Supreme Court Weekly Digest (13th March 2023-19th March 2023)

With another week gone at Supreme Court of India, Live Law is back with its Supreme Court Weekly Digest to keep our readers up to date with the latest legal developments in the Apex court of the country. 

Case Title: Rajendra Kumar Shrivas v. State of Madhya Pradesh And Ors.| 2023 LiveLaw (SC)181 |Civil Appeal No. 1514 of 2023

Citation : 2023 LiveLaw (SC) 181

The Supreme Court directed the Madhya Pradesh High Court to comply with the directions of the Apex Court in All India Judges’ Association And Ors. v. UoI And Ors. (2010) 15 SCC 170, particularly, the one asking the High Courts to reserve only 10% seats in the higher judiciary to be filled up by limited departmental competitive examination.

Case Title: UoI And Ors. v. M/s. Union Carbide Corporation And Ors. Curative Petition (C) No. 345-347/2010]

Citation : 2023 LiveLaw (SC) 200

A Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court dismissed the curative petition filed by Central Government seeking to reopen the settlement with the Union Carbide Corporation (now Dow Chemicals) to claim additional compensation for victims of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy of 1984.

Case Title: Indore Development Authority Versus Burhani Grih Nirman Sahakari Sanstha Maryadit Sneh Nagar And Others | Civil Appeal No. 5071 Of 2022

Citation : 2023 LiveLaw (SC) 183

The Supreme Court of India set aside the judgments of the Madhya Pradesh High Court which held the acquisition proceedings initiated by the Indore Development Authority and the State of Madhya Pradesh for a residential scheme as lapsed.

Case Title: In Re: Inaction of the Governments in appointing President and Members/Staff of Districts and State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission and inadequate infrastructure across India v. UoI And Ors. SMW(C) No. 2/2021]

Citation : 2023 LiveLaw (SC) 201

The Supreme Court observed that the direction in Secretary, Ministry of Consumer Affairs v. Dr.Mahindra Bhaskar Limaye And Ors. that, the Central and State Governments are required to make certain amendments to the Consumer Protection Rules, 2020 pertaining to the appointment process at the Consumer Dispute fora is to be carried out on an urgent basis, preferably within 3 months’ time.

In a notable judgment explaining the concept of 'cause of action' under Article 226(2) of the Constitution of India, the Supreme Court held that only those facts, which are relevant to the grant of the relief, will give rise to 'cause of action'.

Case Title: Nand Lal And Ors. v. State of Chhattisgarh | Criminal Appeal No. 1421 of 2015

Citation: (2023) LiveLaw SC 186

The Supreme Court reiterated that omission on the part of the prosecution to explain injuries on the person of the accused assumes greater importance where the evidence consists of interested witnesses or where the defence gives a version which competes in probability with that of the prosecution.

Case Title: State of Karnataka v. M/s. Ecom Gill Coffee Trading Private Limited| Civil Appeal No. 230 of 2023

Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (SC) 187

The Supreme Court has held that under Section 70 of the Karnataka Value Added Tax Act, 2003, a dealer claiming Input Tax Credit on purchase ought to prove and establish actual physical movement of goods and genuineness of transaction.

Case Title : Ganesh Prasad vs Rajeshwar Prasad and others

Citation : 2023 LiveLaw (SC) 189

The Supreme Court has held that a second suit by a mortagor for redemption of mortgage is not barred merely because the first suit was dismissed for default, unless the right to redemption of mortgage has been extinguished.

Case Title: Ashutosh Samanta Versus Ranjan Bala Dasi & Ors | Civil Appeal No.7775 Of 2021

Citation : 2023 LiveLaw (SC) 190

The Supreme Court has held that the presumption under Section 90 of the Indian Evidence Act regarding the genuineness of documents aged more that thirty years old is not applicable to a will.

Case Title: Mohinder Singh(Dead) Versus Narain Singh And Others | Civil Appeal No(S). 3828 Of 2017

Citation : 2023 LiveLaw (SC) 191

The Supreme Court recently affirmed a Delhi High Court judgement which stated that once a rural area is urbanized by issuance of notification under Section 507(a) of the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957, it ceases to be governed by the provisions of Delhi Land Reforms Act, 1954.

