Case Briefs Archives

Surety can only be waived if circumstances so warrant; Delhi High Court modifies bail conditions for Nigerian Nationals charged under NDPS Act

Any waiver of a bail condition must not compromise the one most important legal requirement that a prisoner must make himself available for trial and for compliance with a sentence imposed.

Case Briefs Supreme Court

Wife’s guilt under S. 498-A IPC can’t become a ground to hold husband guilty in absence of specific material on record: SC

The Division Bench opined that in Section 498-A IPC cases, the courts have to be careful to identify instances of over implication and to avert the suffering of ignominy and inexpiable consequences.

Case Briefs High Courts

Prior knowledge about chamber allotment vacancies suggests a breach of transparency; Delhi High Court upholds re-allotment

Such vacancies should be notified to the members of the Bar, providing every eligible lawyer with an equal opportunity to express interest; failure to do so creates an appearance of opacity in the process, potentially leading to an impression of arbitrariness.

Case Briefs High Courts

Calcutta HC grants bail to accused under NDPS Act due to failure in filing FLS Report within 180 days

‘In an NDPS case, if charge sheet is filed within 180 days from the date of arrest of the accused, no right of statutory bail accrues.’

Case Briefs High Courts

Delhi Police Special Branch Manual falls squarely within the exemptions provided under S. 8(1)(a) of Right to Information Act: Delhi High Court

‘The information concerning law enforcement operations, especially those involving national security considerations, falls under purview of Section 8(1)(a).’

SC Guidelines time limit pronouncement of judgments

Case Briefs Supreme Court

Supreme Court issues guidelines for High Court Judges regarding time limit for pronouncement of judgments

The Court emphasised that Judges must be mindful of the impact of their actions on society at large. Dealing with lakhs of litigation is no mean task, but at the same time, Judges must realize that instances do emerge leaving absolutely no margin for error.

Case Briefs High Courts

Punjab and Haryana HC upholds dismissal from service of a conductor who was implicated in 52 departmental proceedings

In the present case, respondent conducted proper departmental inquiry and found the petitioner guilty. The petitioner was involved in 52 cases and subjected to different punishments. The petitioner is claiming that dismissal from service is harsh punishment, and it should be substituted with compulsory retirement.

grant Indian citizenship to foreign citizens

Case Briefs Supreme Court

Cannot confer Indian citizenship to foreign citizens by doing violence to the plain language of Citizenship Act, 1955: SC

“There is no scope to bring equitable considerations while interpreting such a statute as the language of Sections 5, 8 and 9 is plain and simple, hence there is no scope for its liberal interpretation”.

Case Briefs High Courts

Delhi High Court questions SSC’s exam for testing candidates’ abilities through trivial questions like the use of ‘OKEY’ as a vulgarism of ‘OKAY’

One wonders, however, whether anything meaningful is achieved by testing the ability of candidates in examination such as this, to qualify and obtain recruitment to civil posts, by testing whether they know that the word “OKEY”, is used, rarely, as a vulgarism of “OKAY”.

Case Briefs Supreme Court (Constitution/Larger Benches)

In-depth analysis of Supreme Court’s majority verdict on Section 6A of Citizenship Act

Supreme Court affirmed that the cut-off date of 25 March 1971 is rational as on the said date, Pakistani Army launched Operation Search Light to curb Bengali nationalist movement in East Pakistan. The migrants before the operation were migrants of partition towards which India had a liberal policy. Migrants from Bangladesh after the said date were migrants of war and not partition.

Case Briefs High Courts

‘Failed to establish that unauthorized absence was wilful and deliberate’; Chhattisgarh HC orders reinstatement of police constable dismissed for his unauthorized absence from duty

Petitioner has taken a specific defence that his wife was seriously ill and was under medical treatment for a long time and ultimately, she passed away. The records of the departmental enquiry also suggested that the medical papers of the wife of the petitioner were duly placed on record. The enquiry officer failed to take this account to its proper perspective.

Case Briefs High Courts

Textbook example of how the affluent people try to flout the law; Delhi High Court dismisses S. 482 CrPC petition

The instant case is a textbook example of how the affluent people try to flout the law by coercing the aggrieved party to settle the dispute, despite the offence being criminal in nature and approach the Courts citing settlement deed.

Case Briefs High Courts

‘Reasons required by Rule 9(1) cannot be left in realm of conjecture and surmise’; Delhi HC concurs with CAT to quash decision of Disciplinary Authority

‘The reasoning given for a fresh inquiry was a mere lip service to the requirement of Rule 9(1) and was delightfully left in the realm of conjecture.’

Case Briefs High Courts

[Bahraich Violence] Allahabad High Court grants 15 days to accused persons to respond to Demolition Notices issued by UP Government

Without making any observations on the merits at this stage, Allahabad Court granted three days’ time to the Chief Standing Counsel to obtain complete instructions. It instructed that the position regarding the category of the road and the applicable norms should be clarified at the next scheduled hearing.

Case Briefs High Courts

Burning dead body inside someone’s house without proper rites is disrespectful & desecratory; Rajasthan High Court denies bail

The complainant was coerced into following a tribal or customary practice, such as “Mautana,” which involves compensating or appeasing the family of the deceased in cases of accidental death.

Case Briefs High Courts

Delhi High Court refuses to interfere with Award passed by Arbitral Tribunal in petition by the Airports Authority of India

‘Courts, while evaluating a challenge under Section 34, would not be justified in faulting an award merely because an alternative view was possible or that, in their opinion, a more just conclusion could have been reached.’

Case Briefs Supreme Court

SC dismisses petition regarding challenge to the appointment of Catering Supervisor made only on basis of interview marks

The respondent had filed original application before Central Administrative Tribunal challenging selection of Catering Supervisor based only on marks obtained in the interview and excluding marks of written test.

Case Briefs District Court

‘All the sanctions were passed without due application of mind’; Delhi Court acquits accused persons alleged to have committed organized crime for lack of legal ingredients to invoke MCOCA

‘Merely by giving a list of past cases, neither existence of crime syndicate nor commission of organized crime stands proved.’

Case Briefs High Courts

Wife’s education alone does not bar her ‘Right to Maintenance’; Husband’s support still required: MP High Court

The Court, however, opined that “Section 125 of CrPC has not been constituted to create an army of idle or inactive people waiting for maintenance to be awarded from the income of the other spouse.”

Case Briefs High Courts

‘Arbitrary, illegal and in colourable exercise of power’; P&H HC directs Union Bank of India to refund forfeited amount deposited by auction purchaser

The bank has acted in an arbitrary and illegal manner by claiming that the entire bid amount shall be deposited by the petitioner, while on the other hand, avoiding the question of the supervening legal impossibility, which debarred them from issuing Sale Certificate or handing over the physical possession of the property to petitioner.