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Environment Law — Environmental Clearance — Prior clearance — Mandatory character — Prior environmental clearance under EIA Notification, 2006 is mandatory, being founded on the precautionary principle and couched in imperative terms — Word “prior” and the graded four-stage screening, scoping, public consultation and appraisal process render an anterior assessment the sine qua non of the clearance regime — Decriminalisation of contraventions under Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023 does not alter this mandatory character. Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 — Section 415 — Appeal — Maintainability — Conviction recorded for first time by appellate court reversing acquittal — An appeal under Section 374 CrPC (Section 415 BNSS) is not maintainable against a judgment of conviction recorded by a Sessions Court while exercising appellate jurisdiction and reversing an order of acquittal passed by the Trial Court — No such second appeal is contemplated under CrPC or BNSS — The only remedy available is revision under Section 397 r/w 401 CrPC (Section 438 r/w 442 BNSS) Income Tax Act, 1961 — Section 44B — “Carriage” of passengers — Meaning and scope of — Cruise operations by non-resident shipping entity — Held, the word “carriage” under Section 44B cannot be restrictively construed to mean movement only from Port A to Port B. A round-trip cruise voyage, where passengers have the option to disembark at intermediate ports without compulsion to return to the originating port, constitutes carriage of passengers within the meaning of Section 44B. Provision of incidental on-board entertainment and hospitality does not alter the essential character of the activity as carriage of passengers. Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC) — Section 482 — Quashing of FIR — Scope of inquiry — Mini-trial impermissible — At the stage of considering quashing of an FIR, the Court’s inquiry is confined to whether the allegations, taken at face value, prima facie disclose commission of a cognizable offence — Court cannot conduct a “mini-trial” by sifting evidence, assessing probabilities, or evaluating witness credibility — High Court exceeding these limits by examining trap proceedings, absence of personal recovery, and departmental enquiry findings, held impermissible. Succession Act, 1925 — Sections 33, 35 and 38 — Hindu/Christian Succession — Applicability of S. 33 confined to property owned by deceased male; erroneous application by High Court set aside — Where property was purchased and registered in the joint names of two wives, the same is owned by them and not by the husband, notwithstanding that he provided the consideration — Section 33, which governs devolution on intestacy of a male’s property between his widow and lineal descendants, is not attracted to property never vested in the husband’s name — High Court’s application of S. 33 to the entirety of the suit property held misconceived.

Landlord’s Derivative Title Has To Be Established When It Is Challenged By Tenant: SC  HELD the landlord is not required to prove his title in the subject property as in a title-suit, but when his/her derivative title is challenged, the same has to be established in some form.

Landlord’s Derivative Title Has To Be Established When It Is Challenged By Tenant: SC   LIVELAW NEWS NETWORK 21 Dec 2019 2:14 PM “When the landlord’s derivative title is challenged, the…

Service Matters

Service Law – Appointment of Lecturers – Fixation of minimum marks – Advertisement clearly indicates that only those candidates who obtained 50% marks in Paper I and II would be eligible to take the test in Paper IIIHELD There were no minimum marks provided for Paper III in the advertisement. This could be done by the moderation committee even at a later stage. This is not a change brought about but an additional aspect brought in while determining the merit of the candidates who are found fit to be eligible for consideration for appointment of Lecturers

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH JHARKHAND PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION — Appellant Vs. MANOJ KUMAR GUPTA AND ANOTHER — Respondent ( Before : L. Nageswara Rao and Deepak Gupta, JJ.…

Consumer Law – Deficiency of service – Fraudulent transactions – Compensation – Liability – Denial of the compensation corresponding to the extent of the School’s loss, by the State Commission as well as by the NCDRC would not be justified – Respondent Bank should be directed to compensate the School to the tune of Rs. 25,00,000/- transferred until 9.9.2014, when the misappropriation was first detected

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH DAV PUBLIC SCHOOL — Appellant Vs. THE SENIOR MANAGER, INDIAN BANK, MIDNAPUR BRANCH AND OTHERS — Respondent ( Before : Dr. Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud…

Detention Order Cannot Be Based On ‘Stale & Irrelevant’ Incidents HELD The satisfaction to be arrived at by the detaining authority must not be based on irrelevant or invalid grounds. It must be arrived at on the basis of relevant material; material which is not stale and has a live link with the satisfaction of the detaining authority.

