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Jammu and Kashmir Civil Services (Special Provisions) Act, 2010 — Section 3(b) — Exclusion of employees appointed on academic arrangement basis from regularization — Classification held unconstitutional — Section 3(b) lacks intelligible differentia and rational nexus to the object of the Act — Denial of regularization solely based on nomenclature is impermissible under Article 14 of the Constitution where duties, tenure, and conditions of service are similar to ad hoc or contractual appointees. Adverse Possession — Claiming title by adverse possession against the State/Union Government is not permissible, irrespective of the duration of possession — Such perfection of rights is not recognized against the government. Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC) — Section 482 — Quashing of criminal proceedings — High Court quashed proceedings against sister-in-law on ground of general and omnibus allegations, but declined relief to father-in-law and mother-in-law (appellants) — Allegations against appellants were similarly general and omnibus, with no specific role or overt act attributed to them — Delay in lodging FIR, coupled with lack of specific allegations, suggested possibility of FIR being a counter-blast to divorce petition filed by husband — High Court erred in applying different standards to similarly situated accused — Proceedings against appellants quashed. Companies Act, 2013 — Section 66 — Reduction of Share Capital — Procedural Fairness — Minority Shareholders — Valuation of Shares — Non-disclosure of valuation report and fairness report in notice for general meeting — Held, not a “tricky notice” as statutory requirement for valuation report not mandated under Section 66 — Valuation by a related agency — Held, not a conflict of interest where internal auditor is independent and valuation agency follows accepted norms — Discount for Lack of Marketability (DLOM) — Held, applicable to illiquid shares, especially in absence of oppression — Share price fixation — Held reasonable based on market value of subsidiary, past offers, and rights issue. Specific Performance of Agreement to Sell — Trial Court decreed suit for specific performance of sale agreement — High Court set aside Trial Court’s decree — Held, Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) executed on the same day as sale agreement established that sale agreement was sham and nominal, executed as security for loan — Plaintiff’s failure to disclose MoU in plaint indicated withholding of material facts and lack of bonafides — Equitable relief of specific performance denied — Appeal dismissed.

Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) – Sections 166, 165, 420, 468 and 471 – Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947 – Sections 5(1)(d) and 5(2) – Cheating – Appeal against conviction and sentence – Appellant knowing fully well that the invoices/bills were fake and fabricated, were presented on behalf of the firm to the bank and thus cheated the bank – Crime test requires to evaluate and provide adequate deference to factors such as role of the accused and his position within the rank of conspirators, among other things

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA FULL BENCH MAYANK N SHAH — Appellant Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT AND ANOTHER — Respondent ( Before : N.V. Ramana, R. Subhash Reddy and B.R. Gavai,…

SC Sets Aside Death Sentence In A 13 Day Trial, Says ‘Fast Tracking Must Not Result In Burial Of Justice’ – HELD expeditious disposal of criminal cases must never result in burying the cause of justice. The bench comprising Justice Uday Umesh Lalit, Justice Indu Malhotra and Justice Krishna Murari set aside a death penalty awarded to a rape and murder accused in a trial that finished within thirteen days.

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA FULL BENCH ANOKHI LAL — Appellant Vs. STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH — Respondent ( Before : Uday Umesh Lalit, Indu Malhotra and Krishna Murari, JJ. )…

Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) – Sections 302, 307, 147, 148, 149 and 452 – Murder – Unlawful assembly – Common object – Appeal against acquittal – Medical evidence and ocular evidence – It is trite law that minor variations between medical evidence and ocular evidence do not take away the primacy of the latter.

