Tag: procedural history

Supreme Court Explains Why: Can’t File Contempt in Supreme Court for Violating High Court Order
29Dec By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

Supreme Court Explains Why: Can’t File Contempt in Supreme Court for Violating High Court Order

This Supreme Court judgment clarifies that the doctrine of merger is not of universal application. It holds that where the Supreme Court permits withdrawal of an intra-court appeal, the parties revert to the status under the original High Court Single Judge order. Consequently, contempt for its violation lies before the High Court, not the Supreme Court. Facts Of The Case: The petitioner, M/s Khurana Brothers, initially challenged an order of a Single Judge of the Uttarakhand High Court by filing an intra-court appeal before a Division Bench. While the Division Bench dismissed this appeal, it made certain observations that, according to the petitioner, worsened its legal position compared to the Single Judge's order. The petitioner then sought and was granted leave to appeal to t...
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Supreme Court Rules Against “Mini-Trial” by High Court, Says Forgery & Cheating Case Must Proceed
29Dec By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

Supreme Court Rules Against “Mini-Trial” by High Court, Says Forgery & Cheating Case Must Proceed

The Supreme Court held that at the quashing stage under Section 482 CrPC, the High Court cannot conduct a mini-trial or evaluate evidence. If the complaint and prima facie documents disclose cognizable offences, the prosecution must proceed to trial. The merits of allegations, including forgery and cheating, are to be tested through evidence, not nipped in the bud. Facts Of The Case: The complainant, Komal Prasad Shakya, filed a criminal complaint alleging that Rajendra Singh, who had always identified as a General Category 'Sikh', fraudulently obtained a Scheduled Caste ('Sansi') certificate just before the 2008 Guna Assembly elections. Using this certificate, he contested and won from a reserved constituency. The complaint accused Rajendra Singh, his father Amrik Singh, and others in...
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Just Compensation Explained: Supreme Court Raises MACT Award from Rs 30 Lakh to Rs 85 Lakh
28Dec By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

Just Compensation Explained: Supreme Court Raises MACT Award from Rs 30 Lakh to Rs 85 Lakh

The Supreme Court enhanced compensation by applying established principles under the Motor Vehicles Act. It awarded amounts under non-pecuniary heads like marriage prospects and pain & suffering, and granted attendant charges for two attendants, citing precedents to ensure just and equitable restitution for the claimant's 100% disability. Facts Of The Case: The claimant-appellant, Reshma, aged 24, suffered severe injuries in a motor vehicle accident on February 23, 2015, due to the rash and negligent driving of the offending vehicle, which was duly insured. The Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal (MACT) initially awarded compensation of ₹30,24,800, assessing her income at ₹10,000 per month and her disability at 100%. Dissatisfied, she appealed to the High Court, which enhanced the total ...
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Supreme Court Upholds Tribunal’s Power to Modify Military Conviction
27Dec By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

Supreme Court Upholds Tribunal’s Power to Modify Military Conviction

The Supreme Court affirmed the Armed Forces Tribunal’s power under Section 15(6) of the AFT Act, 2007, to substitute a conviction. It held that where evidence establishes an act prejudicial to military discipline under Section 63 of the Army Act, 1950, the Tribunal can legally replace a more severe charge with this lesser offence and modify the sentence accordingly. Facts Of The Case: The appellant, Colonel S.K. Jain, was the Commandant of the Northern Command Vehicle Depot in Udhampur. In September 2008, a contractor alleged that the appellant demanded a bribe for passing motorcycles during inspection. A trap was laid, and during a search of his office on September 27, 2008, a Board of Officers recovered an envelope containing ₹10,000 and, significantly, a quantity of old ammunition (7....
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Society Cannot Evade Decree by Raising Unauthorized Constructions, Rules Supreme Court
24Dec By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

Society Cannot Evade Decree by Raising Unauthorized Constructions, Rules Supreme Court

The Supreme Court upheld the enforceability of a cooperative court's decree for specific performance, ruling that subsequent unauthorized constructions and unapproved plot mergers do not render a decree inexecutable. The Court directed the removal of obstructing structures to facilitate the allotment and delivery of vacant possession to the decree-holder, affirming the executability of the award. Facts Of The Case: The appellant, Southern Nagpur Co-operative Society Limited, was directed by the Cooperative Court in a 2000 award to allot Plot No. 5A to its member, respondent Ganpati Yadavrao Kumbhare, a decree upheld in subsequent appeals. During execution proceedings, the appellant society objected, claiming the plot had lost its identity as it was merged with adjoining Plots 4 and 4A in...
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Supreme Court Upholds 25% Future Prospects, Awards Consortium to All Children in Accident Case
22Nov By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

