Tag: Indian judiciary.

No Medical Injury? No Problem: Supreme Court Explains When Victim’s Word Wins in POCSO Cases
3Feb By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

No Medical Injury? No Problem: Supreme Court Explains When Victim’s Word Wins in POCSO Cases

The Supreme Court upheld the appellant's conviction under Sections 9(m) and 10 of the POCSO Act, 2012, for aggravated sexual assault on a child. The Court ruled that cogent ocular evidence from witnesses, including the victim's traumatized behavior, can sustain a conviction even if medical evidence does not show injury or penetration. The sentence was partially modified. Facts Of The Case: On August 15, 2021, the appellant, Dinesh Kumar Jaldhari, returned to the victim's home in Jashpur, Chhattisgarh, with her father and another man after collecting wood. After consuming alcohol, the victim's four-year-old daughter was sleeping inside. Around 4:30 p.m., the mother went inside to give food to the appellant and found him wearing only shorts, sitting near her daughter's legs. Th...
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Supreme Court on NDPS Bail: Delay and Custody Can’t Override Statutory Bar for Commercial Quantity
3Feb By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

Supreme Court on NDPS Bail: Delay and Custody Can’t Override Statutory Bar for Commercial Quantity

The Supreme Court set aside the High Court's bail order, holding it failed to properly apply the stringent twin conditions under Section 37 of the NDPS Act. The matter was remitted for fresh consideration, mandating a reasoned assessment of the accused's involvement, statutory compliance, and the substantial quantity of seized contraband before granting bail. Facts Of The Case: The case involves appeals by the Union of India against two bail orders granted to the respondent, Vigin K. Varghese, by the Bombay High Court. The prosecution, initiated by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, stemmed from the seizure of approximately 50.232 kilograms of cocaine on October 6-7, 2022. The narcotics were found concealed within a consignment of pears imported from South Africa in the name of M...
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Supreme Court Rules: Counter-Claim Against Co-Defendant Not Allowed
2Feb By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

Supreme Court Rules: Counter-Claim Against Co-Defendant Not Allowed

The Supreme Court held that a counter-claim by impleaded defendants against a co-defendant is not maintainable in a suit for specific performance. Such a claim must be incidental to the original suit's cause of action and cannot be independently raised against another defendant. The Court set aside the admitted counter-claim. Facts Of The Case: The appellant, Sanjay Tiwari, filed a suit for specific performance against the first respondent, Yugal Kishore Prasad Sao, based on an alleged oral agreement dated 02.12.2002 for the sale of 0.93 acres of land. The plaintiff claimed full payment was made and he was put in possession. The first defendant, in his written statement, contended that defendants 2 and 3 were in possession of part of the property, making the suit defective for non-joinde...
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Supreme Court Decides Long-Running Property Dispute on Mortgage Redemption
2Feb By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

Supreme Court Decides Long-Running Property Dispute on Mortgage Redemption

This Supreme Court judgement clarifies the limitation period for redeeming a usufructuary mortgage. The Supreme Court held that the right to redeem does not arise from the mortgage's creation date. Instead, the limitation period commences only when the mortgagor tenders the mortgage money, meaning the mortgagor's redemption right is not extinguished by mere lapse of time. Facts Of The Case: This case originated from a dispute over the redemption of a usufructuary mortgage concerning agricultural land in Punjab. The respondents' ancestors had mortgaged the property to the appellants' predecessors. In 1975, the Collector allowed the respondents' application for redemption under the Redemption of Mortgage Act, 1913. Challenging this, the appellants (original plaintiffs) filed a civil suit, ...
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Alternative Remedy Rule Strengthened: Supreme Court Says Writ Petition Not Maintainable If Appeal to High Court Was Available
2Feb By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

Alternative Remedy Rule Strengthened: Supreme Court Says Writ Petition Not Maintainable If Appeal to High Court Was Available

