A. Food Safety and Standards Act,2006—Front-of-Package Labelling (FoPL)—HFSS Foods—Ultra-Processed Foods—Consumer Health—Nutritional Information— Front-of-Package Labelling is intended to provide a simple,prominent and readily comprehensible warning regarding foods high in nutrients of concern and to facilitate informed consumer choice—while finalising the FoPL regime,the FSSAI must scientifically determine the applicable thresholds for fat,sugar and salt and ensure that the labelling mechanism is clear,prominent,conspicuous and accessible to consumers having diverse levels of literacy and comprehension—health protection and informed dietary decision-making are integral considerations in framing the regulatory framework. [Paras 3–5,28–29,38] B. Food Safety and Standards Act,20...
A. Electricity Act,2003—Section 56(2)—Electricity Charges—Supplementary Demand—Limitation—“First Due”— The liability to pay electricity charges arises on consumption,but the charges become “first due” only when the bill quantifying the amount payable is issued by the distribution licensee—the two-year period under Section 56(2) commences from the date on which the charges first become due—where Minimum Consumption Guarantee Charges relating to additional load for February–September 1998 were demanded for the first time on 13.02.2007,the demand could not be sustained under Section 56(2),particularly when the amount had not been continuously shown as recoverable arrears in earlier bills. [Paras 8.1,10–11] B. Electricity Act,2003—Section 56(2)—...
A. Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act,2015—Section 94(2)—Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012—Section 34—Victim’s Age—Determination of Minority—Prescribed Documents—Medical Age Determination— For determining the age of a POCSO victim, the statutory mechanism under Section 94 of the JJ Act must be followed—the date of birth certificate from the school or matriculation/equivalent certificate has precedence, followed in its absence by a birth certificate issued by a corporation,municipal authority or panchayat—only in the absence of such documents can age be determined through ossification or the latest medical age determination test—a Baptismal Certificate,though corroborated by oral evidence, does not satisfy the statutory requireme...
A. Code of Civil Procedure,1908—Section 100—Second Appeal—Concurrent Findings—Substantial Question of Law—Misapplication of Law—Interference— Concurrent findings of fact ordinarily cannot be disturbed by the High Court in second appeal—the bar does not apply where such findings are founded upon an erroneous application of settled legal principles, ignore material evidence or are otherwise legally unsustainable—where Courts below treated revenue entries as proof of title and equated long possession with adverse possession, the High Court was justified in examining the legal correctness of such conclusions—the interference was correction of an error of law and not mere reappreciation of evidence. [Paras 39–43] B. Limitation Act,1963—Adverse Possession—Hostile P...
A. Constitution of India—Article 72—CrPC,1973—Sections 432,433—Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, 1987—Section 19—Life Imprisonment—Sovereign Assurance—Extradition—25-Year Period— A sovereign assurance given by the Government of India to the Government of Portugal that an extradited accused would not be subjected to imprisonment exceeding 25 years does not convert a sentence of life imprisonment imposed by the competent court into a fixed-term sentence of 25 years—the assurance operates as an executive commitment requiring the Central Government, upon completion of the stipulated period, to consider advising the President under Article 72 or exercising powers under Sections 432 and 433 CrPC—the judicial sentence remains one of life imprisonment and ...
A. Constitution of India—Article 14—Administrative Discretion—National Sports Assignment—Government Employee—Timely Consideration—Judicial Review— Absence of an absolute right to deputation or foreign travel does not mean absence of a right to fair, reasonable, non-arbitrary and timely consideration of a request—administrative discretion remains subject to Article 14 and the authority must consider relevant factors, exclude extraneous considerations and act within a reasonable time—where a recognised National Sports Federation sought the services of a Government employee as coach for preparation of the Indian National Team for an international event, prolonged executive inaction in a time-sensitive matter, capable of prejudicing the national sporting interest, was held amenable to judi...
Settlement Agreement—Consent Award—Decree—Binding Effect—Special Leave Petition— Where all parties have voluntarily settled the dispute under duly signed settlement agreement(s), admit execution of the settlement before the Court and jointly request that an award be passed in terms thereof, the settlement is liable to be accepted and an award passed accordingly—parties are bound by the terms and conditions of the settlement agreement and decree is to be drawn in terms of the award—the Special Leave Petition is consequently disposed of in terms of the settlement agreement/Award. [Paras 1–5] ...