Supreme Court Upholds 25% Future Prospects, Awards Consortium to All Children in Accident Case

The Supreme Court enhanced compensation by determining the income of a deceased mason, a skilled labourer, without documentary proof, by applying judicial precedent and accounting for inflationary trends. It upheld the application of standard multipliers, future prospects, and conventional heads as per established principles in motor accident claim jurisprudence. Facts Of The Case: The case arose from a motor accident that resulted in the death of the sole breadwinner of a family. The deceased, a 43-year-old mason, was claimed by the appellants (his wife and three minor children) to have been earning an income of ₹400 per day. However, as there was no documentary proof of his earnings, the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal adopted a lower daily wage of ₹189, a figure which was later confir...
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Supreme Court Quashes FIR in Property Dispute, Calls it “Abuse of Process of Law”
6Nov By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

Supreme Court Quashes FIR in Property Dispute, Calls it “Abuse of Process of Law”

The Supreme Court quashed the criminal proceedings, holding that the continuation thereof amounted to an abuse of the process of law. The allegations, arising from a civil dispute over a loan and its guarantee, did not constitute a criminal offense, especially after the withdrawal of an earlier complaint on the same cause of action. Facts Of The Case: This case originated from an FIR registered against the appellant, Bhawana Jain, under Sections 406, 420, 504, and 506 of the IPC. The dispute concerned a plot purchased jointly by her deceased husband and the complainant, Respondent No. 2. After a mutual partition, the husband mortgaged his share to secure a bank loan, with the appellant acting as a guarantor. Following her husband's death in 2016, the complainant filed a private complaint...
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You Can’t Be Convicted Under a Law That Didn’t Exist: Supreme Court Corrects Legal Error in Decades-Old Case
5Nov By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

You Can’t Be Convicted Under a Law That Didn’t Exist: Supreme Court Corrects Legal Error in Decades-Old Case

In a significant ruling, the Supreme Court set aside the conviction under Section 195-A IPC, holding it unconstitutional for being applied retroactively, violating Article 20(1). However, it upheld the conviction under Section 506-B IPC for criminal intimidation. The Court directed the State to reconsider the deceased appellant's termination and terminal benefits, considering only the surviving conviction. Facts Of The Case: In 1999, a minor girl, who was a witness in a molestation case, set herself ablaze and subsequently died. Before her death, she alleged in a dying declaration that Sheikh Akhtar, a court official (Naib Nazir), and three others had threatened to kill her and her father if she did not compromise her court testimony. Based on this, Akhtar was convicted in 2007 by a Se...
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Supreme Court Overturns 11-Year Delay Condonation, Sets New Precedent on Limitation Law
1Nov By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

Supreme Court Overturns 11-Year Delay Condonation, Sets New Precedent on Limitation Law

This Supreme Court judgment clarifies that the expression "within such period" in Section 5 of the Limitation Act, 1963 requires a party to explain the delay for the entire period from when the limitation period commenced until the actual filing date, not just the period after the limitation expired. It overrules the narrower interpretation in Rewa Coalfields and aligns with the view that "sufficient cause" must be shown for the full duration of the delay, emphasizing that the State is not entitled to preferential treatment in condonation matters. Facts Of The Case: The case originates from a dispute over a parcel of land. The appellant, Shivamma, became the absolute owner of the land, including a 4-acre portion, through a compromise decree in 1989. However, the Karnataka Housing Board (...
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Landmark Ruling: Supreme Court Says Not Every Act Against a Child is “Abuse”
29Sep By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

Landmark Ruling: Supreme Court Says Not Every Act Against a Child is “Abuse”

The Supreme Court acquitted the appellant of charges under Section 8(2) of the Goa Children's Act, 2003, ruling that a single, incidental act of hitting a child with a school bag during a scuffle, absent evidence of deliberate cruelty or sustained maltreatment, does not meet the legal definition of "child abuse." The Court also set aside the conviction under Section 504 IPC, finding no intent to provoke a breach of peace. However, convictions under Sections 323 and 352 IPC were upheld, with the appellant granted probation. Facts Of The Case: On February 1, 2013, an incident occurred on the premises of St. Ann’s School in Goa involving the appellant, Santosh Khajnekar. He was alleged to have hit a child with a school bag belonging to his own son during a sudden altercation. The Fi...
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