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH — Appellant Vs. RAVINDRA @ BABLOO AND OTHERS — Respondent ( Before : Ashok Bhushan and Navin Sinha, JJ. )…

Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case – IPC – Sections 376(2)(g), 120-B, 377, 365, 366, 395, 397, 302, 307, 412 – Unnatural sex and inserted iron rod in the private parts of the prosecutrixHELD Review Petition – In the judgment dated 05.05.2017, this Court held that the case is falling within “the rarest of rare cases”

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA FULL BENCH AKSHAY KUMAR SINGH — Appellant Vs. STATE (NCT OF DELHI) — Respondent ( Before : R. Banumathi, Ashok Bhushan and A. S. Bopanna, JJ.…

Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC) – Section 482 – Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) – Section 379 – Uttar Pradesh Minor Mineral (Concession) Rules, 1963 – Rules 3, 57 and 7 – Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 – Sections 4 and 21 – Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, 1984 – Sections 3 and 4 – Theft of mining sand – Quashing of complaint – Mere violation of Section 4 which is an offence cognizable only under Section 21 of the Mines Regulation Act and not under any other law – There is no bar on the Court from taking cognizance of the offence under Section 379 of the IPC

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH KANWAR PAL SINGH — Appellant Vs. THE STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH AND ANOTHER — Respondent ( Before : S. Abdul Nazeer and Sanjiv Khanna,…

Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC) – Sections 154 and 164 – Registration of FIR – Recording of confessions and statements – Section 154 of the Cr.P.C. provides about the information in cognizable cases and in effect registration of First Information Reports. The first Proviso to the sub-Section (1) of Section 154 inserted by the Amendment Act of 2013 and subsequently amended by the Amendment Act of 2018, provides for registration of First Information Report in cases of rape and sexual offences by a woman police officer or any woman officer

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA FULL BENCH IN RE : ASSESSMENT OF THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM IN RESPONSE TO SEXUAL OFFENCES ( Before : S.A. Bobde, CJI, B.R. Gavai and Surya…

Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 – Sections 34 and 34(4) – Arbitral award – Legislative intention of providing Section 34(4) in the Arbitration Act was to make the award enforceable, after giving an opportunity to the Tribunal to undo the curable defects HELD that ordinarily unintelligible awards are to be set aside, while the challenge on inadequacy of reasons, has to be adjudicated based on the degree of particularity of reasoning required having regard to the nature of issues falling for consideration.

  SUPREME COURT OF INDIA FULL BENCH M/S. DYNA TECHNOLOGIES PVT. LTD. — Appellant Vs. M/S. CROMPTON GREAVES LTD. — Respondent ( Before : N.V. Ramana, Mohan M. Shantanagoudar and…

Constitution of India, 1950 – Article 142 – Complete justice – Provisions of Article 142 of the Constitution provide a unique power to the Supreme Court, to do “complete justice” between the parties, i.e., where at times law or statute may not provide a remedy, the Court can extend itself to put a quietus to a dispute in a manner which would befit the facts of the case. Divorce granted.

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH MUNISH KAKKAR — Appellant Vs. NIDHI KAKKAR — Respondent ( Before : Sanjay Kishan Kaul and K.M. Joseph, JJ. ) Civil Appeal No. 9318…

V IMP :: Supreme Court recently dissolved a marriage by exercising its inherent powers under Article 142 of the Constitution, even as it recognised that there is no statutory law for recognising irretrievable breakdown of marriage as a ground for divorce in India.- HELD “on the ground of irretrievable breakdown of marriage, if this is not a fit case to grant divorce, what would be a fit case!”

Irretrievable breakdown of marriage: “Nothing remains in this marriage”, Supreme Court invokes Article 142 to grant divorce Rintu Mariam Biju December 18 2019 The Supreme Court recently dissolved a marriage by exercising its inherent powers…

Service Matters

Candidate Not Estopped From Challenging Selection Process When Misconstruction Of Statutory Rules Is Alleged HELD candidate will not be estopped from challenging a selection process on the ground of having participated in it when there is allegation of “misconstruction of statutory rules and discriminating consequences arising therefrom”.

Candidate Not Estopped From Challenging Selection Process When Misconstruction Of Statutory Rules Is Alleged : SC [Read Judgment] LIVELAW NEWS NETWORK 17 Dec 2019 7:58 PM In a notable judgment…

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