Supreme Court Weekly Digest With Nominal Subject/Statute Wise Index (July 1 - July 10, 2022)

Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 - The procedural defect may fall within the purview of irregularity and capable of being cured, but it should not be allowed to defeat the substantive right accrued to the litigant without affording reasonable opportunity. (Para 10) Ramnath Exports Pvt. Ltd. v. Vinita Mehta, 2022 LiveLaw (SC) 564

Code of Civil Procedure, 1908; Order XII Rule 6 - The power to pass judgment on admissions is discretionary and cannot be claimed as a matter of right - The said power should be only exercised when specific, clear and categorical admission of facts and documents are on record, otherwise the Court can refuse to invoke it. (Para 16-18) Karan Kapoor v. Madhuri Kumar, 2022 LiveLaw (SC) 567

Code of Civil Procedure, 1908; Order XXI Rule 97 - The bona­fide purchaser of the suit property is not entitled objecting execution of the decree by the decree holder. (Para 15) Shriram Housing Finance and Investment India Ltd. v. Omesh Mishra Memorial Charitable Trust, 2022 LiveLaw (SC) 565

Code of Civil Procedure, 1908; Order XXI Rule 97-102 - Applications under Rule 97 and Rule 99 are subject to Rule 101 which provides for determination of questions relating to disputes as to right, title or interest in the property arising between the parties to the proceedings or their representatives on an application made under Rule 97 or Rule 99. Effectively, the said Rule does away with the requirement of filing of fresh suit for adjudication of disputes. (Para 14, 16) Shriram Housing Finance and Investment India Ltd. v. Omesh Mishra Memorial Charitable Trust, 2022 LiveLaw (SC) 565

Code of Civil Procedure, 1908; Section 25 - Jurisdiction under Section 25 cannot be extended to determine the question of territorial jurisdiction of the proceedings- The plea of jurisdiction or the lack of it can be prompted before the Court in which the proceedings are pending. (Para 4-5) Neilan International Co. Ltd. v. Powerica Ltd., 2022 LiveLaw (SC) 566

Code of Civil Procedure, 1908; Section 96 - An appeal is a continuation of the proceedings of the original court. Ordinarily, First appeal involves a re­hearing on law as well as on fact as invoked by an aggrieved person. The first appeal is a valuable right of the appellant and therein all questions of fact and law are open for consideration by re­appreciating the material and evidence. The first appellate court is required to address on all the issues and decide the appeal assigning valid reasons either in support or against by re­appraisal - It must record its findings dealing all the issues, considering oral as well as documentary evidence led by the parties. (Para 8) Ramnath Exports Pvt. Ltd. v. Vinita Mehta, 2022 LiveLaw (SC) 564

Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973; Section 31 - Trial Court as well as Appellate Court has full discretion to order the sentences to run concurrently in case of conviction for two or more offences. (Para 10-11) Malkeet Singh Gill v. State of Chhattisgarh, 2022 LiveLaw (SC) 563

Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973; Section 397 - The High Court in criminal revision against conviction is not supposed to exercise the jurisdiction alike to the appellate Court and the scope of interference in revision is extremely narrow. Section 397 CrPC vests jurisdiction for the purpose of satisfying itself or himself as to the correctness, legality or propriety of any finding, sentence or order, recorded or passed, and as to the regularity of any proceedings of such inferior court. The object of the provision is to set right a patent defect or an error of jurisdiction or law. There has to be well­ founded error which is to be determined on the merits of individual case - While considering the same, the revisional Court does not dwell at length upon the facts and evidence of the case to reverse those findings. (Para 8-9) Malkeet Singh Gill v. State of Chhattisgarh, 2022 LiveLaw (SC) 563

Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973; Section 439 - Bail - Cancellation of Bail - Cancellation of bail cannot be limited to the occurrence of supervening circumstances - Illustrative circumstances where the bail can be cancelled :- a) Where the court granting bail takes into account irrelevant material of substantial nature and not trivial nature while ignoring relevant material on record. b) Where the court granting bail overlooks the influential position of the accused in comparison to the victim of abuse or the witnesses especially when there is prima facie misuse of position and power over the victim. c) Where the past criminal record and conduct of the accused is completely ignored while granting bail. d) Where bail has been granted on untenable grounds. e) Where serious discrepancies are found in the order granting bail thereby causing prejudice to justice. f) Where the grant of bail was not appropriate in the first place given the very serious nature of the charges against the accused which disentitles him for bail and thus cannot be justified. g) When the order granting bail is apparently whimsical, capricious and perverse in the facts of the given case. (Para 30-34) Deepak Yadav v. State of U.P., 2022 LiveLaw (SC) 562

Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973; Section 439 - Bail - Principles governing grant of bail - There is prima facie need to indicate reasons particularly in cases of grant or denial of bail where the accused is charged with a serious offence. The sound reasoning in a particular case is a reassurance that discretion has been exercised by the decision maker after considering all the relevant grounds and by disregarding extraneous considerations. (Para 19-29) Deepak Yadav v. State of U.P., 2022 LiveLaw (SC) 562

Electricity - A basic amenity of which a person cannot be deprived - Electricity cannot be declined to a tenant on the ground of failure/refusal of the landlord to issue no objection certificate. All that the electricity supply authority is required to examine is whether the applicant for electricity connection is in occupation of the premises in question. Dilip v. Satish, 2022 LiveLaw (SC) 570

Electricity - Appeal against High Court judgment which quashed FIR lodged by landlord against tenant alleging that he forged signature in a No objection certificate submitted before Electricity Board - Allowed - Completely overlooked the definition of cheating in Section 415 IPC- It cannot be said that fabrication and/or creation of records and/or forging a signature does not constitute an offence under the Indian Penal Code. Dilip v. Satish, 2022 LiveLaw (SC) 570

Motor Accidents Compensation - Supreme Court grants relief to an advocate who had suffered 100% permanent disability due to an accident by enhancing the compensation awarded by the High Court from Rs 23,20,000/- to Rs 51,62,000/-. Abhimanyu Partap Singh v. Namita Sekhon, 2022 LiveLaw (SC) 569

Motor Vehicles Act 1988 - Motor Accidents Claims Compensation - Mutliplier Method - Multiplier method has been recognized as most realistic and reasonable because it has been decided by looking at the age, inflation rate, uncertainty of life and other realistic needs - Not only for determination of future loss of earning but for attendant charges also the multiplier method should be followed. (Para 14) Abhimanyu Partap Singh v. Namita Sekhon, 2022 LiveLaw (SC) 569

Prospective Overruling - The law declared by a court will have retrospective effect, if not otherwise stated to be so specifically - Power to apply the doctrine of prospective overruling (so as to remove the adverse effect) must be exercised in the clearest possible term. Manoj Parihar v. State of Jammu and Kashmir, 2022 LiveLaw (SC) 560

Service Law - Direct Recruitment - The preparation of inter se merit list of the selected candidates is inevitable, even in the absence of an explicit provision in the rule or policy, the recruitment authority cannot place the candidates inter se in the select list under the rule of thumb or by adopting the methodology which is inconsistent with the spirit of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution. The inter se merit list of the selected candidates can be prepared as a combined effect of several factors like written test, objective test, viva­voce and/or other parameters as may have been prescribed keeping in view the special requirement of service. (Para 16) Manoj Parihar v. State of Jammu and Kashmir, 2022 LiveLaw (SC) 560

Service Law - Judicial Service - Munisffs - The roster points do not determine the seniority of the appointees who gain simultaneous appointments; that is to say, those who are appointed collectively on the same date or are deemed to be appointed on the same date, irrespective when they joined their posts - The roster system is only for the purpose of ensuring that the quantum of reservation is reflected in the recruitment process. It has nothing to do with the inter­ se seniority among those recruited. (Para 29) Manoj Parihar v. State of Jammu and Kashmir, 2022 LiveLaw (SC) 560

Service Law - Parity of Pay Scale - Well settled that there can be no equality to a wrong and/or illegality. Just because a librarian may have been erroneously granted the UGC pay scale, that would not entitle others to claim the UGC pay scale, if not applicable under the Rules. (Para 20) State of Madhya Pradesh v. Seema Sharma, 2022 LiveLaw (SC) 571

Service Law - Promotion based on merit­ cum­ seniority - Seniority by itself is not the only qualification for promotion to a selection post - The comparative merit has to be evaluated in which seniority will be one of the factors only - Even a junior most person may steal a march over his seniors and jump the queue for accelerated promotion. (Para 16) Manoj Parihar v. State of Jammu and Kashmir, 2022 LiveLaw (SC) 560

