A. Service Law—Transfer—Incident of Service—Transfer is a normal incident of service, especially in transferable posts, and an employee has no vested right to continue at a particular place of posting. The employer is entitled to transfer employees to meet administrative exigencies and organizational requirements. (Paras 10, 13, 15) B. Service Law—Transfer Policy—Transfer policies are administrative guidelines and do not create enforceable legal rights. Mere deviation from such policy does not invalidate a transfer order unless it is shown to be arbitrary, mala fide, or in violation of a statutory provision. (Paras 7, 14, 21, 26) C. Judicial Review—Transfer Orders—The scope of judicial interference with transfer orders is limited. Courts may interfere only where the order is passed without j...

A. Rajasthan Transparency in Public Procurement Act, 2012—Section 15 and Rule 70(3) of the 2013 Rules—Post-bid negotiations in open tenders—Post-bid price negotiations in an open competitive bidding process are expressly prohibited under Section 15 of the RTPP Act, except in circumstances contemplated by Sections 31 and 35, which are inapplicable to open tenders—Consequently, award of the contract to the L-2 bidder after negotiations with L-1 and L-2 was contrary to the statutory mandate. [Paras 12, 14, 15, 21] B. Public Procurement Law—Supremacy of statute over tender conditions—Tender terms, executive instructions, or subordinate rules cannot override or dilute an express provision of the parent statute. Any contractual condition or rule inconsistent with Section 15 of the RTPP Act is void and unen...

A. Service Law—Dynamic Assured Career Progression (DACP) Scheme—Regular service and notional seniority—The expression “regular service” for the purpose of DACP eligibility includes service counted for seniority—Where notional seniority has been granted pursuant to judicial directions, such service must be treated as regular service, particularly when delay in appointment is attributable to the employer and not the employee. [Paras 13, 15, 16, 28] B. Service Jurisprudence—Promotion—Consequential benefits of illegal denial of appointment—An employee unlawfully deprived of timely appointment cannot be subjected to further prejudice in matters of seniority and promotion—Notional seniority conferred by a court must necessarily enure to the employee’s benefit in determining el...

A. Criminal Law—Murder and Arms Act offences—Conviction and sentence upheld—Conviction under Sections 302, 302/34, 120B IPC and Section 3/5 of the Arms Act was affirmed, the prosecution having proved the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt through cogent ocular, medical, and forensic evidence, warranting no interference with the trial court’s findings. [Paras 1, 8, 31, 32] B. Evidence Law—Eye-witness testimony—Related witnesses—Mere relationship of witnesses with the deceased is not a ground to discard their evidence when their presence at the place of occurrence is natural and their testimony remains consistent and trustworthy—The prosecution case stood established through reliable eye-witness accounts notwithstanding the complainant’s admission that he was not an eye-witn...

A. Rajasthan Public Trust Act, 1959—Sections 20 and 23—Challenge to amendment of trust entries—Limitation—An appeal preferred nearly ten years after the order directing amendment of trust entries was rightly dismissed as barred by limitation, particularly when documentary evidence established the petitioner’s prior knowledge of the impugned order and corresponding entries. [Paras 11, 12, 16] B. Constitution of India—Article 226—Writ jurisdiction—Suppression of material facts—A litigant invoking equitable jurisdiction must approach the Court with clean hands—Deliberate concealment of material facts, including prior knowledge of trust entries and pendency of parallel civil proceedings, disentitles the petitioner to discretionary relief and justifies summary dismissal of the writ...

A. Land Acquisition Act, 1894—Section 24(2) of the 2013 Act—Lapse of acquisition proceedings—Where neither physical possession of the land has been taken nor compensation paid to the landowner within five years preceding the commencement of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, the acquisition proceedings are deemed to have lapsed under Section 24(2). [Paras 63, 67, 73] B. Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, 1976—Repeal Act, 1999—Effect of repeal—Proceedings initiated under the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, 1976 stood abated upon the coming into force of the Repeal Act, 1999, and the landowner was entitled to challenge the continued applicability of the repealed enactment. [Paras 56, 57] C. Rajasthan Land Rev...

    A. Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996—Sections 11(6) and 11(6A)—Appointment of arbitrator—Limited scope of judicial scrutiny—At the stage of appointment of an arbitrator, the Court is confined to examining the prima facie existence of an arbitration agreement and the existence of arbitrable disputes between the parties, without entering into the merits of the claims or defences. [Paras 14, 16–18] B. Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996—Section 21—Commencement of arbitral proceedings—Requirement of notice—A formal notice under Section 21 is not an inflexible prerequisite where the respondent has adequate knowledge of the disputes and has participated in connected proceedings, such as an application under Section 9—The object of Section 21 is to ensur...

A. Civil Procedure Code, 1908—O.41 Rr.23, 23-A, 24, 25 & S.96—Power of Remand—A remand order passed by the First Appellate Court without recording specific reasons or bringing the case within the parameters of Order 41 is vitiated in law and cannot be sustained—Unwarranted remand, in the absence of statutory justification, necessitates interference. [Paras 6.1, 7-8] B. Civil Procedure Code, 1908—O.41 R.24—Final Determination by Appellate Court—Where the evidence on record is sufficient to enable adjudication, the Appellate Court is empowered to finally determine the suit notwithstanding that the Trial Court may have decided the matter on different grounds. [Para 7.1] C. Civil Procedure Code, 1908—O.41 Rr.23, 23-A, 25 & S.96—Duties of First Appellate Court—Being the ...

A. Criminal Procedure Code, 1973—Ss.173(8) & 36—Further Investigation by Superior Police Officer—A Superintendent of Police, being a superior police officer within the meaning of Section 36 CrPC, possesses the authority to direct further investigation and exercise the powers of an officer in charge of a police station—Such direction, issued prior to submission of the charge-sheet, does not require prior permission of the Court. [Paras 19, 22, 24, 27] B. Criminal Procedure Code, 1973—S.173(8)—Further Investigation and Re-investigation—Distinction—Further investigation supplements the original investigation and is distinct from re-investigation—Though repeated recording of statements of the same witnesses under the guise of further investigation may raise concerns, the measures ad...

A. Civil Procedure Code, 1908—O.6 R.17—Amendment of Written Statement After Commencement of Trial—An amendment sought after the commencement of trial is permissible only where the applicant establishes due diligence and demonstrates that the proposed plea could not have been raised earlier despite reasonable efforts—In the absence of such explanation, rejection of the amendment application is justified. [Paras 1, 2.1, 2.6, 3, 7.1, 7.6] B. Civil Procedure Code, 1908—O.6 R.17—Withdrawal of Admissions and Inconsistent Pleas—Amendments which seek to retract clear admissions, introduce vague or mutually inconsistent defences, or are intended merely to protract the proceedings ought not to be permitted, as they prejudice the opposite party and undermine the integrity of the pleadings. [Paras 2.2, 2.3...