Case Title: M/s. IL&FS Tamil Nadu Power Company Limited v. T. Muruganandam And Ors. |Civil Appeal No. 1811-1812 of 2015

Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (SC) 192

The Supreme Court recently permitted M/s. IL&FS Tamil Nadu Power Company Limited to continue with its two power plants in the State subject to full compliance of the conditions mentioned in the Environmental Clearance as well as the corrigendum to it.

Case Title: Victory Iron Works Ltd. v Jitendra Lohia & Anr.

Citation : 2023 LiveLaw (SC) 193

The Supreme Court has held that a resolution professional is entitled to take control of the rights of a corporate debtor in assets which are licensed to third parties. Such an action of the RP will come within the ambit of Section 25 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016.

Case Title: S. Athilakshmi vs. The State Rep. By The Drugs Inspector [SLP (Criminal) No. 9978 of 2022]

Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (SC) 194

The Supreme Court has held that a doctor's act of storing small quantities of medicines will not amount to an offence of unauthorized stocking of medicines under Section 18(c) of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1940.

Case Title: Ajay Kumar Radheyshyam Goenka v Tourism Finance Corporation of India Ltd.

Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (SC) 195

The approval of resolution plan of a corporate debtor under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016 will not extinguish the criminal liability of its erstwhile director under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act 1881, held the Supreme Court.

Case Title: Ashok Ram Parhad & Ors Versus The State Of Maharashtra & Ors. | Civil Appeal No.822 Of 2023

Citation : 2023 LiveLaw (SC) 196

In Service Jurisprudence, Services Rules, which have a statutory effect will prevail and government resolutions can’t be conflict with the rules, the Supreme Court reiterated.

Case Title: Pawan Kumar Chourasia Versus State of Bihar | Criminal Appeal No.2230 Of 2010

Citation : 2023 LiveLaw (SC) 197

Highlighting the evidentiary value and the circumstances under which extra-judicial confessions can be accepted, the Supreme Court recently acquitted a man who was convicted of double murders under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code.

Case Title : M/s Creative Garments Ltd vs Kashiram Verma

Citation : 2023 LiveLaw (SC) 198

The Supreme Court recently took note of practical difficulties which arise in labour disputes, as most cases of workers are filed through the labour unions without mentioning their own permanent addresses. Hence, in many cases, notices are served on the Union, and if the Union is not interested in pursuing the matter, the affected worker goes unrepresented.

Case Title : Ravish Kumar vs The State of Bihar

Citation : 2023 LiveLaw (SC) 206

Noting that there is no uniform format of bail orders across the High Courts, the Supreme Court has directed the High Courts to ensure that basic essentials are recorded in them.

Case Title: Commercial Tax Officer Versus Neeraja Pipes Pvt. Ltd.

Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (SC) 199

Attachment orders issued by the revenue for tax arrears will not be vitiated merely because the assessment orders were not served on the assesse, if the assessee had otherwise got knowledge about the assessment orders, held the Supreme Court.

Case Title: Govt. of NCT of Delhi Through the Secretary, Land and Building Department And Anr. v. M/s. K.L. Rathi Steels Limited And Ors.| Diary No. 32257 of 2021

Citation : 2023 LiveLaw (SC) 204

A Division Bench of the Supreme Court took a divergent view on the scope of review, when the judgment relied on in the impugned order and all subsequent judgment that followed it is eventually overruled by a superior court.

Case Title : Ms.X vs State of Maharashtra

Citation : 2023 LiveLaw (SC) 205

The Supreme Court has reiterated that subsequent addition of more serious offences to the FIR can be a circumstance for a Court to cancel the bail granted by it.

Case title - R. Sundaram vs. The Tamilnadu State Level Scrutiny Committee and Ors.

Case Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (SC) 207

The Supreme Court has observed that the proceedings questioning the caste certificate of an employee, except in the most exceptional circumstances, can’t be conducted ex-parte.

Case Title: Modi Rubber Limited v Continental Carbon India Ltd

Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (SC) 208

The Supreme Court has held that the rehabilitation scheme under Section 18 of the SICA, 1985 shall bind all the creditors including the unsecured creditors.

Case Title: The Eastern Coalfields Limited And Others v Ajit Mondal & Others.

Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (SC) 209

The Supreme Court has invoked Article 142 of the Constitution to protect the interest of a poor line mazdoor, who was dismissed from service due to prolonged absence.

