Customs Act, 1962—Section 110A—Empowers the adjudicating authority to order the provisional release of goods seized under Section 110, pending adjudication, on furnishing of bond and fulfillment of conditions as deemed necessary—This discretionary power extends broadly to "any goods," and the provision does not expressly exclude prohibited goods from its ambit—Even where goods are categorized as ‘prohibited’ under the import policy—such as for failing to meet BIS standards—they are not necessarily barred from provisional release under Section 110A—The authority retains discretion, to be exercised judiciously based on the nature of the goods and applicable compliance requirements—In cases involving non-compliance with BIS standards or allegations of undervaluation, but w...

Criminal Procedure Code, 1973—Section 374(2)—Appeal Against Conviction—Indian Penal Code, 1860—Sections 363/34, 370(4)/34, 374/34—Acquittal of Co-accused and Lack of Independent Charge—Benefit of Doubt—Where the main co-accused, charged under the same provisions with the aid of Section 34 IPC, has been acquitted on the ground that the prosecution failed to establish trafficking or exploitation as defined under Section 370 IPC, and where the appellant was also charged only with the aid of Section 34 IPC and no substantive independent charge was framed against him, the conviction of the appellant for the same offence cannot be sustained—Applying the principles laid down in Sukhram v. State of M.P., (1989 Supp (1) SCC 214), and Rajesh Tandi v. State of Chhattisgarh (SLP (Crl.) No. 7609/2024), t...

Employee’s Compensation Act, 1923—Section 4A(3)(a)—The existence of an employer-employee relationship is a question of fact that must be determined based on credible evidence—In a claim involving the death of a driver, the sworn testimony of the owner admitting that the deceased worked as his driver and received regular wages was held to be decisive—Assertions in documents, such as police records or claim forms suggesting a familial relationship (e.g., “nephew”), were found insufficient to rebut this claim, especially when such descriptions are explained as village custom and denied under oath—The insurer failed to produce any cogent evidence to establish a contrary relationship or negate the employment—On the issue of interest under Section 4A(3)(a), compensation becomes “due&rd...

In cases involving organized violent acts such as Naxalite attacks, Sections 149 and 120B of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, are applicable to impose collective and conspiratorial liability—Under Section 149 IPC, when an offence like murder is committed by any member of an unlawful assembly, every member of that assembly can be held vicariously liable if it is proved that they shared a common object—The presence of the accused near the crime scene, being armed, or participating in post-incident activities such as slogan-shouting are strong circumstantial indicators of shared intent, even if no overt act or fatal blow is directly attributed to the specific individual (Paras 4, 5, 25–29, 35, 41)—Similarly, under Section 120B IPC, a charge of criminal conspiracy in the context of Naxalite activities may be proven through...

This intra-court appeal, appellants challenged the dismissal of their writ petition by the learned Single Judge regarding their removal from posts as Chairperson and Members of the Chhattisgarh Rajya Anusuchit Janjati Ayog, effected by the State's order dated 15.12.2023—The appellants contended that their removal, pursuant to a general directive to remove politically appointed persons, violated Section 4(3) of the Chhattisgarh Rajya Anusuchit Janjati Ayog (Sanshodhan) Adhiniyam, 2020, which mandates a procedure and opportunity of hearing—The State countered that the appointments were explicitly made at the pleasure of the Government as per Section 4(1) of the Act and could be terminated at any time without notice—The Division Bench upheld the Single Judge's view that such pleasure appointments are terminable with...

Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017—Section 140—The issue in this case revolves around whether the learned Single Judge was justified in directing the respondents to reopen the GST portal to allow the writ petitioner to submit a revised FORM GST TRAN-1 for claiming transitional credit under the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017—The writ petitioner, engaged in the sale of motor vehicles, was unable to file the FORM GST TRAN-1 due to technical glitches, resulting in a mistaken submission of NIL CENVAT credit—The Supreme Court's order in Filco Trade Centre Private Limited (2022) provided for a two-month window (1-9-2022 to 31-10-2022) for filing and revising forms, extended until 30-11-2022—The circular issued on 9-9-2022 by the Ministry of Finance emphasized that once the submit button is clicke...

Penal Code, 1860—Sections 149, 302—The appellate court reversing the acquittal by the trial court—The case involved murder and attempt to murder by an unlawful assembly—The injured eyewitness (PW-1) provided consistent and credible testimony identifying the accused, even though all names were not mentioned in the FIR—The delay in naming some accused in the Section 161 CrPC statement was held immaterial, especially when promptly recorded and corroborated by medical evidence (post-mortem and MLC reports) and another eyewitness (PW-11, the deceased’s mother)—Minor discrepancies or omissions did not impair the overall credibility of PW-1—The appellate court found that the trial court had wrongly ignored this compelling evidence, and such failure constituted a perverse and legally unsustainable f...

Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996—Section 36—Enforcement of Arbitration Award—Child Custody—Non-Arbitrable Disputes—In this case, the petitioner challenged the rejection of his application under Section 36 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 for enforcement of an arbitration award concerning child custody—The petitioner and respondent No. 1 had agreed on joint custody of their children, with the children residing in Rajnandgaon until reaching majority—However, respondent No. 1 relocated their daughter to Hyderabad for educational purposes, which the petitioner argued was in violation of the agreement—The Court, citing the Supreme Court's judgment in Booz Allen and Hamilton Inc. v. SBI Home Finance Ltd. (2011), held that matrimonial disputes, including child custody, are no...

Civil Procedure Code, 1908—Section 151—The petitioners challenged the order passed by the trial court rejecting their application under Section 151 CPC for impounding certain documents—The plaintiffs filed a suit seeking declaration of title, possession, and damages, relying on a registered sale deed and other agreements—They moved an application for impounding unregistered documents executed in 1966 and 1973—The trial court referred the documents to the Collector (Stamp) to assess stamp duty, but the Collector declined to act due to the five-year limit under Section 48B of the Indian Stamp Act—The petitioners, after a delay of three years, moved the application for impounding under Section 151 CPC, which was rejected by the trial court on grounds of delay—The court held that the trial court erred...

Penal Code, 1860—Section 306—The offence of abetment of suicide, the prosecution must prove beyond reasonable doubt that the accused either instigated the deceased to commit suicide, engaged in a conspiracy, or intentionally aided the act, as defined under Section 107 IPC—The accused's actions must exhibit clear mens rea, with a positive act that pushed the deceased into a position where suicide seemed like the only option—Evidence such as routine quarrels, verbal abuse, occasional physical altercations, or demands for money in a romantic relationship is generally insufficient to prove abetment under Section 306 IPC—Hypersensitivity of the deceased to minor relationship discord cannot be the basis for conviction—Unless there is clear evidence of a direct, ongoing course of conduct by the accused aim...