Weekly Overview| Supreme Court Judgments: Mar 13 – Mar 17, 2023
1) Appointment of District Judges| Only 10% seats can be filled by limited departmental competitive examination
The Court in an appeal relating to the appointment of District Judges said that only 10% of seats are to be filled up by a limited departmental competitive examination. The Court was dealing with a matter wherein the Madhya Pradesh High Court had exceeded the quota and filled up the posts in the higher judiciary beyond the 10% quota.
The Bench decided the appeal by relying upon its judgment in the case of All India Judges’ Association and others v. Union of India and others (2010) 15 SCC 170.
Cause Title- Rajendra Kumar Shrivas v. State of Madhya Pradesh and Others
Date of Judgment- March 13, 2023
Coram-Justice M.R. Shah and Justice C.T. Ravikumar
2) Karnataka VAT: Burden of proving correctness of Input Tax Credit remains upon dealer claiming same- SC restores AO’s order
The Court restored the order passed by the Assessing Officer (AO) observing that the burden of proving the correctness of the Input Tax Credit (ITC) remains upon the dealer claiming the same under the Karnataka Value Added Tax Act, 2003.
The Court observed that such a burden of proof cannot get shifted on the revenue and that mere production of the invoices or the payment made by cheques is not enough and cannot be said to be discharging the burden of proof cast under section 70 of the KVAT Act.
Cause Title- The State of Karnataka v. M/s Ecom Gill Coffee Trading Private Limited
Date of Judgment- March 13, 2023
Coram- Justice M.R. Shah and Justice C.T. Ravikumar
3) Article 226(2): Facts that aren’t relevant for grant of prayer won’t give rise to cause of action conferring jurisdiction on Court
The Court while explaining guiding tests with regard to Article 226(2) of the Constitution has held that the facts which are not relevant for the grant of prayer would not give rise to a cause of action conferring jurisdiction on the Court.
The Court in a matter said that merely because the petitioning company has its office in Gangtok, Sikkim, the same by itself does not form an integral part of the cause of action authorizing the company to move the High Court. The Bench relied upon the case of National Textile Corporation Ltd. vs. Haribox Swalram (2004) 9 SCC 786 while explaining the tests for the cause of action.
Cause Title- The State of Goa v. Summit Online Trade Solutions (P) Ltd. & Ors.
Date of Judgment- March 14, 2023
Coram- Justice S. Ravindra Bhat and Justice Dipankar Datta
4) Wills cannot be proved based on their age, presumption u/s. 90 of Evidence Act in terms of regularity of documents is inapplicable
The Court held that wills cannot be proved based only on their age and that the presumption under Section 90 of the Evidence Act, 1872 as to the regularity of documents is inapplicable.
The Bench while dealing with an appeal noted that in the event where attesting witnesses may have died, or cannot be found, the propounder is not helpless, as Section 69 of the Evidence Act is applicable.
Cause Title- Ashutosh Samanta (D) by LRS. & Ors. v. Ranjan Bala Dasi & Ors.
Date of Judgment- March 14, 2023
Coram- Justice S. Ravindra Bhat and Justice Hima Kohli
5) If the right of redemption is not extinguished, order IX Rule 9 of CPC will not debar mortgagor from filing a second suit
The Court held that if the right of redemption is not extinguished, the provision of Order IX Rule 9 of the Code of Civil Procedure will not debar the mortgagor from filing a second suit. Order IX Rule 9 of the CPC provides that when the suit is wholly or partially dismissed under Rule 8 (dismissed for default) the Plaintiffs shall be precluded from bringing in a fresh suit, in respect of the same cause of action.
The Court noted that unless the equity of redemption is so extinguished, a second suit for redemption by the mortgagor, if filed within the period of limitation, is not barred.
Cause Title- Ganesh Prasad v. Rajeshwar Prasad & Ors.
Date of Judgment- March 14, 2023
Coram- Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia and Justice J.B. Pardiwala
6) Supreme Court orders installation of vapour recovery system at retail petroleum outlets
The Court directed the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to ensure that all the retail petroleum outlets in cities having population of more than 10 lakh and having turnover of more than 300 KL/Month shall install the Vapour Recovery System (VRS). The Court directed that the VRS mechanism shall be installed within the fresh timeline as prescribed in CPCB’s Circular dated June 04, 2021.