Detention Order Cannot Be Based On ‘Stale & Irrelevant’ Incidents: SC   LIVELAW NEWS NETWORK 21 Dec 2019 2:27 PM The Supreme Court has observed that stale and irrelevant incidents cannot…

Service Matters

Disciplinary Proceedings Are Not Quasi Criminal In Nature, Says SC HELD Disciplinary proceedings are not quasi criminal in nature. A disciplinary inquiry is conducted by the employer to inquire into a charge or misconduct pertaining to a breach of the rules and regulations governing the service of the employer.

Disciplinary Proceedings Are Not Quasi Criminal In Nature, Says SC   LIVELAW NEWS NETWORK 21 Dec 2019 3:10 PM The Supreme Court has observed that disciplinary proceedings are not quasi criminal…

Ex-Parte Order Of State Consumer Commission Can Be Challenged Before NCDRC HELD Section 21(a)(ii) does not state that appeals cannot be entertained against orders that have been passed ex parte. The plain and simple meaning of the said provision is that appeals will be entertained by the National Commission against any order passed by the State Commission.

Ex-Parte Order Of State Consumer Commission Can Be Challenged Before NCDRC: SC [Read Order] Ashok Kini 21 Dec 2019 5:36 PM The Supreme Court has held that an ex-parte order…

Service Matters

Subordinate Offices Ministerial Staff (Direct Recruitment) Rules, 1985 – Rules 22 and 23 – Notification of Vacancies to the Employment Exchange – Appointment – There is no denial on the part of the respondents that the names were called from the Employment Exchange by the appointing authority before conducting the selection and the Employment Exchange had forwarded the twelve names which also included the name of appellant HELD appointment of the appellant cannot be said to have been made in disregard to the Rules

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH RANA PRATAP SINGH — Appellant Vs. VITTIYA EVAM LEKHA ADHIKARI, DISTRICT BASIC EDUCATION OFFICER AND OTHERS — Respondent ( Before : Ashok Bhushan and…

Interest on Delayed Payments to Small Scale and Ancillary Industrial Undertaking Act, 1993 – Section 3 read with Section 4 – Civil Procedure Code, 1908 (CPC) – Order 7 Rule 6 – Claim for interest – Exemption – Proviso of Order VII Rule 6, which has been added by Act 104 of 1976, which provided that the Court may permit the plaintiff to claim exemption from the law of limitation on any ground not set out in the plaint, if such ground is not inconsistent with the grounds set out in the plaint

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA FULL BENCH M/S SHANTI CONDUCTORS (P) LTD. — Appellant Vs. ASSAM STATE ELECTRICITY BOARD AND OTHERS — Respondent ( Before : Ashok Bhushan, S. Abdul Nazeer…

Service Matters

Constitution of India, 1950 – Article 14 – Claim for Selection Grade and Special Grade scales of pay – It is a settled legal proposition that Article 14 of the Constitution is not meant to perpetuate illegality or fraud, even by extending the wrong decisions made in other cases – The said provision does not envisage negative equality but has only a positive aspect

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH P. SINGARAVELAN AND OTHERS — Appellant Vs. THE DISTRICT COLLECTOR, TIRUPPUR AND DT AND OTHERS — Respondent ( Before : Mohan M. Shantanagoudar and…

Puducherry Excise Act, 1970 – Section 10 – Puducherry Excise Rules, 1970 – Rule 122 and 209 – Shifting of shops – Expression ‘from one place to another’ is not restrictive, and does not curtail the power of the Licensing Authority to grant permission for shifting the licensed shop from one region to another in the Union Territory of Puducherry so long as the conditions stipulated by the Excise Act and Excise Rules, as also the conditions for grant of a license are complied with

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH M/S CEE CEE & CEE CEE’S — Appellant Vs. K. DEVAMANI AND OTHERS — Respondent ( Before : Uday Umesh Lalit and Indu Malhotra,…

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