such conditions, restrictions and manner as may be prescribed, on an application made in this behalf”- Section 7A(1) specifically notes that the registration of OCI Card by the Central Government is ‘subject to such conditions, restrictions and manner as may be prescribed’. Therefore, the Act clearly allows for supplementary procedures, such as an interview as specified in the Visa Manual as well as the Checklist – The presence of the spouse of the applicant either physically or through the virtual mode is mandatory for effective consideration of the application for an OCI Card – In a case of estrangement, the applicant would fall under the category of a ‘special circumstance’ as the rules are silent for such a category – The present order will not come in the way of the Central Government to consider if any special circumstances exists for consideration of the respondent’s application.

Constitution of India,1950; Article 234,309 -Can executive instructions in the form of a resolution of the Full Court override statutory rules made under Article 234/309? Executive instructions cannot override statutory Rules where the method of final selection by combining the cumulative grade value obtained in the written and the viva voce examinations is specified categorically. (Para 26)

Legitimate Expectation – An individual who claims a benefit or entitlement based on the doctrine of legitimate expectation has to establish : (i) the legitimacy of the expectation; and (ii) that the denial of the legitimate expectation led to a violation of Article 14. (Para 28)

Income Tax Act,1961- Section 80DD – Finance Act, 2022 – Deduction in respect of maintenance including medical treatment of a dependent who is a person with disability.–On attaining the age of 60 years or more by an individual subscriber or a member of an HUF, the payment or deposit to the scheme envisaged under Section 80DD can be discontinued and the monetary benefit which would have accumulated can be made use of -We do not think that the plea for retrospective operation of the amendment is in the interest of the disabled persons nor can this Court give a retrospective operation to the amendment. This is particularly having regard to the fact that an insurance contract is in a sense, a commercial contract, having certain terms and conditions and the sub-stratum of the contract cannot be removed by giving a retrospective operation to the amendment. (Para 8)