The Court ordered this while dealing with a batch of appeals filed by Oil marketing companies against the Order passed by the National Green Tribunal in 2021.
Cause Title- M/s Indian Oil Corporation Limited v. V.B.R. Menon & Others
Date of Judgment- March 14, 2023
Coram- Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia and Justice J.B. Pardiwala
7) Extra-Judicial confession acquires credibility if it corroborates with other evidence on record
The Court set aside the conviction of a man accused of murder and observed that the Court has to be satisfied with the reliability of the extra-judicial confession keeping in view the circumstances in which it was made and it acquires credibility if it was corroborated by other evidence on record.
The Apex Court noted that extra judicial confession was made before PW-7 to PW-9 but none of the witnesses, who supported the prosecution, had stated that the relationship between the appellant and them was such that the appellant had implicit faith and, therefore, he confided with them.
Cause Title- Pawan Kumar Chourasia v. State of Bihar
Date of Judgment- March 14, 2023
Coram- Justice Abhay S. Oka and Justice Rajesh Bindal
8) IBC| Exclusion from definition of assets owned by third-party but in possession of corporate debtor is limited to Section 18
In this case, the dispute was a triangular fight between the ostensible owner of a piece of land (Energy Properties), the Corporate Debtor who actually financed the purchase of the said property, and a party to whom a portion of the land was given under a Leave and License Agreement but claimed to be in possession of the entire land (Victory).
The Court specified that under the IBC, the exclusion of assets owned by a third-party, but in the possession of the Corporate Debtor held under contractual arrangements, from the definition of the expression “assets”, is limited to Section 18. In other words, the Explanation under Section 18 does not extend to Section 25.
Cause Title- Victory Iron Works Ltd. v. Jitendra Lohia & Anr.
Date of Judgment- March 14, 2023
Coram- Justice V Ramasubramanian and Justice Pankaj Mithal
9) Once an area is urbanised under Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, such land ceases to be governed by Delhi Land Reforms Act
The Court observed that once an area has been urbanized by virtue of notification under the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957 the land ceased to be governed by the provisions of the Delhi Land Reforms Act, 1954 in sequel thereto. The Court further directed the appellants to hand over the physical possession of the land to the respondents, who was undisputedly the title holder and was denied the right to enjoy the property for the last 32 years.
The issue dealt with by the Court was that once the rural area was urbanized by issuance of notification under the Act 1957, what would be the effect to the provisions of the Act, 1954 in sequel thereto. After considering the relevant provisions, the Apex Court noted that once there was a notification issued by the competent authority in the exercise of power under Section 507(a) of the 1957 Act that if the Gaon Sabha ceased to be included in rural areas, the jurisdiction of the Gaon Sabha for that area was ceased.
Cause Title- Mohinder Singh (Dead) through LRs. & Anr. v. Narain Singh and Ors.
Date of Judgment- March 14, 2023
Coram- Justice Ajay Rastogi, Justice C.T. Ravikumar, and Justice Bela M. Trivedi
10) Conviction of accused purely based on oral testimony of interested witnesses without sufficient corroboration is unsustainable
The Court acquitted three murder accused while observing that the conviction of the accused purely on the basis of oral testimony of the interested witnesses, without sufficient corroboration, would not be sustainable.
It noted that in the category of “wholly reliable” witness, there is no difficulty for the prosecution to press for conviction and likewise in case of “wholly unreliable” witness, there is no difficulty, inasmuch as no conviction could be made.
Cause Title- Nand Lal & Others v. The State Of Chhattisgarh
Date of Judgment- March 14, 2023
Coram- Justice B.R. Gavai, Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sanjay Karol
11) Diversion of gas to another generating stations of electricity board cannot be ground to seek compensation when there is no provision
The Court affirmed the decision of the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity and held that the Electricity Board would not indemnify as there was no provision in the amended Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for compensation of full fixed charges and the actual variable charges in respect of short supply of energy.