A. Arbitration and Conciliation Act,1996—Settlement Agreement—Consent Award—Decree—Binding Effect— Where the parties have voluntarily settled the dispute under a duly signed settlement agreement, admit its execution before the Court and request that an award be passed in terms thereof, the settlement is liable to be accepted and a consent award passed accordingly—the parties remain bound by the terms and conditions of the settlement agreement and a decree is to be drawn in terms of the award. [Paras 1–3] B. Arbitration and Conciliation Act,1996—Settlement Agreement—Consent Award—Special Leave Petition—Disposal—DLSA—Role in Settlement— Where parties arrive at a settlement during proceedings before the Supreme Court and jointly seek disposal of the matter...
A. Code of Criminal Procedure,1973—Section 432—Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita,2023—Section 473—Permanent Remission—Premature Release—Remission Policy— Where the appropriate Government has a policy governing premature release, it is under an obligation to consider the case of every eligible convict in accordance with the applicable policy—such consideration need not await a specific application by the convict or his relatives—District Legal Services Authority is required to monitor eligibility and facilitate the remission process. [Paras 6–9] B. Code of Criminal Procedure,1973—Section 432—BNSS,2023—Section 473—Permanent Remission—Long Incarceration—Life Convict—Bail— A convict undergoing life imprisonment for an offence under ...
A. Fundamental Rules, FR 56(j)—Compulsory Retirement—Public Interest—Judicial Review—Scope—Compulsory retirement is non-punitive, but the power remains subject to judicial review—interference is permissible where the order is mala fide, arbitrary, perverse, based on no evidence or founded on collateral considerations—court cannot act as an appellate authority but can examine whether the requisite satisfaction has a rational basis. [Paras 37,39–41,49] B. Fundamental Rules, FR 56(j)—Compulsory Retirement—Entire Service Record—Recent Merit-Based Promotion—Effect—Entire service record is required to be considered, with due weight to the immediate past—earlier adverse material is not automatically erased by promotion, but a recent promotion earned on merit i...
A. Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita,2023—Section 528—IPC,1860—Sections 503,506,34—Quashing of Criminal Proceedings—Criminal Intimidation—Ingredients—Common Intention— For an offence under Section 506 IPC,the complaint or charge-sheet must disclose a specific threat of injury to the person,reputation or property of the victim with the requisite intention to cause alarm or compel an act or omission—mere allegations of a broken relationship,refusal to acknowledge a relationship or other surrounding circumstances do not constitute criminal intimidation in the absence of such threat—where no offence under Section 506 is made out,the foundational requirement for applying Section 34 IPC is also absent. [Paras 17–20,25,28–29] B. Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita,2023&md...
A. Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act,1956—Section 10(iv)—Adoption—Age of Adopted Person—Registered Deed of Adoption—Prior Adoption— For determining the validity of adoption under Section 10(iv), the relevant consideration is whether the person had completed fifteen years at the time when the adoption was actually made—the factum of adoption is completed by actual giving and taking of the child in adoption and a subsequently registered deed is not necessarily the moment of adoption but may merely record or evidence an adoption already made—where affidavits and other materials established the adoption and assumption of the relationship while the petitioner was below fifteen years of age, rejection of compassionate appointment solely on the basis of his age on the date of the subsequent regis...
A. Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita,2023—Section 58—Constitution of India—Article 22(2)—Arrest—Production before Magistrate—24-Hour Constitutional Safeguard—Bail— Section 58 of BNSS read with Article 22(2) mandates production of an arrested person before the nearest Magistrate within 24 hours of arrest, excluding the time necessary for journey from the place of arrest to the Magistrate’s Court—where the accused persons were apprehended on 28.03.2026 and produced before the Magistrate only after 4.40 p.m. on 30.03.2026 and, even after excluding approximately 10 hours required for the journey, detention exceeded 24 hours without Magistrate’s authority, the arrest and subsequent remand stood vitiated—accused were consequently entitled to bail on account of violation of...
A. Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita,2023—Section 483—Bail—Parity—Co-accused—Husband—Absence from Scene of Occurrence— Where co-accused parents-in-law and brother-in-law alleged to be present at the scene of occurrence have already been granted bail and such orders have not been challenged by the informant, the husband, who was admittedly not present at the scene of occurrence, is entitled to consideration of the principle of parity—where his alleged role was confined to instigation and the principal allegation regarding procurement of poison was against the father-in-law, parity along with the petitioner’s absence from the scene constitutes a relevant circumstance for grant of bail. [Para 3] B. Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita,2023—Section 483—Bail—Pre-trial De...
