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Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC) — Section 374 — Appeal against dismissal of criminal appeal by High Court — Conviction under Section 302 IPC and Section 27 Arms Act — Prosecution case based entirely on circumstantial evidence — No eyewitnesses — Reliability of prosecution witnesses critically examined — Admission by key witness regarding darkness and identification by voice only, materially undermining credibility — Evidence found insufficient to meet standard of proof in criminal law and exclude reasonable hypotheses of innocence — Conviction set aside and appellant acquitted. Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) — Section 294(b) — Conviction for uttering obscene words — Held, mere use of the word “bastard” is not sufficient to constitute obscenity, especially in heated conversations during the modern era — Conviction under Section 294(b) IPC is not sustainable and is liable to be set aside. Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC) — Section 482 — Quashing of criminal proceedings — Medical negligence — Consent for surgery — Allegation of interpolation in consent form for Orchidectomy — Medical Board’s opinion that Orchidectomy was an appropriate procedure in cases of undescended testicle and that consent should have been obtained — No evidence of interpolation in consent form (different ink or handwriting) — Consent form indicated both Orchidopexy and Orchidectomy as options. Held, continuance of criminal proceedings would be an abuse of process of court and liable to be quashed. Appeals allowed, impugned High Court judgment set aside, and proceedings quashed Extraordinary Jurisdiction of Supreme Court (Article 136) — Equitable relief — Not granted to litigants whose conduct is callous, lackadaisical, and in clear violation of applicable rules and regulations — Commercial decisions of State Government not substituted by court. Constitution of India, 1950 — Article 14 — Public power, allocation of public resources, award of public contracts, execution of public works — State bound to act transparently, fairly, and consistently with equality — Process must withstand objective scrutiny and be free from arbitrariness, favouritism, or undisclosed conflicts of interest — Public confidence in governance requires equality, integrity, and accountability.

Contract Act, 1872 – Section 73 – Compensation for loss or damage caused by breach of contract – It is undeniable that the measure of damages, per Section 73 of the Contract Act, is the difference between the price at which goods sell at the marketplace on the date of breach, and the contract price

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH H. J. BAKER AND BROS. INC. — Appellant Vs. THE MINERALS AND METALS TRADE CORPORATION LTD. (MMTC) — Respondent ( Before : S. Ravindra…

HELD the enactment of section 142A of the Customs Act does confer or create a first charge on the dues ‘payable’ under the Customs Act, notwithstanding provisions under any Central Act, but not in cases covered under Section 529A of the Companies Act, Recovery of Debts Due to Banks and the Financial Institutions Act, 1993, Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and the Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002 and the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 201

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT BANK OF INDIA (THROUGH STRESSED ASSETS STABILIZATION FUND CONSTITUTED BY THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA) — Appellant Vs. SUPERINTENDENT OF CENTRAL EXCISE AND…

HELD the construction of the disputed building on the land earmarked/reserved as a playground is illegal and contrary to the Panchayats proposal, technical sanction and the financial sanction, as well as the work order and hence, the same, has to be demolished at the cost and responsibility of the respondent No.2 Vikas Adhikari, Panchayat Samiti Longewala and respondent No.4 Sarpanch, Gram Panchayat Longewala

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH THE SARPANCH, GRAM PANCHAYAT, LONGWALA PANCHAYAT SAMITI, PILIBANGA, DISTRICT HANUMANGARH, RAJASTHAN — Appellant Vs. MANVEER SINGH AND OTHERS — Respondent ( Before : Sanjiv…

Constitution of India, 1950 – Article 141 – Law of Precedents – Doctrine of Merger and Res judicata – Dismissal of appeal without any reasons being recorded would not attract Article 141 of the Constitution of India as no law was declared by the Supreme Court, which will have a binding effect on all courts and tribunals in India – The logic behind the doctrine of merger is that there cannot be more than one decree or operative orders governing the same subject matter at a given point of time

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA FULL BENCH EXPERION DEVELOPERS PRIVATE LIMITED — Appellant Vs. HIMANSHU DEWAN AND SONALI DEWAN AND OTHERS — Respondent ( Before : Sanjiv Khanna, Bela M. Trivedi…

Service Matters

A presumption ought to have been drawn in favour of the validity of the marriage between the deceased and the appellant-wife, more so, when during his life time, the deceased had approached the respondent authorities for seeking deletion of the name of his previous wife from his service record and for endorsement of the name of the appellant- wife, which was duly acted upon by the respondents – Pensionary benefits granted.

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH SMT. SHIRAMABAI W/O PUNDALIK BHAVE & OTHERS — Appellant Vs. THE CAPTAIN, RECORD OFFICER FOR O.I.C. RECORDS, SENA CORPS ABHILEKH, GAYA, BIHAR STATE AND…

Murder – Acquittal – Case of prosecution is entirely based on the extra-judicial confession – for the reasons recorded, it is not possible to accept the case of the prosecution which is entirely based on the extra-judicial confession made by the appellant – Thus, there was no legal evidence on record to convict the appellant.

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH MOORTHY — Appellant Vs. STATE OF TAMIL NADU — Respondent ( Before : Abhay S. Oka and Sanjay Karol, JJ. ) Criminal Appeal No.975…

Percentage of deduction or the extent of area required to be set apart has to be assessed by the courts having regard to the size, shape, situation, user etc. of the lands acquired – It is essentially a kind of guess work the courts are expected to undertake – A cut of one third was required to be imposed on the amount of compensation awarded by it – Assessment of market value so determined does not warrant any interference – Appeal dismissed.

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH MALA ETC. ETC. AND OTHERS — Appellant Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB AND OTHERS — Respondent ( Before : Bela M. Trivedi and Dipankar Datta,…

Right to Information Act, 2005 – Section 4 – – the public authorities owe a duty to disseminate the information widely suo motu to the public so as to make it easily accessible to the public. In regard to information enumerated or required to be enumerated under Sections 4(1)(b) and (c) of the RTI Act, necessarily and naturally, the competent authorities under the RTI Act will have to act in a proactive manner so as to ensure accountability and ensure that the fight against corruption goes on relentlessly

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA FULL BENCH KISHAN CHAND JAIN — Appellant Vs. UNION OF INDIA AND OTHERS — Respondent ( Before : Dr Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, CJI., Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha…

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