In this case, the claim of the appellant relating to the unpaid fixed charges of Rs. 18.06 crores under Combined Cycle Operation as well as the claim of underpaid variable charges of Rs. 12.77 crores under Combined Cycle Operation were rejected. Against the order of Regulatory Committee, the appellant preferred an appeal before, the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity which was dismissed. Assailing the order of Appellate Tribunal, the appellant approached the Apex Court by preferring an appeal under Section 125 of the Act.
Cause Title- M/s Penna Electricity Limited (Now M/s Pioneer Power Limited) v. The Tamil Nadu Electricity Board & Ors.
Date of Judgment- March 15, 2023
Coram- Justice Ajay Rastogi and Justice C.T. Ravikumar
12) Extinguishment of debt under IBC will not lead to discharge of criminal charges under Section 138 NI Act
The Court said that the extinguishment of debt under the IBC would not lead to the discharge of criminal proceedings under the Negotiable Instruments Act.
It observed that where the proceedings under Section 138 of the NI Act had already commenced and during the pendency the plan is approved or the company gets dissolved, the directors and the other accused cannot escape from their liability by citing its dissolution.
Cause Title- Ajay Kumar Radheshyam Goenka vs Tourism Finance Corporation of India Ltd.
Date of Judgment- March 15, 2023
Coram- Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Justice Abhay S Oka and Justice JB Pardiwala
13) Assessee cannot claim assessment orders are unenforceable when he deliberately chooses to be quiet about non-issuance of it
The Court held that when the assessee deliberately chooses to keep quiet, even when it could have raised a grievance about not providing copies of assessment orders, cannot now claim that the assessment orders were unenforceable.
The Apex Court noted that when the appellant had filed a writ petition and complained about the Canara Bank’s proposal to auction the assessee’s properties, the assessee was impleaded as a party. There were specific averments about the assessment orders having become final. But the assessee never raised any contentions.
Cause Title- The Commercial Tax Officers & Ors. V. Neeraja Pipes Pvt. Ltd.
Date of Judgment- March 15, 2023
Coram- Justice S. Ravindra Bhat and Justice Dipankar Datta
14) Correctness of last seen theory is doubtful: supreme court acquits man convicted in a murder case
The Court in an appeal acquitted a man in a murder case on the ground that the correctness of the last-seen theory is doubtful. The accused was convicted under Section 302 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code.
In this case, the appellant along with the other accused was convicted of having committed the murder of a person and was sentenced to suffer imprisonment for life besides imposing a fine of Rs.500/- and in default of payment of the fine, to suffer rigorous imprisonment for one month each. Thereafter, the High Court confirmed the conviction and sentence imposed by the Trial Court.
Cause Title- Shankar v. The State of Maharashtra
Date of Judgment- March 15, 2023
Coram- Justice Ajay Rastogi and Justice C.T. Ravikumar
15) When small quantity of medicine is found in premises of medical practitioner, it won’t amount to sale in open shop
The Court while deciding an appeal held that when small quantity of medicine has been found in the premises of a registered medical practitioner, it would not amount to selling the medicines across the counter in an open shop.
The Bench was dealing with a matter in which the charge against the appellant was that she had ‘stocked’ medicines for sale.
Cause Title- S. Athilakshmi v. The State
Date of Judgment- March 15, 2023
Coram- Justice Krishna Murari and Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia
16) Govt resolutions issued by administrative department can't have status of statutory rule although such resolutions may have their own effect
The Court observed that the government resolutions issued by the administrative department cannot have the status of the statutory rule although such resolutions may have their own effect. The Court made this observation while dealing with a dispute arising between direct recruits and promotees qua their inter se seniority.
The Court noted that in service jurisprudence, the service rules are liable to prevail. There can be Government resolutions being in consonance with or expounding the rules, but not in conflict with the same.
Cause Title- Ashok Ram Parhad & Ors v. The State Of Maharashtra & Ors.