This Supreme Court judgment reiterates the principle that the existence of an alternative statutory remedy, especially one before the High Court itself, is a valid ground for refusing to exercise writ jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution. It emphasizes that discretionary writ relief is generally unavailable where a litigant has, through their own fault, failed to exhaust an equally efficacious alternative forum provided by statute. Facts Of The Case: The appellant, Rikhab Chand Jain, faced proceedings concerning 252.177 kg of allegedly smuggled silver seized on September 27, 1992. The Additional Collector of Customs, respondent no. 3, ordered the confiscation of the silver and imposed a penalty of Rs. 50,000 on the appellant via an order dated May 7, 1996. The appellant app...
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Judicial Propriety Upheld: Supreme Court Says Validity of Sanction Must Be Challenged Only Before It
2Feb By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

Judicial Propriety Upheld: Supreme Court Says Validity of Sanction Must Be Challenged Only Before It

The Supreme Court ruled that when a sanction order is issued pursuant to its ongoing monitoring of proceedings, its validity can only be challenged before the Supreme Court itself. No other court, including a High Court, is entitled to entertain such a challenge or grant a stay on that sanction while the matter remains pending before the apex court. Facts Of The Case: The case originated from the Supreme Court's suo moto action concerning illegal construction and rampant tree felling within the Corbett Tiger Reserve. The investigation, initially directed by the Uttarakhand High Court and later monitored by the Supreme Court, was conducted by the CBI. The CBI filed a final report, leading to the requirement of prosecution sanction against involved officers. While the State of ...
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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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Public vs. Private Wrong: Supreme Court Explains Why Bank Fraud Cases Can’t Be Quashed Just Because Bank Settled
2Feb By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

Public vs. Private Wrong: Supreme Court Explains Why Bank Fraud Cases Can’t Be Quashed Just Because Bank Settled

The Supreme Court held that criminal proceedings involving serious economic offences, especially those under the Prevention of Corruption Act, cannot be quashed merely because a financial settlement or one-time settlement has been reached with the bank. Such offences constitute a crime against society at large, and quashing would be contrary to the interests of justice. Facts Of The Case: An FIR was registered in 2015 following a complaint by the State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur. The bank alleged that M/s Sarvodaya Highways Ltd. had fraudulently secured credit facilities of ₹60 crores by submitting fabricated work orders and financial statements to project a false financial standing. An internal inquiry later declared the account a Non-Performing Asset, uncovering an alleged fraud of...
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Supreme Court Closes Contempt Case, Emphasizes Lawyers’ Responsibility as “Officers of the Court”
31Jan By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

Supreme Court Closes Contempt Case, Emphasizes Lawyers’ Responsibility as “Officers of the Court”

In this suo moto contempt proceeding, the Supreme Court strongly deprecated the growing trend of lawyers making scandalous allegations against judges in pleadings. Reaffirming that an advocate's overriding duty is to the court as its officer, the Court cautioned that subscribing to such pleadings amounts to contempt. However, accepting the unconditional apology tendered before the concerned High Court Judge, it closed the proceedings. Facts Of The Case: In a criminal transfer petition (TP(Crl.) No. 613 of 2025) filed before the Supreme Court, the pleadings contained scurrilous and scandalous allegations against a sitting Judge of the Telangana High Court. When the bench expressed its displeasure, the petitioner's counsel sought to withdraw the petition. The Court, however, refused permis...
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Supreme Court: Immovable Plant Not ‘Goods’, Excise Duty Not Levied on Bought-Out Parts
30Jan By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

Supreme Court: Immovable Plant Not ‘Goods’, Excise Duty Not Levied on Bought-Out Parts

This Supreme Court judgment clarifies that central excise duty is leviable only on movable “goods.” The final assembled boiler, being an immovable plant, is not excisable. Consequently, the value of bought-out items delivered directly to the site cannot be included in the assessable value for duty computation. The extended limitation period for the show-cause notice was also held inapplicable. Facts Of The Case: The appellant, Lipi Boilers Ltd., entered into a contract to design, procure, manufacture, and supply machinery for a steam generating plant, including a 50 TPH boiler. The boiler was manufactured and cleared from the factory in a Completely Knocked Down (CKD) condition upon payment of central excise duty. Certain essential items, such as feed pumps and fans, were purchased duty-...
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