Case Title: Indian Railway Construction Company Limited v M/s National Buildings Construction Corporation Limited

Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (SC) 210

The Supreme Court reiterated that unless there is a specific bar under the contract, it is always open for the Arbitrator to award pendente lite interest in view of Section 31(7)(a) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996.

The Supreme Court issued notice to the Gujarat police on the petition filed by Trinamool Congress spokesperson Saket Gokhale challenging the order of the Gujarat High Court which denied him bail in case related to alleged misappropriation of funds collected through crowdfunding.

The Supreme Court affirmed the order passed by the Allahabad High Court in 2017 for the removal of a mosque named "Masjid High Court" from its premises.

The Supreme Court of India orally asked the Central Bureau of Investigation to not begin an investigation into an alleged conspiracy by the Bharatiya Janata Party to poach Telangana’s Bharat Rashtra Samiti legislators.

The Supreme Court warned the Ministry of Defence against "taking the law in their own hands" in the matter concerning the disbursement of arrears to eligible pensioners of the armed forces under the One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme

In a significant development, the Supreme Court referred to a Constitution Bench a batch of petitions seeking legal recognition for same-sex marriages, observing that it was a matter of "seminal importance".

While hearing petitions seeking legal recognition for same-sex marriage, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud dispelled the assumption that a child adopted by a same-sex couple will necessarily be a homosexual.

In a plea seeking directions to stop alleged attacks against Christian priests and Christian institutions across the country, the Supreme Court bench comprising CJI DY Chandrachud, Justice PS Narasimha, and Justice JB Pardiwala directed the State of Jharkhand file its verification report regarding the violence alleged in the plea.

In a plea alleging that certain detenues detained under the provisions of Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act, 1978 had been shifted from local district and central jails within Jammu and Kashmir to prisons in other States of the country, the Supreme Court directed the Union and the State of Jammu and Kashmir to place their counter affidavits on record.

The Supreme Court dismissed as withdrawn a plea seeking to curb the killing of animals and to switch over to lab-generated meat for human consumption.

The Supreme Court witnessed a rare sight of one bench openly expressing its disapproval of another bench assigning a case to it. The well established practice of the Court is that the Chief Justice of India assigns cases to benches exercising the powers of "master of roster".

The Karnataka Lok Ayukta has moved the Supreme Court challenging the Karnataka High Court's order granting interim anticipatory bail to BJP MLA in a bribery case.

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the writ petition filed by the Telangana Government seeking directions to Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan to clear ten bills passed by the legislative assembly, which are awaiting her assent.

President of NLC (National Lawyers' Campaign for Judicial Transparency and Reforms) and Advocate, Mathews J. Nedumpara has moved the Supreme Court against designation of Advocates as "Senior" under Sections 16 and 23(5) of the Advocates Act, 1961.

Chief Justice of Kenya Martha K. Koome was present in the first bench of the Supreme Court afternoon to witness the Constitution Bench hearing in the ShivSena Case.

The Supreme Court remarked that the trial in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case, in which Union Minister Ajay Mishra's son Ashish Mishra is an accused, is "not slow paced".

Several members of the Supreme Court Bar Association have expressed anguish at the resolutions proposed by certain other members of the Association to reprimand Senior Advocates Kapil Sibal and Neeraj Kishan Kaul for apologising to the Chief Justice of India for the outbursts of SCBA President Senior Advocate Vikas Singh.

The Supreme Court of India clarified that the caste of parties shouldn’t be mentioned in the cause titles of judgements.

The distinction between a split in Shiv Sena, as alleged by the Uddhav Thackeray-led camp, and the claim of a ‘rebel faction’, as used as a defence by Eknath Shinde and his followers, is very thin, the Supreme Court orally said during the hearing.

The Nagaland State Election Commission informed the Supreme Court that the local body elections in the State have been notified and are to take place on 16th May, 2023. The Apex Court directed that the election schedule notified by the Commission should not be disturbed at any cost.

The Supreme Court asked the Union Government to respond to the allegation that Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) leader Mohammed Yousuf Tarigami was kept under detention without any formal order in 2019 in the aftermath of the abrogation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir.

In a pathbreaking development, the Bar Council of India has decided to permit foreign lawyers and law firms to practice foreign law in India on reciprocity basis. The areas of practice of law by a foreign lawyer or Foreign Law Firm shall be laid down by Bar Council of India, in consultation with the Law Ministry, if need be.