Date of Judgment- March 15, 2023
Coram- Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice Abhay S. Oka
17) Bhopal Gas Tragedy: Claim for ‘top up’ has no foundations in any known legal principle- SC while dismissing centre’s curative petition
The Court dismissed the curative petition filed by the Centre regarding compensation to the victims of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy case saying that its claim for a ‘top up’ has no foundations in any known legal principle. The Centre had sought additional funds from Union Carbide Corporation’s (UCC) successor firms to grant higher compensation to the victims of the said 1984 tragedy.
The Bench said that it is dissatisfied with the Union being unable to furnish any rationale for raking up this issue more than two decades after the incident.
Cause Title- Union of India & Ors. v. M/s. Union Carbide Corporation & Ors.
Date of Judgment- March 14, 2023
Coram- Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Justice Sanjiv Khanna, Justice Abhay S. Oka, Justice Vikram Nath, and Justice J.K. Maheshwari
18) Circumstances do not conclusively establish guilt of the accused- SC acquits murder accused
The Court while acquitting a man in a murder case has held that the presumption of innocence remains in favour of the accused unless his guilt is proven beyond all reasonable doubts against him.
The Bench said that it steps in only in exceptional cases or where gross errors are committed, overlooking crying circumstances and well-established principles of criminal jurisprudence leading to miscarriage of justice.
Cause Title- Pradeep Kumar v. State of Chhattisgarh
Date of Judgment- March 16, 2023
Coram- Justice B.R. Gavai and Justice Sanjay Karol
19) Murder Case- Supreme Court upholds conviction of 8 men based on the testimony of solitary witness
The Court upheld the conviction of eight men in a case of murder, while reiterating that a witness being a close relative is not a ground enough to reject his testimony. In that context, it was said that "Mechanical rejection of an even “partisan” or “interested” witness may lead to failure of justice. The principle of “falsus in uno, falsus in omnibus” is not one of general application."
The point of consideration that arose before the Supreme Court was whether, based on the testimony of a solitary witness, eight men could be allowed to suffer incarceration for life.
Cause Title- Ravasaheb @ Ravasahebgouda Etc. vs State of Karnataka
Date of Judgment- March 16, 2023
Coram- Justice BR Gavai, Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sanjay Karol
20) Permanent & complete address of workman is necessary for effective relief in labour disputes
The Court held that effective relief could be granted to a worker under the Labour Laws only if the permanent and complete address of the workman was furnished in the pleadings for effective service of the notices.
In this case, Labour Court had directed reinstatement of the respondent with continuity of service from 1997 with full back wages. On perusal of the record, the Apex Court noted that various efforts made by the Court to serve notice to the respondent effectively were all in vain as the respondent had not furnished his own permanent address, but his address was through some Union.
Cause Title- M/s. Creative Garments Ltd. v. Kashiram Verma
Date of Judgment- March 16, 2023
Coram- Justice Abhay S. Oka and Justice Rajesh Bindal
21) No finality can be attached to Kerala HC’s observations regarding temporal & spiritual affairs of churches
The Court while dismissing an appeal along with a batch of Special Leave Petitions (SLPs) observed that no finality can be attached to the observations made by the Kerala High Court with regard to the temporal and spiritual affairs of the Churches.
The appellant being the head of Syro Malabar Church was Cardinal Mar George Alencherry (Archbishop) who had challenged the judgment passed by the Kerala High Court.
Cause Title- Cardinal Mar George Alencherry v. State of Kerala & Anr.
Date of Judgment- March 17, 2023
Coram- Justice Dinesh Maheshwari and Justice Bela M. Trivedi
22) Right to pensionary benefits is a constitutional right, cannot be taken away without proper justification
The Court while placing reliance on the case of State Of Jharkhand & Ors. vs Jitendra Kumar Srivastava & Anr. has reiterated that the right to pensionary benefits is a constitutional right and as such cannot be taken away without proper justification.
The Court also held that any person, whose entire identity, and their past, present and future rights are challenged, must at the least be given an opportunity to be fairly heard. It added that in the case at hand, however, such a right has been denied to the Appellant, by not allowing the Appellant an opportunity to be heard, the principle of “Audi Alteram Partem”, a principle of natural justice has also been violated.
Cause Title- R Sundaram V. The Tamil Nadu State Level Scrutiny Committee & Ors.