A. Indian Penal Code,1860—Sections 299,300,301 and 304 Part II—Culpable Homicide—Murder—Intention and Knowledge—Fatal Blow to Intervening Person— Mere fact that the accused’s act resulted in death does not by itself constitute murder—the prosecution must establish that the act falls within one of the four clauses of Section 300—where the accused intended to assault one person and the deceased intervened and sustained the fatal blow, the culpability of the accused has to be determined with reference to the intention or knowledge accompanying the intended assault—the fact that the injury ultimately proved fatal is insufficient by itself to establish the intention required under Section 300—where the circumstances establish knowledge that the act was likely to cause death but ...
A. Code of Civil Procedure,1908—Order 14 Rule 1—First Appellate Court—Non-Framing of Points of Determination—Prejudice—Procedural Irregularity— Non-framing of a separate point of determination by the First Appellate Court does not by itself vitiate the judgment—what is material is whether the parties were aware of the controversy and had adequate opportunity to lead evidence and advance submissions thereon—where the parties fully understood the issues arising from the challenge to the Will and had led evidence on those issues,the omission to formally frame separate points of determination caused no prejudice and could not be a ground for interference. [Paras 66–83] B. Indian Succession Act,1925—Section 63—Will—Execution—Attestation—Attesting Witnes...
A. Kerala Co-operative Societies Act,1969—Section 83(1)(j)—Kerala Co-operative Societies Rules,1969—Rules 82,83—Auction Sale—Setting Aside—Material Irregularity or Fraud—Limitation— An application to set aside an auction sale on the ground of irregularity or fraud under Rule 83 is required to be filed within thirty days from the date of sale—where the judgment-debtors neither raised objections during the execution proceedings nor invoked Rules 82 or 83 within the prescribed period,the subsequent statutory appeal against confirmation of sale and writ proceedings cannot be used to revive a stale challenge—the principles underlying Order XXI Rule 90(3) CPC are applicable to auction sales conducted in execution of co-operative awards. [Paras 18–25] B. Kerala Co-operative Soc...
A. Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act,1956—Section 20(3)—Maintenance—Unmarried Daughter—Majority—Right to Claim Maintenance— An unmarried Hindu daughter is entitled to claim maintenance from her father under Section 20(3) even after attaining majority,provided she is unable to maintain herself—the obligation is enforceable against the father and does not cease merely because the daughter has attained majority—the fact that the daughter is pursuing higher education does not by itself disentitle her from claiming maintenance. [Paras 7–8] B. Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act,1956—Section 20—Maintenance of Children—Liability of Parents—Earning Wife—Financial Capacity— The obligation to maintain children is shared by both parents but cannot be divid...
A. Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005—Section 29—Appeal—Limitation—Condonation of Delay—Welfare Legislation— Rejection of an application seeking condonation of delay in filing an appeal under Section 29, though interlocutory in form, finally terminates the statutory appellate remedy and is amenable to revisional scrutiny—In proceedings under the beneficial and welfare-oriented Domestic Violence Act, Courts should ordinarily prefer adjudication on merits rather than shut out an appeal on limitation—Procedural technicalities should not defeat substantial justice. [Paras 18, 21–25]. B. BNSS, 2023—Section 438(2)—Revision—Interlocutory Order—Condonation of Delay—Final Effect— The character of an order is not determined merely by its l...
A. Indian Penal Code, 1860—Section 306—Abetment of Suicide—Marital Cruelty—Proximate Cause—Cumulative Circumstances— Conviction under Section 306 IPC can be sustained where the conduct of the accused and circumstances preceding suicide establish abetment having a proximate causal connection with the deceased taking the extreme step—Relationship with another woman, quarrels, neglect, disappearance of the accused and resultant mental agony were required to be considered cumulatively—Where such circumstances, read with suicide note and oral evidence, established the accused’s conduct as the proximate cause, conviction was upheld. [Paras 14–18]. B. Indian Penal Code, 1860—Section 306—Abetment of Suicide—Suicide Note—Evidentiary Value—Delayed Forwardin...