Much higher than the evil of defection is the principle of majority rule in this country, senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani said on Tuesday(March 14) while appearing for the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena faction before a constitution bench.

The Supreme Court issued notice to an advocate for "aggravated contempt of court" for asking the National Company Law Tribunal to ignore an order passed by the Top Court as "nullity".

Following the opposition by many lawyers, including several prominent Senior Advocates, the Executive Committee of the Supreme Court Bar Association decided to cancel the General Body Meeting which was convened tomorrow to discuss the resolutions proposed against Senior Advocates Kapil Sibal and Neeraj Kisan Kaul.

While hearing the Shiv Sena case, a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court raised important questions on the decision taken by the Maharashtra Governor to call for a floor test based on the rebellion of Eknath Shinde-led faction.

The Supreme Court commenced with the hearing of the pleas seeking modification to the extant guidelines regarding the process of designation of Senior Advocates practicing before the Supreme Court as well as the High Courts, which was set out in its 2017 judgment, Indira Jaising v. Supreme Court of India.

The Constitution bench of Supreme Court, while hearing the matter concerning the rift between the Uddhav Thackeray and the Eknath Shinde factions in Shivsena, discussed the powers and role of the Governor in calling for a trust vote.

There must be zero tolerance for sexual harassment and inappropriate behaviour towards women, inappropriate language targeting women, and even inappropriate jokes at the expense of women, said Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud.

The term "aaaya ram, gaya ram", which originated in 1960-70s to describe the frequent spectacle of floor-crossing and horse trading in politics, was invoked by Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal in the Supreme Court while arguing the Shiv Sena case.

In the course of the hearing of a transfer petition in a rape matter, Supreme Court judge Justice Ajay Rastogi orally remarked that "the system has been such that, everybody wants disposal, disposal everyday, morning, evening, disposal goes on", adding that "you run behind disposal, then justice has to sacrifice".

Plans for releasing a legal glossary of inappropriate gendered terms used in legal discourse and creating a large space reserved for women lawyers in the Supreme Court annexe building are in the pipeline, revealed Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, while speaking at an event organised by the Gender Sensitisation and Internal Complaints Committee of the top court for a belated celebration of International Women’s Day.

A Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court reserved judgment in a batch of cases relating to the rift within the Shiv Sena party between Uddhav Thackeray and Eknath Shinde groups, which led to the change in the government in Maharashtra in July 2022.

The Supreme Court reserved judgment in the pleas seeking modifications in the guidelines regulating the conferment of designation of Senior Advocates as laid down in its 2017 judgment.

The Constitution bench of the Supreme Court enquired from the Thackeray faction how the Court could reinstate a Chief Minister who had not faced the floor test.

On the last day of the hearing, the bench comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justice MR Shah, Justice Krishna Murari, Justice Hima Kohli, and Justice PS Narasimha heard the rejoinder of the Uddhav Thackeray faction argued by Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, Senior Advocate AM Singhvi, and Senior Advocate Devadatt Kamat.

The Supreme Court urgently heard a petition filed by the State Bank of India to stay an order passed by the Bombay High Court which allowed a loan defaulter to travel abroad.

The Supreme Court indicated that it might relax the restrictions in the one-kilometer Eco-Sensitive Zone(ESZ) which has been mandated near protected forests and wildlife sanctuaries.

“We have become like micro-administrators,” the green bench of the Supreme Court said on March 13 while hearing an application moved by an expert committee constituted to “guide and direct” the National Tiger Conservation Authority with respect to India’s ambitious cheetah reintroduction programme.

In a set back to Cardinal George Alencherry, the Major Archbishop of Syro-Malabar Church, the Supreme Court refused to quash the criminal cases against him over alleged irregularities in the sale of properties belonging to Ernakulam-Angamalay Archdiocese.

The Supreme Court expressed its disinclination to pass judicial orders for converting a land measuring 1.33 acres, that was allotted to the Supreme Court, into chamber blocks for lawyers.

In the dispute related to the route marches proposed by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in Tamil Nadu, the State Government informed the Supreme Court that it has filed a new special leave petition against the original order passed by the Madras High Court single bench on September 22, 2022, which allowed the organisation to hold processions.