Date of Judgment- March 17, 2023
Coram- Justice Aniruddha Bose, and Mr. Justice Krishna Murari
23) Should a judgment be reviewed because it followed a precedent that was later overruled? - SC issues split verdict
The Court issued a split verdict on whether a judgment should be reviewed because it followed a precedent that was later overruled. Justice MR shah allowed the review petitions, while Justice BV Nagarathna observed that they were not maintainable and were liable to be dismissed.
In this case, the issue for consideration before the Supreme Court was whether a Judgment should be reviewed because it followed a precedent that was later overruled. The Bench was dealing with the applications preferred by the Government of NCT of Delhi and Delhi Development Authority to review and recall the orders passed in the respective Civil Appeals in dismissing/disposing of the same and to restore the same to their original files to consider the same on merits.
Cause Title- Govt. of NCT of Delhi Through the Secretary, Land and Building Department & Another v. M/s. K.L. Rathi Steels Limited and others
Date of Judgment- March 17, 2023
Coram- Justice MR Shah and Justice BV Nagarathna
24) Subsequent addition of serious offence in FIR can be a ground for cancellation of bail
The Court reiterated that the subsequent addition of a serious offence to the FIR can be a circumstance where the Court could cancel the bail already granted by it and further has set aside the bail granted to a man by the Bombay High Court in a ‘casting couch’ case.
In this case, the appeal was preferred by victim, a model by profession, who had claimed to have been exposed to the horrors of the notorious casting couch syndrome and had alleged that the accused, a businessman, raped her after luring her under garb of offering her modelling assignments.
Cause Title- Ms X v. State of Maharashtra
Date of Judgment- March 17, 2023
Coram- Justice A.S. Bopanna and Justice Hima Kohli
25) PC Act- Every demand made for payment of money is not a demand for gratification, it has to be more than mere demand
The Court observed that every demand made for payment of money is not a demand for gratification. The Court added that in order to infer that the demand was made for gratification, it has to be something more than mere demand for money.
The Court made this observation while setting aside the conviction and sentence imposed on the appellant for the offences punishable under Section 7 and clauses (i) and (ii) of Section13(1)(d) read with Section 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
Cause Title- Neeraj Dutta v. State (Govt. of N.C.T. of Delhi)
Date of Judgment- March 17, 2023
Coram- Justice Abhay S. Oka and Justice Rajesh Bindal
26) Minority educational institutions cannot claim immunity from regulatory function of admission & fee regulatory committee
The Court held that a minority educational institution cannot claim complete immunity from the regulatory function discharged by the Admission and Fee Regulatory Committee (AFRC) by claiming protection under Article 30(1) of the Constitution of India as a right under it is not absolute.
In this case, the appellant had raised a challenge to the provisions of the Madhya Pradesh Niji Vyavsayik Shikshan Sanstha (Pravesh Ka Viniyaman Avam Shulk Ka Nirdharan) Adhiniyam, 2007 (the Act of 2007) which empowered the AFRC to scrutinize the fees proposed by a minority educational institution.
Cause Title- Icon Education Society v. State of Madhya Pradesh & Ors.
Date of Judgment- March 17, 2023
Coram- Justice Dinesh Maheshwari and Justice Sanjay Kumar
27) Merely making a prayer contrary to existing provision in statute does not carry in itself a challenge to provision
The Court in an appeal preferred by the State of Orissa has recently held that merely making a prayer contrary to the existing provision in the statute does not carry in itself a challenge to the provision. The Court was dealing with a matter relating to the Orissa Khadi and Village Industries Board Act, 1955.
In this case, an appeal was directed against the judgment and order passed by the Division Bench of the Orissa High Court whereby it dismissed the intra-court appeal filed by the State and affirmed the order passed by the Single Judge of the High Court, holding the employees of the Orissa Khadi and Village Industries Board entitled to a pension at par with the Government employees and also directing the State Government to amend the applicable regulations accordingly.
Cause Title- State of Orissa & Anr. v. Orissa Khadi and Village Industries Board Karmachari Sangh & Anr.
