(241) WIKIMEDIA FOUNDATION INC Vs. ANI MEDIA PRIVATE LIMITED AND OTHERS[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 17-04-2025 Interim Relief — Injunction — Stay by Supreme Court — Broad and Vague Relief — Implementability — Where an interim injunction granted by the High Court (restraining publication of allegedly false, misleading, defamatory content) is found by the Supreme Court to be very broadly worded, lacking clarity on who will decide the nature of the content, and prima facie incapable of specific implementation, the Supreme Court may stay such an injunction pending further proceedings or final disposal. India Law Library Docid # 2425054
(242) M/S S.P.M.L. INFRA LIMITED Vs. M/S S.N.C.C. CONSTRUCTION AND OTHERS[RAJASTHAN HIGH COURT] 17-04-2025 Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 — Section 8 — Power to refer parties to arbitration — Mandatory Nature — Pre-institution Mediation under Section 12-A, Commercial Courts Act, 2015 — Effect of Non-participation — Section 8 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, is peremptory in nature — Where a valid arbitration agreement exists covering the subject matter of the suit, the judicial authority is obligated to refer the parties to arbitration if an application under Section 8 is made n India Law Library Docid # 2425102
(243) AYYUB ALI Vs. STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH AND OTHERS[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 17-04-2025 Penal Code, 1860 — Sections 302, 304 — Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 — Section 228 — Framing of Charge — Prima Facie Case — Murder vs. Culpable Homicide — At the stage of framing of charge, the Trial Court cannot conclusively determine whether a case falls under Section 302 IPC or Section 304 IPC merely based on the post-mortem report or the nature of the weapon used — If the materials placed before the Court, including the nature and number of injuries and surrounding circumstances, disclose a India Law Library Docid # 2425104
(244) SMT. SARBA MAURYA AND OTHERS Vs. ORIENTAL INSURANCE COMP. LTD. AND OTHERS[ALLAHABAD HIGH COURT (LUCKNOW BENCH)] 17-04-2025 Motor Accident Claims — Conventional Heads — Compensation under conventional heads (loss of estate, consortium, funeral expenses) should follow amounts specified in National Insurance Co. Ltd. vs Pranay Sethi, with periodic enhancement India Law Library Docid # 2425308
(245) MOHAN SHARMA Vs. COURT OF ADDITIONAL DISTT. JUDGE/SPECIAL JUDGE (S.C./S.T.) ACT BAHRAICH AND OTHERS[ALLAHABAD HIGH COURT (LUCKNOW BENCH)] 17-04-2025 Uttar Pradesh Urban Buildings (Regulation of Letting, Rent and Eviction) Act, 1972 — Partition & Tenancy — Upon partition (including oral family settlement) among co-owner landlords, the tenancy splits by operation of law; a tenant continues as tenant only for the portion allotted to one landlord, even if they subsequently purchase the other portion from the other erstwhile co-owner India Law Library Docid # 2425309
(246) RAMA KANT Vs. DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF CONSOLIDATION, LKO. AND ANOTHER[ALLAHABAD HIGH COURT (LUCKNOW BENCH)] 17-04-2025 U.P. Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act, 1950 — Section 132 — Bhumidhari Rights — No Bhumidhari rights can accrue in land specified under Section 132, including ‘Usar’ land India Law Library Docid # 2425310
(247) MAHENDRA PRASAD Vs. SMT. PARMESHWARI DEVI[RAJASTHAN HIGH COURT] 17-04-2025 Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 — Section 13(1)(ia) — Cruelty: Cruelty encompasses both physical and mental aspects — Mental cruelty includes sustained conduct causing deep anguish, disappointment, or making cohabitation impossible; mere trivial irritations or normal wear and tear of married life do not suffice — Husband’s establishing illicit relationship with another woman, abandoning wife and children, and failing to provide India Law Library Docid # 2425415