Service Law - The doctrine of equal pay for equal work could only be invoked when the employees were similarly circumstanced in every way. Mere similarity of designation or similarity or quantum of work was not determinative of equality in the matter of pay scales. The Court had to consider all the relevant factors such as the mode of recruitment, qualifications for the post, the nature of work, the value of work, responsibilities involved and various other factors. (Para 18) State of Madhya Pradesh v. Seema Sharma, 2022 LiveLaw (SC) 571

Service Law - The fixation of scales of pay is a matter of policy, with which the Courts can only interfere in exceptional cases where there is discrimination between two sets of employees appointed by the same authority, in the same manner, where the eligibility criteria is the same and the duties are identical in every aspect. (Para 23) State of Madhya Pradesh v. Seema Sharma, 2022 LiveLaw (SC) 571

Small Cause Courts Act, 1964 (Karnataka); Section 18 - High Court is empowered to interfere with findings of fact only if the findings are perverse or based on no evidence or suffering from error of law or there has been non-appreciation or non-consideration of a material on record by the court(s) below - That another view is possible based on the evidence on record can be no ground for the High Court to interfere with an order of court(s) below in exercise of its revisional jurisdiction - When the judgment and decree of the Civil Court is not 'according to law,' the High Court is certainly within its rights to set aside the decree in exercise of its revisional jurisdiction. (Para 6, 11) K.M. Manjunath v. Erappa G., 2022 LiveLaw (SC) 561

Tenancy & Rent Control Law - Mesne Profits - After passing the decree of eviction the tenancy terminates and from the said date the landlord is entitled for mesne profits or compensation depriving him from the use of the premises - Once a decree for possession has been passed and the execution is delayed depriving the decree holder to reap the fruits, it is necessary for the Appellate Court to pass appropriate orders fixing reasonable mesne profits which may be equivalent to the market rent required to be paid by a person who is holding over the property -Appellate Court does have jurisdiction to put reasonable terms and conditions as would in its opinion reasonable to compensate the decree holder for loss occasioned by delay in execution of the decree while granting the stay. M/s. Martin & Harris Pvt. Ltd v. Rajendra Mehta, 2022 LiveLaw (SC) 568

Transfer of Property Act, 1882 - In a suit for ejectment filed by the landlord the material questions would be whether there was jural relationship of landlord – tenant between the parties and whether tenancy was validly terminated. (Para 8) K.M. Manjunath v. Erappa G., 2022 LiveLaw (SC) 561

Transfer of Property Act, 1882; Section 106, 111(a) - On determination of the lease by efflux of time no further termination of the tenancy by issuing a statutory notice to bring termination of a lease already terminated is necessary. K.M. Manjunath v. Erappa G., 2022 LiveLaw (SC) 561

Transfer of Property Act, 1882; Section 111 - Mere acceptance of the rent by the landlord after the expiry of the period of lease would not amount to waiver of the termination of lease. K.M. Manjunath v. Erappa G., 2022 LiveLaw (SC) 561

NOMINAL INDEX

1. Abhimanyu Partap Singh v. Namita Sekhon, 2022 LiveLaw (SC) 569
2. Deepak Yadav v. State of U.P., 2022 LiveLaw (SC) 562
3. Dilip v. Satish, 2022 LiveLaw (SC) 570
4. K.M. Manjunath v. Erappa G., 2022 LiveLaw (SC) 561
5. Karan Kapoor v. Madhuri Kumar, 2022 LiveLaw (SC) 567
6. M/s. Martin & Harris Pvt. Ltd v. Rajendra Mehta, 2022 LiveLaw (SC) 568
7. Malkeet Singh Gill v. State of Chhattisgarh, 2022 LiveLaw (SC) 563
8. Manoj Parihar v. State of Jammu and Kashmir, 2022 LiveLaw (SC) 560
9. Neilan International Co. Ltd. v. Powerica Ltd., 2022 LiveLaw (SC) 566
10. Ramnath Exports Pvt. Ltd. v. Vinita Mehta, 2022 LiveLaw (SC) 564
11. Shriram Housing Finance and Investment India Ltd. v. Omesh Mishra Memorial Charitable Trust, 2022 LiveLaw (SC) 565
12. State of Madhya Pradesh v. Seema Sharma, 2022 LiveLaw (SC) 571