Date of Judgment- March 17, 2023
Coram- Justice Dinesh Maheshwari and Justice Sanjay Kumar
28) No reason to convert freehold rights to leasehold rights when land has already been leased
The Court observed that when the land has already been leased, there is no reason to convert the leasehold rights into freehold rights.
In this case, various persons were allotted commercial spaces in a mall and commercial tower by the petitioner-company and its directors but, in due course of time, several FIRs were registered against them, alleging fraud, failure to give assured returns, non-completion of the project on time, and siphoning of money and using it for advertising and procuring other projects.
Cause Title- Bhasin Infotech and Infrastructure Private Limited v. State of Uttar Pradesh & Anr.
Date of Judgment- March 17, 2023
Coram- Justice Dinesh Maheshwari and Justice JK Maheshwari
29) Inter-Se Seniority Of primary teachers appointed by zila parishad will be determined u/s. 439 of MMC Act
The Court observed that inter-se seniority of the appellant- the primary teachers who were appointed in the Zila Parishad and were later on absorbed into Pune Municipal Corporation would be determined under Section 439 read with Clause (5) of Appendix IV of the Maharashtra Municipal Corporation Act, 1949 (MMC Act).
The Apex Court noted that the purpose of Section 3(3)(b) of the MMC Act was to ensure that any statutory or administrative decision which had already been enforced by a Municipal Corporation in its existing larger urban area should stay in force and would become applicable automatically in the newly added area also and the expression ‘appointments’ must be understood in this context only.
Cause Title- Maharashtra Rajya Padvidhar Prathamik Shikshak Va Kendra Pramukh Sabha v. Pune Municipal Corporation and Ors.
Date of Judgment- March 17, 2023
Coram- Justice Surya Kant and Justice J.K. Maheshwari
30) Public prosecutor has to apply his mind independently to form view for withdrawal of prosecution with consent of court
The Court observed that with a view to helping the main accused, the State of West Bengal took a complete u-turn to the extent of resorting to its powers under Section 321 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC) and withdrawing the prosecution.
As some of the apprehensions raised by the petitioners were genuine the Court ordered to transfer the case from Additional Sessions Judge to the Court of City Sessions Court with a direction to complete the trial within six months.
Cause Title- Afjal Ali Sha @ Abjal Shaukat Sha v. State of West Bengal & Ors.
Date of Judgment- March 17, 2023
Coram- Justice Surya Kant and Justice J.K. Maheshwari
31) Ownership of wildlife animal article shall vest in government if declaration of ownership is not made within time
The Court while affirming the view taken by the Division Bench of Kerela High Court has held that, if a person holding/owning wildlife stock has failed to make any application within the stipulated time to declare the wildlife stock, then the ownership of such wildlife animal article shall vest in the government/forest department.
The petitioner had filed an application/declaration on May 25, 2011, which was beyond the stipulated time in respect of the deer horn found in her house wherein the stipulated time mentioned in Rule 4(2) of Wild Life Stock Rules, 2003 was of 180 days to file the application/declaration expired on October 18, 2003, which resulted in the authorised authority refusing to issue ownership certificate in respect of the deer horn found from her house.
Cause Title- Vishalakshi Amma V. The State Of Kerala & Ors.
Date of Judgment- March 17, 2023
Coram- Justice M.R. Shah of which Justice Manoj Misra
32) SC upholds order directing payment of duty call-up allowance to home guards in Orissa at Rs.533 per day
The Court upheld the Order passed by the Single Judge as confirmed by the Division Bench directing to pay to the Home Guards in Orissa, Duty CallUp Allowance at Rs.533/ per day. The Court clarified that the arrears at the rate of Rs.533/ per day shall be paid from June 2018 instead of January 2020 as was directed by the Division Bench.
On the appeals preferred by the original writ petitioners against Order restricting the benefit of DCA at Rs.533/ per day from January, 2020, the Court noted that no cogent reasons have been assigned by the Division Bench of the High Court to restrict the benefit.
Cause Title- Prakash Kumar Jena & Ors v. The State Of Odisha & Ors.
