Tag: Article 142

Breaking: Supreme Court Invokes Article 142 to Quash Rape Case After Accused and Prosecutrix Marry
3Mar By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

Breaking: Supreme Court Invokes Article 142 to Quash Rape Case After Accused and Prosecutrix Marry

In this judgment, the Supreme Court exercised its plenary power under Article 142 of the Constitution to quash an entire criminal proceeding, including the conviction and sentence, to secure complete justice. The Court reasoned that since the parties had married and were residing together, continuing the prosecution would be counterproductive. Consequently, the pending appeal before the High Court was rendered infructuous. Facts Of The Case: The appellant and the prosecutrix first connected in 2015 through a social media platform, where they developed a mutual fondness for each other. This relationship eventually progressed into a consensual physical relationship, which the prosecutrix later claimed was based on the appellant's alleged false promise of marriage. When the appellant sought...
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Supreme Court Clarifies: No Fresh SLP Allowed After Unconditional Withdrawal of Earlier Petition
27Feb By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

Supreme Court Clarifies: No Fresh SLP Allowed After Unconditional Withdrawal of Earlier Petition

The Supreme Court held that a second Special Leave Petition challenging the same judgment is not maintainable after an earlier SLP was dismissed and a subsequent recall petition was withdrawn without liberty to approach the Court again. The principle of finality in litigation bars re-agitating the same issue inter-partes, even if questions of law are kept open. Facts Of The Case: The litigation originated from a judgment dated May 15, 2012, passed by a learned Single Judge of the Himachal Pradesh High Court in CWP No.1679/2010, concerning pensionary benefits payable by the Kangra Central Cooperative Bank Limited to its retirees. This judgment was subsequently upheld by a Division Bench of the High Court on February 26, 2024, in LPA No.316/2012. The Bank challenged this Division Ben...
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Supreme Court Converts Life Imprisonment to 25 Years in POCSO Matter: Here’s Why the Court Showed Leniency
12Feb By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

Supreme Court Converts Life Imprisonment to 25 Years in POCSO Matter: Here’s Why the Court Showed Leniency

The Supreme Court partially allowed the appeal, upholding the conviction under Section 376(3) IPC and Section 6 of the POCSO Act. Exercising its sentencing power, the Court commuted the sentence of life imprisonment until natural death to a fixed term of 25 years of actual imprisonment without the benefit of remission, citing the appellant's age, clean antecedents, and satisfactory jail conduct. Facts Of The Case: The case originated from FIR No. 08/2022, registered on 04.05.2022, against the appellant, Deepankar Tikedar. The allegations pertained to the commission of sexual offences against a minor girl, who was reportedly between 15 to 16 years of age at the time of the incident. The appellant was subsequently tried and convicted by the Trial Court under Section 376(3) of the Indian Pe...
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Direct Recruits vs. Promotees: Supreme Court Lays Down Seniority Rules for Higher Judiciary
7Feb By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

Direct Recruits vs. Promotees: Supreme Court Lays Down Seniority Rules for Higher Judiciary

The Supreme Court, exercising its powers under Article 142, upheld the principle that upon entry into the Higher Judicial Service, officers from different recruitment sources lose their "birthmark." It mandated a uniform 4-point annual roster system for determining seniority, based on merit-cum-seniority within the cadre, and rejected preferential treatment based on prior service in lower judicial ranks. Facts Of The Case: The case originated from an interlocutory application filed in the long-pending All India Judges Association writ petition. The application, brought by the Amicus Curiae, highlighted a recurring dispute regarding the criteria for determining inter se seniority among three categories of officers within the Higher Judicial Services (HJS): Regular Promotees (RPs), those p...
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From Death Row to Freedom: The Supreme Court’s Historic Curative Verdict in the Nithari Case
2Feb By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

From Death Row to Freedom: The Supreme Court’s Historic Curative Verdict in the Nithari Case

Supreme Court Says this curative petition was allowed due to irreconcilable outcomes on an identical evidentiary foundation, violating Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution. The Court found the Section 164 CrPC confession involuntary and Section 27 recoveries inadmissible, structural infirmities fatal to the conviction. The earlier judgment was set aside to cure a gross miscarriage of justice. Facts Of The Case: The case involves petitioner Surendra Koli, who was employed as a domestic help in Noida's Nithari area. Between 2005 and 2006, multiple women and children were reported missing. On December 29, 2006, human remains were discovered in the open area behind the house where Koli worked, leading to his arrest. He was convicted and sentenced to death in 2009 for the murder...
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How a Medical “Margin of Error” Freed a Convict: A Supreme Court Case Study
16Jan By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

