A. Limitation Act, 1963—Section 18—Acknowledgment of liability—Balance sheets—Entries in books of account, including balance sheets, may constitute acknowledgment of liability giving rise to a fresh period of limitation—Acknowledgment need not specifically name the creditor or be made in any prescribed format, provided it indicates a subsisting jural relationship when read in conjunction with surrounding circumstances—Balance sheets and accompanying notes, qualifications and auditor’s report to be considered as a whole. (Paras 9-11, 14)B. Limitation Act, 1963—Section 18—Acknowledgment of liability—Running bills and outstanding contractual dues—Defendant-Society’s bank reconciliation statements recording three cheques issued in favour of plaintiff as contractor, coupled with subsequent balance sheets continuously ca...
A. Hindu Succession Act, 1956—Section 8—Succession to property of Hindu male dying intestate—Grandson’s right—Property of a Hindu male dying intestate devolves simultaneously upon Class I heirs to the exclusion of all other heirs—Son’s son, whose father is alive, is not a Class I heir and does not acquire any right by birth in the property inherited by his father under Section 8—Property devolving upon a son under Section 8 is held by him in his individual capacity and not as karta of his own Hindu undivided family—Pre-existing Hindu law recognising a grandson’s right by birth stands modified by the codified statutory scheme. (Paras 34-38)B. Hindu Succession Act, 1956—Sections 6, 8 and 19—Ancestral property—Succession and partition among Class I heirs—Distinction between devolution by succession and coparcenary...
A. Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006—Sections 2(c), 2(o) and 6—Forest rights—Recognition of Forest Dwelling Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers—Eligibility—Claims required to be determined strictly in accordance with statutory three-tier mechanism comprising Gram Sabha, Sub-Divisional Level Committee and District Level Committee—Present occupation or cultivation of forest land, by itself, does not establish statutory entitlement—Forest rights confined to persons satisfying prescribed requirements of primary residence in and dependence upon forest or forest land for bona fide livelihood needs—Persons not satisfying statutory conditions liable to be removed in accordance with law. (Paras 43-55)B. Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwe...
A. Constitution of India—Article 131—Inter-State dispute—Bhakra-Nangal and Beas Hydel Projects—State of Himachal Pradesh—Entitlement to share in power generated—Earlier decree dated 27-9-2011 declaring entitlement of 7.19% of power attributable to composite Punjab and directing Union of India to compute amounts payable—Subsequent proceedings confined to working out energy arrears, capital-cost liability and mode of implementation—Earlier adjudicated rights and findings not open to reconsideration in execution proceedings. (Paras 3, 5.20-5.26, 28-30)B. Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966—Section 78—Bhakra-Nangal and Beas Projects—Apportionment of rights and liabilities—Earlier decree dated 27-9-2011 held that Section 78(1) conferred an enforceable legal right upon Himachal Pradesh—Tentative record dated 17-4-1967 and ...
A. Constitution of India—Articles 32, 141 and 142—Other Backward Classes—Creamy layer—Judgment dated 11-3-2026—Scope and temporal operation—Distinction between binding legal principle and operative relief—Interpretation of Office Memorandum dated 8-9-1993, as clarified by letter dated 14-10-2004, constitutes binding precedent under Article 141—Operative relief in the judgment confined to respondent candidates and intervenors whose claims were before the Court—No direction for retrospective reopening of concluded selections, appointments, service allocations or seniority—Miscellaneous applications cannot be used to seek rehearing or reconsideration of issues already decided. (Paras 11-16)B. Constitution of India—Article 141—Other Backward Classes—Creamy layer—Supernumerary posts—Intervention applications—Par...
A. Constitution of India—Article 14—Compulsory retirement—Discrimination—Challenge on ground that similarly situated employees were retained in service—Compulsory retirement involves individual assessment of each employee’s utility, integrity, efficiency and overall service profile—Non-retirement of another employee having comparable service record does not, by itself, establish discrimination or invalidate the order—Article 14 embodies positive equality and does not permit a claim founded on negative equality or perpetuation of an earlier illegality. (Paras 28-30, 34-36)B. Fundamental Rule 56—Chhattisgarh Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1976—Rule 42—Compulsory retirement—Scope of judicial review—Order of compulsory retirement is neither punitive nor stigmatic and does not attract principles of natural justice or...