Date of Judgment- March 17, 2023
Coram- Justice M. R. Shah and Justice M.M. Sundresh
33) Arbitrator can award pendente lite interest unless there is a specific bar under contract
The Court reiterated that unless there is a specific bar under the contract, it is always open for the Arbitrator to award pendente lite interest in view of Section 31(7) (a) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (Act).
The Court further has set aside the order passed by the Delhi High Court for exceeding its jurisdiction under Section 34 of the Act.
Cause Title- Indian Railway Construction Company Limited v. M/s National Buildings Construction Corporation Limited
Date of Judgment- March 17, 2023
Coram- Justice M. R. Shah and Justice M.M. Sundresh
34) Land Acquisition Act| There won’t be any deemed lapse u/s. 24(2) on ground that amount of compensation wasn’t paid
The Court while dealing with a batch of appeals has held that there shall not be any deemed lapse under Section 24(2) of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 (2013 Act) on the ground that the amount of compensation was not paid.
The Bench while referring to the case of Indore Development Authority v. Manoharlal and Ors. (2020) 8 SCC 129 reiterated that taking over the possession of the land by drawing panchnama is legally permissible and can be said to be taking over the possession legally.
Cause Title- State of Gujarat & Ors. v. Jayantibhai Ishwarbhai Patel
Date of Judgment- March 17, 2023
Coram- Justice M. R. Shah and Justice Manoj Misra
35) SICA| Rehabilitation scheme binding on all creditors including unsecured creditors, dues cannot be recovered after revival
The Court observed that the rehabilitation scheme under the Sick Industrial Companies Act of 1985 shall be binding on all creditors, including unsecured creditors. It was further clarified that the dues cannot be recovered after the revival of the said sick company.
The issue for consideration before the Supreme Court was whether, on approval of a scheme by the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR) under the Sick Industrial Companies (Special Provisions) Act, 1985, an unsecured creditor has the option not to accept the scaled-down value of its dues, and to wait till the scheme for rehabilitation of the respondent-sick company has worked itself out, with an option to recover the debt with interest post such rehabilitation.
Cause Title- Modi Rubber Limited v. Continental Carbon India Ltd.
Date of Judgment- March 17, 2023
Coram- Justice M. R. Shah and Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia
36) Doubt & suspicion cannot form basis of guilt: SC sets aside conviction & sentence imposed on man accused of murdering his wife
The Court set aside the order of conviction and sentence of life imprisonment imposed on a man who was accused of murdering his wife and dumping her dead body in the well. It observed that the Courts below presumptively, proceeded with the acquired assumption of the guilt of the accused.
In this case, the prosecution had alleged that the accused had committed the murder of his wife and thereafter dumped her dead body in the well of the village with an intent to cause disappearance of the evidence related to the crime. Later, the accused approached the Police with unclean hands by fabricating a false story, wherein he reported his wife to be ‘missing’.
Cause Title- Guna Mahto v. State of Jharkhand
Date of Judgment- March 16, 2023
Coram- Justice B.R. Gavai and Justice Sanjay Karol
37) Entire necessity for holding TIP can arise only when the accused are not previously known to witnesses
The Court reiterated that the entire necessity for holding a Test Identification Parade can arise only when the accused are not previously known to the witnesses.
The Court noted that the whole idea of a test identification parade is that witnesses who claim to have seen the culprits at the time of occurrence are to identify them from the midst of other persons without any aid or any other source.
Cause Title- Udayakumar v. State of Tamil Nadu
Date of Judgment- March 16, 2023
Coram- Justice B.R. Gavai and Justice Sanjay Karol
38) None of the courts below referred to basic principles of criminal jurisprudence while convicting: SC acquits murder accused
The Court while acquitting a murder accused observed that the Courts must refrain from committing such grave errors in the future, whereby innocent people are made to suffer incarceration for over a period of nearly two decades, without proper appreciation of evidence.
In this case, the Court noted that none of the courts below referred to the basic principles of criminal jurisprudence while convicting the appellant-accused.
Cause Title- Narendrasinh Keshubhai Zala v. State of Gujarat
Date of Judgment- March 16, 2023
Coram- Justice BR Gavai, Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sanjay Karol