How a Medical “Margin of Error” Freed a Convict: A Supreme Court Case Study

The Supreme Court applied the legal principle from Jaya Mala that medical ossification tests for age determination carry a margin of error of ±2 years. Granting this benefit, one appellant was declared a juvenile at the time of offence and released. For other aged convicts, the Court exercised its sentencing power under Article 142 to commute life imprisonment to a fixed 14-year term, considering the case's 35-year pendency. Facts Of The Case: The case originates from an incident dated August 30, 1988, where eight accused persons were tried for offenses including murder (Sections 302/149 IPC) and voluntarily causing hurt (Sections 323/149 IPC). The Trial Court convicted all eight and sentenced them to rigorous imprisonment for life. Their appeal to the High Court was dismisse...
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Supreme Court Quashes Conviction in POCSO Case After Marriage to Victim
6Jan By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

Supreme Court Quashes Conviction in POCSO Case After Marriage to Victim

The Supreme Court invoked Article 142 to quash the appellant's conviction under POCSO and IPC, balancing societal deterrence with familial rehabilitation. The ruling prioritized "complete justice" and marital harmony post-marriage to the victim, imposing a lifelong condition of maintenance and non-desertion, while cautioning against precedent. Facts Of The Case: The appellant was convicted under Section 366 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 6 of the POCSO Act, receiving sentences of rigorous imprisonment for 5 and 10 years respectively. His appeal before the Madras High Court was dismissed in September 2021. During the pendency of this appeal, in May 2021, the appellant married the victim. Subsequently, they had a male child. The appellant's wife filed an affidavit expressing ...
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Supreme Court: TET Mandatory for All Teachers, But RTE Act’s Application to Minority Schools Under Scrutiny
6Oct By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

Supreme Court: TET Mandatory for All Teachers, But RTE Act’s Application to Minority Schools Under Scrutiny

This Supreme Court judgment holds that the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) is a mandatory qualification for the appointment and promotion of all teachers under the RTE Act. However, the Bench expressed doubts about the correctness of the precedent in Pramati which exempts all minority institutions from the RTE Act, and has referred this specific constitutional question for reconsideration by a larger bench. Facts Of The Case: This set of civil appeals originated from conflicting judgments of the Bombay and Madras High Courts concerning the applicability of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, and specifically the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET), to minority educational institutions. The appellants included minority educational institutions, state authorit...
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No Endless Cases: Supreme Court Uses Special Power to End Dowry Case After Couple Divorced
15Sep By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

No Endless Cases: Supreme Court Uses Special Power to End Dowry Case After Couple Divorced

The Supreme Court quashed criminal proceedings under Sections 498A/34 IPC and Sections 3/4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act against the father-in-law, invoking Article 142 of the Constitution. The Court held that continuing prosecution after divorce and in the absence of specific, timely allegations amounted to an abuse of the process of law. Facts Of The Case: The marriage between the complainant (Respondent No. 2) and the appellant’s son was solemnized in December 2017. By May 2019, marital discord arose, leading the wife to leave the matrimonial home and allege mental and physical cruelty. Both parties attended police-led counselling sessions, which resulted in an agreement to remarry through Hindu rites. However, the wife soon left again and, in July 2019, filed an FIR alleging that her ...
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Supreme Court Acquits Village Assistant: Merely Accepting Bribe Isn’t Enough
14Sep By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

Supreme Court Acquits Village Assistant: Merely Accepting Bribe Isn’t Enough

The Supreme Court upheld the conviction of the main accused under Sections 7 and 13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, as demand and acceptance of illegal gratification were proven. However, the conviction of the co-accused was set aside due to the absence of a specific charge of abetment and lack of evidence proving his connivance or independent demand for the bribe. Facts Of The Case: The case involved two government officials, A. Karunanithi (A-1), the Village Administrative Officer, and P. Karunanithi (A-2), the Village Assistant. The complainant approached A-1 to obtain a necessary community certificate for a government job. On two separate occasions, A-1 demanded a bribe of Rs. 500 from the complainant to process the application. The complainant subsequently lodged a formal...
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