(248) M/S. S.P.M.L. INFRA LIMITED Vs. M/S. S.N.C.C. CONSTRUCTION AND OTHERS[RAJASTHAN HIGH COURT] 17-04-2025 Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 — Section 8 — Mandatory Reference: Section 8 mandates a judicial authority to refer parties to arbitration if an action is brought before it concerning a matter subject to a valid arbitration agreement, provided a party applies not later than submitting their first statement on the substance of the dispute — The court’s role is primarily limited to determining the prima facie existence of a valid arbitration agreement. India Law Library Docid # 2425416
(249) PRAKASH BRAJVASI Vs. GHANSHYAM SHARMA AND OTHERS[RAJASTHAN HIGH COURT (JAIPUR BENCH)] 17-04-2025 Civil Procedure Code, 1908 — Order 7 Rule 11(a) — Cause of Action — Suit Challenging Trust Deed/Will — Pendency of Suit for Declaration of Status (Adoption) — An application under Order 7 Rule 11 CPC seeking rejection of a plaint challenging a registered Trust Deed and Will, on the ground that the plaintiff lacks cause of action as his status as an adopted son (which forms the basis of his claim) is yet to be decided in a separate pending suit, is liable to be dismissed — A fresh cause of action India Law Library Docid # 2425435
(250) M/S SAMAY IRRIGATION PRIVATE LIMITED Vs. UNION OF INDIA AND OTHERS[RAJASTHAN HIGH COURT (JAIPUR BENCH)] 17-04-2025 Income Tax Act, 1961 — Sections 147, 148 — Reopening of Assessment — Order disposing objections — Scope of Judicial Review under Article 226 — Prima Facie Case — In a writ petition challenging an order dismissing objections to a notice issued under Section 148, the scope of judicial review is limited — The court is only required to ascertain whether there was prima facie tangible material available with the Assessing Officer (AO) to form a reason to believe that income chargeable to tax has esca India Law Library Docid # 2425471
(251) STATE OF RAJASTHAN AND ANOTHER Vs. MAHARAJA SAWAI MANSINGH SECOND MUSEUM TRUST, CITY PALACE, JAIPUR (RAJASTHAN) AND OTHERS[RAJASTHAN HIGH COURT (JAIPUR BENCH)] 17-04-2025 Constitution of India — Article 363 — Bar to interference by courts in disputes arising out of pre-Constitution Covenants — Jurisdiction of Civil Courts — Scope — Article 363 creates an absolute bar on the jurisdiction of any court (subject to Article 143) in any dispute arising out of any provision of a treaty, agreement, covenant, engagement, sanad, or similar instrument executed before the commencement of the Constitution by a Ruler of an Indian State, to which the Government was a party — Th India Law Library Docid # 2425472
(252) NEHA LAKHERA Vs. THE STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH AND OTHERS[MADHYA PRADESH HIGH COURT (GWALIOR BENCH)] 17-04-2025 Penal Code, 1860 — Section 498-A — “Relative” — Girlfriend/Concubine/Second Wife during subsisting first marriage does not fall within definition — A girlfriend, concubine, or a woman who purports to marry a man during the subsistence of his valid first marriage, cannot be considered a “relative” of the husband for the purposes of Section 498-A of the IPC — The term “relative” implies a status conferred by blood, marriage, or adoption — A marriage to a second woman during the lifetime India Law Library Docid # 2425524
(253) HEMANT PARASHAR AND OTHERS Vs. THE STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH AND OTHERS[MADHYA PRADESH HIGH COURT (GWALIOR BENCH)] 17-04-2025 Service Law — Contractual Appointment — Recruitment under New Rules — Age Relaxation — Where contractual appointments made prior to the enactment of new statutory rules (Madhya Pradesh Contractual Appointment to Civil Post Rules, 2017) are terminated and recruitment is directed to be made under the new Rules, a prayer for continuation/reinstatement under the old regime is not acceptable — However, if the new Rules (Rule 7(1) proviso) provide for age relaxation as per orders/instructions of the G India Law Library Docid # 2425525
(254) IN REFERENCE AND ANOTHER Vs. JITENDRA PURVIYA[MADHYA PRADESH HIGH COURT] 17-04-2025 Criminal Law — Murder (Four Counts) — Death Penalty Commuted to Life Imprisonment (Actual Incarceration of 20 Years) — In a case of quadruple murder, where the appellant was convicted under Section 302 IPC (4 counts) and sentenced to death, the death penalty was commuted to life imprisonment for actual incarceration of 20 years, with sentences to run concurrently — The commutation was based on mitigating circumstances including the appellant’s intoxicated state at the time of the incident, absen India Law Library Docid # 2425526
