A. Constitution of India, 1950—Arts. 233, 217(2)(b) and 124(3)(b)—Judicial service—Entry-level recruitment—Practical experience—Requirement of prior exposure to court functioning—Necessity—Experience of working of courts is indispensable for a person entering judicial service, as a Civil Judge from the very first day is required to deal with questions affecting life, liberty, property and personal rights of litigants—Practical exposure contributes to judicial temperament, patience, empathy, courtroom discipline and appreciation of respective roles of Bench and Bar—Mere academic knowledge or pre-service training cannot wholly substitute such first-hand experience. (Paras 43-47, 59, 91-92) B. Recruitment of Civil Judge (Junior Division)—Three years' practice at Bar—Jud...

A. Code of Civil Procedure, 1908—Section 100—Second appeal—Concurrent findings of fact—Scope of interference—High Court cannot disturb concurrent findings merely by reappreciating evidence and substituting another possible view—Interference permissible only where findings are perverse, based on inadmissible evidence, vital evidence has been ignored, or conclusion is one which no reasonable judicial mind could have reached—Trial Court and First Appellate Court concurrently found alleged relinquishment of proprietary interest by Ramprasad not proved—High Court, in reversing such findings without establishing perversity or error of law, exceeded its jurisdiction—Impugned judgment set aside. (Paras 17, 29-30) B. Madhya Pradesh Land Revenue Code, 1959—Revenue mutation—Effect ...

A. Criminal Procedure Code, 1973—Section 386—Appeal against acquittal—Double presumption of innocence—Scope of interference—High Court, while reversing acquittal, must bear in mind that accused enjoys double presumption of innocence—Interference permissible only where Trial Court's view is one which no reasonable court could have taken—Where two reasonable views are possible, view favourable to accused must prevail—Chandrappa v. State of Karnataka, (2007) 4 SCC 415. (Para 22) B. Evidence—Child witness—Competency and reliability—Child aged about 4½ years at time of occurrence—Evidence recorded after four years—Allegation of tutoring specifically supported by child's own statement and his residence with a police constable—Material contradic...

A. Chhattisgarh State Universities Service Rules, 1983—Rule 10—Eligibility determined by Public Service Commission—Finality—Where the Public Service Commission, in exercise of the statutory power under Rule 10, had determined a candidate to be eligible for appointment, the Appointing Authority could not reopen or independently reassess such eligibility by constituting an expert committee; its verification was confined to genuineness of documents and patent or manifest deficiencies—State Government’s contrary action held impermissible. (Paras 53–61) B. Service Law—Appointment to public post—Public Service Commission—Appointing Authority—Scope of discretion—Though selection or recommendation by the Public Service Commission does not by itself confer an indefeasible r...

A. Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act, 1994—Sections 17(4), 27, 28 and 30—Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Rules, 1996—Rule 18A(3)—Investigation of offences—Held, the Appropriate Authority is the primary and exclusive authority competent to investigate offences under the Act and to initiate proceedings by way of complaint; police have no independent power to investigate such offences or file a chargesheet, their role being confined to rendering assistance to the Appropriate Authority when requested. Consequently, cognizance cannot be taken on a police chargesheet and offences under the Act are required to proceed as complaint cases. (Paras 5–10) B. Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Pr...

A. Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973—Section 125—Interim maintenance—Maintenance of minor children—Obligation of parents to maintain minor children is joint and cannot be apportioned by mechanically dividing the assessed expenses—Earning of mother, by itself, is no ground to halve the father's liability—Where two minor daughters, aged about 9 and 8 years, were residing with the mother who was also bearing their day-to-day care and upbringing, Family Court, after considering income affidavits, educational expenses and status of the parties, rightly awarded Rs.30,000 per month to each daughter—High Court erred in reducing the amount to Rs.15,000 per month each merely because the mother was employed—Family Court's award of Rs.60,000 per month in aggregate restored. (Paras 7–12) ...

A. Uttar Pradesh Gangsters and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act, 1986—Sections 2 and 3—Validity of proceedings—Act does not create an independent substantive offence but merely identifies a person as a “gangster” on the basis of his involvement in offences specified in the definition—Punishment under Section 3 cannot stand in the absence of creation of a distinct offence under the Act—Proceedings initiated solely under the Gangsters Act held unsustainable and liable to be quashed. (Paras 26–58) B. Penal Law—Principle of nullum crimen nulla poena sine lege—No person can be punished unless the law clearly creates an offence and prescribes punishment therefor—A statutory provision prescribing punishment without creating a corresponding substantive offence cannot sust...

A. Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989—Section 3(1)(r), (s)—“Within public view”—Alleged caste-based insult, intimidation or abuse must be uttered at a place where members of the public are present and capable of witnessing or hearing the same—Occurrence inside an enclosed room of school, without public access, does not satisfy the statutory requirement—Mere presence of persons elsewhere in the school is insufficient. (Paras 10–12, 17) B. Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989—Section 3(1)(r), (s)—Caste-based allegation—Specific attribution necessary—FIR and statement of informant containing no specific caste-based words or slurs attributable to appellant—Witnesses only spoke o...

A. Gujarat Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act, 1948—Section 32G—Protected tenancy—Where claim of protected tenancy and possession was pending before the High Court, Supreme Court declined to adjudicate the merits and directed preservation of the subject matter pending final adjudication. (Paras 9, 16) B. Civil Procedure—Execution proceedings—Appellate jurisdiction—Division Bench, while hearing an appeal against an interim order, cannot travel beyond the scope of the appeal or decide issues pending before the Single Judge—Findings beyond such scope liable to be set aside and application restored for fresh adjudication in accordance with law. (Para 15) C. Interim relief—Status quo—Competing claims to possession—Where there was a scramble for possession and divergent claims re...

A. Service Law—Pension—CPF/GPF Scheme—Regularisation of service—Petitioner’s services as Professor were regularised by Office Order dated 04.05.2012 subject to condition that regularisation would take effect from the date of the order and service would continue under CPF Scheme—Terms were never challenged and were accepted by petitioner—Claim for GPF benefits raised only after retirement and after receiving CPF benefits rightly rejected. (Paras 7–8) B. Service Law—Regularisation—Effect of regularisation—Following National Institute of Rural Development v. Shyam Sunder Prasad Sharma, Civil Appeal No.542 of 2023, regularisation under identical Office Order dated 04.05.2012 operates prospectively from date of order and does not relate back to initial appointment—Petit...