The Supreme Court issued notice on a plea by the union territory of Chandigarh against Punjab and Haryana High Court’s direction to the Punjab police to probe allegations against Chandigarh police of illegalities in the arrest of a city dentist last year.

The Law Ministry has disclosed that generally, it is not a practice to seek R&AW reports on proposals for appointment of judges in the High Courts and the Supreme Court.

A Special Leave Petition has been filed before the Supreme Court contending that partition of family property as per Shariat Law is discriminatory towards Muslim women inasmuch as it does not give equal share to a female compared to a male.

A few days after the Supreme Court of India cautioned the Central Bureau of Investigation to not continue an investigation into an alleged conspiracy by the Bharatiya Janata Party to poach Telangana's Bharati Rashtra Samiti legislators, a division bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and MM Sundresh on Friday gave the same warning to the Telangana police.

While adjourning a plea filed by gangster and Samajwadi Party leader Atiq Ahmad, the Supreme Court expressed displeasure that the petitioner's lawyer sought adjournment after getting the case urgently listed after mentioning it before the Chief Justice of India, DY Chandrachud.

While hearing a petition moved by a woman in 2014 seeking transfer of a defamation suit filed by a former judge of the Supreme Court from Delhi High Court pertaining to sexual harassment allegations, the Supreme Court was informed that both the parties have reached an agreement.

The Supreme Court issued notice in a plea filed by a lawyer and a young law intern alleging that they have fallen victim to communal frenzy. Both the women belonging to a minority community have approached the Apex Court under Article 32 of the Constitution of India asserting their right to life and liberty.

The Supreme Court of India passed guidelines to ensure better accessibility for candidates with disability to appear in CLAT examination.

The Supreme Court of India refused to entertain a petition seeking enforcement of the guidelines and directions laid down in Anuradha Bhasin v Union of India and Ors to prevent internet shut downs in the state of Rajasthan.

The Supreme Court clarified that the observations made by the Kerala High Court in Cardinal George Alencherry's case regarding canon law and the power of the Bishops to alienate church assets are prima facie in nature and no finality can be attached to them.

What women want is not to be put on a pedestal in society, but equal treatment as their male counterparts, whether it is in the workplace, at home, or on the public street, said Justice BV Nagarathna, Supreme Court judge, who is line to become the first woman chief justice of the country.

In a plea to reopen statutory panels in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, the Supreme Court asked the Union Government to consider bringing a mechanism which will allow people people in Jammu and Kashmir to file their complaints to the NHRC from J&K itself pertaining to human rights issues.

In the batch of petitions challenging religious conversion laws in various States, Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) highlighted before the Supreme Court that the State of Himachal Pradesh had re-enacted provisions directing prior intimation to district magistrate before conversion, despite such provisions being already struck down in the judgement of Evangelical Fellowship of India v. State of Himachal Pradesh.

In a PIL filed against the Supreme Court Registry because a party was not provided with the copy of petitions challenging the religious conversion laws, the Supreme Court bench comprising CJI DY Chandrachud, Justice PS Narasimha, and Justice JB Pardiwala, reprimanded the party stating that every PIL was not a bona fide PIL.

While noting that a third party could not be allowed to intervene into somebody's application for bail, the Supreme Court of India refused to entertain Ghanshyam Upadhyay's challenge to Bombay High Court's order granting interim bail to Videocon Group Chairman Venugopal Dhoot.

A plea challenging the renaming of the city of Aurangabad to 'Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar' has been filed in the Supreme Court of India.

The Chief Justice of India Justice DY Chandrachud, participated as a speaker at the India Today Conclave on ‘Justice in the Balance: My idea of India and the importance of separation of powers in a democracy’. He particularly engaged in discussions on Constitutional democracy. This is the first time a sitting Chief Justice of India has agreed to take live question in the Conclave.

Union law minister Kiren Rijiju on Saturday accused a handful of retired ‘activist’ judges of trying to make the judiciary play the role of an opposition party, even to the extent of “going to the court and asking it to reign in the government”.

Regarding its recent decision to permit foreign lawyers and law firms to practice foreign law in India on a reciprocity basis, the Bar Council Of India issued a press release putting out some clarification in an attempt to put to rest certain 'misapprehension' and 'misinformation' surrounding the same.