(255) STATE OF RAJASTHAN AND OTHERS Vs. COMBINED TRADERS[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 16-04-2025 Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 — Section 13(1)(d), Section 13(3), Section 13(4) & Section 8(4) — Central Sales Tax (Registration and Turnover) Rules, 1957 — Rule 12(1) — Central Sales Tax (Rajasthan) Rules, 1957 — Rule 17(20) — Rule-making power of State Government vs. Central Government — Validity of State rule providing for cancellation of Form C declaration — The power to prescribe the form of declaration (Form C) required under Section 8(4) of the CST Act, and the particulars to be contained th India Law Library Docid # 2424727
(256) K. SHIKHA BARMAN Vs. STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 16-04-2025 Criminal Law — Identity of Accused — Burden of Proof — In a criminal prosecution, particularly under the NDPS Act, the fundamental burden lies upon the prosecution to establish beyond a reasonable doubt the identity of the person accused as the perpetrator of the offence — Where the appellant contends a case of mistaken identity, alleging she was not the person originally arrested but was implicated later, the prosecution must prove that the appellant in court is unequivocally the same individua India Law Library Docid # 2424728
(257) SURESH C. SINGAL AND OTHERS Vs. THE STATE OF GUJARAT AND OTHERS[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 16-04-2025 Criminal Procedure – Quashing of Proceedings (Section 482 CrPC / Article 226 Constitution) – Principles for Exercise of Power — The inherent jurisdiction of the High Court under Section 482 CrPC, complemented by the power under Article 226 of the Constitution, to quash criminal proceedings (including FIR and chargesheet) should be exercised sparingly, with caution, and only to prevent abuse of the process of court or otherwise secure the ends of justice — The exercise of this power depends heavi India Law Library Docid # 2424729
(258) IRWAN KOUR Vs. PUNJAB PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION AND OTHERS[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 16-04-2025 Service Law — Reservation — Ex-Servicemen — Applicable Rules — State vs. Central Rules — For recruitment to posts under the Punjab State Government advertised by the Punjab Public Service Commission, the eligibility for reservation under the “ex-servicemen” category must be determined solely based on the definition provided in the Punjab Recruitment of Ex-Servicemen Rules, 1982 (Punjab Rules, 1982), framed under Article 309 of the Constitution — The Ex-Servicemen (Re-employment in Central Civil India Law Library Docid # 2424730
(259) STATE OF KARNATAKA Vs. NAGESH[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 16-04-2025 Evidence Act, 1872 — Appreciation of Evidence — Minor Discrepancies & Time Lag — Minor discrepancies, inconsistencies, or memory lapses in the testimonies of prosecution witnesses, especially the complainant and shadow witness, are natural and likely to occur when witnesses depose after a considerable lapse of time (10 years in this case) from the date of the incident — Such minor variations, which do not go to the root of the matter or shake the basic version of the prosecution case regarding d India Law Library Docid # 2424731
(260) S.C. GARG Vs. STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH AND ANOTHER[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 16-04-2025 Criminal Procedure — Res Judicata in Criminal Proceedings — Applicability The principle of res judicata is applicable to criminal proceedings — A finding on a specific factual issue reached by a competent criminal court in a prior proceeding (rejection of a defence in a Section 138 NI Act case) is binding on the same parties in subsequent criminal proceedings where the same factual issue arises (Section 420 IPC prosecution based on the very defence rejected earlier) — A party cannot initiate a India Law Library Docid # 2424732