A. Constitution of India—Article 12—‘State’—National Book Trust—Society registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860—Whether ‘State’ within meaning of Article 12—Determination—Mere registration as a society or non-statutory character does not exclude a body from Article 12—Constitutional inquiry depends upon substance of relationship between body and Government, and not its legal form or nomenclature—National Book Trust held to be an ‘other authority’ and consequently ‘State’ within Article 12. (Paras 6-10, 25-27)B. Constitution of India—Article 12—Instrumentality or agency of Government—Tests—Financial, functional and administrative control—Tests laid down in Ramana Dayaram Shetty and Ajay Hasia are indicative and not rigid or conclusive checklist—Cumulative assessment required to de...
A. Uttar Pradesh Consolidation of Holdings Act, 1953—Sections 4(2), 9 and 19—Consolidation proceedings—Allotment of roadside land having commercial value—Original tenure holders—Appellants having no original right or preferential claim over the disputed plot—Respondents being original tenure holders—Disputed land abutting main highway and possessing high commercial value—Government Circulars dated 26-5-1981 and 9-9-1988 directing exclusion of commercially valuable roadside land from consolidation operations and, where retained, allotment to original tenure holders—Consolidation authorities committing illegality in allotting such land to strangers while displacing original tenure holders—Allotment in favour of appellants rightly set aside by High Court. (Paras 3-6, 11-12)B. Uttar Pradesh Consolidation of Holdings Act, 1...
A. Code of Civil Procedure, 1908—Order IV, Rule 1—Order VII, Rule 11—Rejection of plaint before registration—Court empowered to reject plaint even before its registration or numbering and at any stage of proceedings—Registration not a condition precedent for exercise of power—However, such power must be exercised strictly within grounds specified under Rule 11. (Paras 8-11)B. Code of Civil Procedure, 1908—Order VII, Rule 11(a) and (d)—Rejection of plaint—Disclosure of cause of action—Meaningful reading—Plaint must be read as a whole, considering all material averments and reliefs—Where cause of action is disclosed and suit does not appear from statements in plaint to be barred by law, rejection at threshold is impermissible—Likelihood of dismissal after trial is no ground for rejection. (Paras 13-16)C. Code of Ci...
A. Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973—Sections 57 and 167—Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023—Sections 58 and 187—Constitution of India—Article 22(2)—Reasonable period of detention—Statutory safeguard—Apart from mandatory 24-hours limit, detention without warrant must not exceed a reasonable period having regard to circumstances of the case—Even where production is technically within 24 hours, Magistrate must examine whether detention exceeded reasonable period and may decline remand—Magistrate duty-bound to record actual time of detention and examine compliance with constitutional and statutory safeguards. (Paras 17-20, 60, 67, 69)B. Constitution of India—Article 22(2)—Arrest and detention—Production before Magistrate within 24 hours—Commencement of limitation—24-hours period commences from the time when ...
A. Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012—Sections 5(m) and 6—Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023—Sections 180 and 183—Bail—Contradictions in statements of minor victim—Held, Material contradictions between the victim's statements recorded under Sections 180 and 183 BNSS regarding the nature and particulars of the alleged sexual assault were relevant considerations while examining the bail application—Initial statement referred to misbehaviour, whereas subsequent statement contained a detailed account and an allegation of rape on two earlier occasions. (Paras 3-6)B. Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012—Sections 5(m) and 6—Bail—Medical evidence—Absence of injury on private parts—Held, Medico-legal examination conducted promptly after the alleged incident did not support the alleg...
A. Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012—Sections 5(m) and 6—Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023—Sections 180 and 183—Bail—Contradictions in statements of minor victim—Held, Material contradictions between the victim's statements recorded under Sections 180 and 183 BNSS regarding the nature of alleged sexual assault and involvement of another minor girl were relevant considerations while examining the bail application—FIR contained no allegation of penetrative sexual assault, whereas the subsequent statement alleged attempted penetrative sexual assault against two minor girls. (Paras 3-6)B. Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023—Bail—Consideration of relevant factors—Absence of criminal antecedents—Custody—Held, While considering bail, Court took into account the nature of accusation, evidenc...
A. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989—Section 14A(1)—Appeal against dismissal of complaint—Caste-based abuse—Absence of specific caste-related words—Held, Mere allegation that the accused abused the complainant by referring to his caste, without specifying the caste-related words allegedly uttered, was insufficient to establish the essential ingredients of the alleged offence—Absence of specific particulars in the complaint and statement of complainant rendered the allegation unsupported by cogent material. (Paras 8, 11-13)B. Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973—Sections 200, 202 and 203—Dismissal of complaint—Inquiry into allegations—Material omissions—Held, While considering the complaint and statements recorded during inquiry, the Court must examine whether the allegations are s...
A. Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973—Sections 227 and 228—Discharge—Consideration of material at stage of framing of charge—Prima facie case—Held, At the stage of discharge or framing of charge, the Court is required to evaluate the prosecution material to determine whether a prima facie case or strong suspicion exists against the accused—Meticulous appreciation of evidence or examination of its correctness and sufficiency is impermissible at this preliminary stage—Where the material raises strong suspicion regarding commission of the offence, charge is liable to be framed. (Paras 8-11)B. Indian Penal Code, 1860—Sections 228, 323, 353, 354, 354-B, 387, 504, 506 and 511—Assault in court premises—Injuries to multiple persons—Prima facie case—Held, FIR allegations, specific role attributed to the appellant in the infor...
A. Indian Penal Code, 1860—Sections 307, 308 and 34—Attempt to murder—Pushing injured down from roof—Absence of intention to commit murder—Held, Mere proof of an assault resulting in grievous injuries is insufficient to sustain conviction under Section 307 IPC unless the requisite intention or knowledge to commit murder is established—In the absence of proof of the precise manner of pushing or specific overt acts demonstrating intention to cause death, the offence falls under Section 308 read with Section 34 IPC—Conviction accordingly altered from Section 307/34 to Section 308/34 IPC. (Paras 11-18)B. Indian Evidence Act, 1872—Injured witness—Evidentiary value—Medical corroboration—Held, Testimony of the injured witness regarding the assault and participation of the accused carries considerable evidentiary value, part...
A. Indian Penal Code, 1860—Sections 34, 325 and 323—Common intention—Joint assault—Liability of participants—Held, Where the injured witness establishes the joint participation of the accused in an assault and the circumstances establish common intention, prosecution is not required to prove that each accused inflicted a particular injury—Participation of the surviving appellants in the assault stood established by reliable ocular and medical evidence—Conviction under Sections 325 and 323 IPC affirmed. (Paras 33-34, 50-52)B. Evidence Act, 1872—Injured witness—Evidentiary value—Related witness—Minor discrepancies—Held, Testimony of an injured witness carries greater evidentiary value as his presence at the place of occurrence is established by the injuries sustained—Such testimony cannot be discarded merely becaus...
A. Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973—Section 482—Indian Penal Code, 1860—Sections 415 and 420—Cheating—Dispute relating to competing claims over immovable property—Held, Execution of a transfer deed by a person in favour of his son, without any representation to or inducement of the complainant, does not constitute cheating merely because the complainant claims title over the same property—Where neither deception nor inducement to deliver property is alleged, criminal proceedings under Section 420 IPC are an abuse of process, particularly when the dispute is already pending before the civil court. (Paras 13-16)B. Punjab Apartment and Property Regulation Act, 1995—Sections 2(i), 2(y), 36(1), 36(3) and 38(1)—Development of colony—Sale of plots without approval—Promoter—Criminal prosecution—Held, Owner of land on whi...
A. Constitution of India—Articles 14 and 16—Uttar Pradesh Fundamental Rule 56—Compulsory retirement—Judicial officer—Scope of judicial review—Held, An order of compulsory retirement under Fundamental Rule 56, as applicable in Uttar Pradesh, is not a punishment and may be passed in public interest on the basis of subjective satisfaction of the competent authority—Judicial review is extremely limited and interference is permissible only where the order is vitiated by mala fides, based on no evidence or perverse. (Paras 13, 21-23)B. Uttar Pradesh Fundamental Rule 56—Compulsory retirement—Judicial officer—Entire service record—Screening Committee—Full Court—Held, In assessing the suitability of a judicial officer for retention in service, the entire service record may be considered by the Screening Committee, Adminis...
A. Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023—Sections 438 and 442(2)—Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973—Sections 397 and 401(2)—Criminal revision—Maintainability—Accused challenging Magistrate’s order rejecting police closure report and directing further investigation—Objection that accused had no right of hearing before Magistrate at pre-cognizance stage—Absence of right to participate before Magistrate not extinguishing right to invoke revisional jurisdiction against an order directly prejudicial to accused—Right of hearing in revision distinct from right of participation before Magistrate—Revision held maintainable. (Paras 38-49)B. Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023—Section 193(8)—Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973—Section 173(8)—Final report—Protest petition—Magistrate’s powers—Magistrate empower...