(481) DHIRUBHAI BHAILALBHAI CHAUHAN AND ANOTHER Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT AND OTHERS[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 21-03-2025 Penal Code (IPC), 1860 — Sections 143, 147 and 149 — Conviction for Unlawful Assembly — Necessity of Proof Beyond Mere Presence — Mere presence at a crime scene, without evidence of an overt act or specific role, is insufficient to convict an individual as a member of an unlawful assembly, especially in cases involving large crowds and public disturbances — Supreme Court sets aside the High Court's conviction of six individuals for rioting and related offences, restoring their acquittal, as thei India Law Library Docid # 2423721
(482) SUDAM PRABHAKAR ACHAT Vs. THE STATE OF MAHARASHTRA[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 21-03-2025 Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) — Section 300, 302 and 304 — Culpable homicide not amounting to murder — Conviction under Section 302 requires proof of premeditation or intention to kill; absence of such elements may lead to reduced charges, such as under Section 304 IPC, with sentencing considerations potentially based on time already served — Supreme Court partly allows an appeal, converting a conviction under Section 302 to Section 304, considering the lack of premeditation and the time already serve India Law Library Docid # 2423722
(483) THE STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH AND OTHERS Vs. GOKULCHAND AND ANOTHER[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 21-03-2025 Practice and Procedure — Limitation — Delay in Filing Appeals/SLPs by State — Accountability — Wastage of Public Money — Supreme Court expressed strong disapproval of State of Madhya Pradesh repeatedly filing appeals/SLPs with gross delays without sufficient cause — Court initiated inquiry into decision-making process leading to such challenges, summoning Law Secretary and concerned Collector — Emphasized need to prevent wastage of public money on routine/delayed filing and stressed that State India Law Library Docid # 2424602
(484) DELHI AGRICULTURAL MARKETING BOARD, THROUGH ITS CHAIRMAN Vs. BHAGWAN DEVI (DEAD), THROUGH HER LR.[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 20-03-2025 Land Acquisition Act, 1894 — Sections 4 and 6 — Delhi Agricultural Produce Marketing (Regulation) Act, 1976 — Sections 4 and 6 — Land acquired under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 vests absolutely in the government upon possession — A statutory body, for whose benefit the land was acquired, cannot enter into a private agreement to return a portion of the land, as this would circumvent the law — Such an agreement is contrary to the fundamental policy of Indian law and constitutes a fraud on the s India Law Library Docid # 2423605
(485) M/S CITICORP FINANCE (INDIA) LIMITED Vs. SNEHASIS NANDA[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 20-03-2025 Consumer Protection Act, 1986 — Sections 2(1)(d) and 24-A — Contract Act, 1872 — A flat seller who is not a borrower or a party to the home loan agreement lacks privity of contract with the financing company and cannot be considered a 'consumer' under the Consumer Protection Act for claims related to the sale consideration — Supreme Court allowed the appeal, setting aside the order of the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) which had directed the appellant to refund money and India Law Library Docid # 2423655
(486) CHANDRA SHEKHAR SINGH AND OTHERS Vs. THE STATE OF JHARKHAND AND OTHERS[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 20-03-2025 Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 — Section 37 — Food Safety and Standard Rules, 2011 — Rule 2.1.3 — Qualifications for Food Safety Officers — A recruitment notification specifying "a degree" in certain science subjects for the post of Food Safety Officer encompasses postgraduate degrees in those subjects unless explicitly excluded by the relevant statutory rules prescribed by the Central Government — Supreme Court allowed an appeal by candidates holding Master's degrees in Microbiology and Fo India Law Library Docid # 2423656
(487) STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH AND ANOTHER Vs. DINESH KUMAR SHARMA AND OTHERS[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 20-03-2025 “Antar Gramin Sadak Nirman Yojana” — Employees appointed under the “Antar Gramin Sadak Nirman Yojana” are entitled to pensionary benefits if the service rules applicable to equivalent posts in the Cane Development Department have been extended to them by government decisions —Supreme Court dismissed the appeal by the State of Uttar Pradesh, affirming the High Court's decision that respondents appointed under the "Antar Gramin Sadak Nirman Yojana" between 1969 and 1982 are entitled to pensionary India Law Library Docid # 2423657
(488) STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH Vs. SHYAMLAL AND OTHERS[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 20-03-2025 Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) — Sections 302 and 304 — Culpable Homicide —Conviction Conversion and Proportionate Sentencing — High Court can convert conviction from Section 302 IPC to Section 304 IPC if justified by circumstances; sentencing must reflect crime's gravity. India Law Library Docid # 2423651
(489) STATE (CBI) Vs. MOHD. SALIM ZARGAR @ FAYAZ AND OTHERS[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 20-03-2025 Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, 1987 — Section 15 — Admissibility of confessional statements recorded by senior police officers under strict conditions — Confessional statements under Section 15 of the TADA Act are admissible if recorded voluntarily by a police officer not lower in rank than a Superintendent of Police. India Law Library Docid # 2423652
(490) VAIBHAV GOEL AND ANOTHER Vs. DEPUTY COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX AND ANOTHER[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 20-03-2025 Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 — Section 31(1) — Approval of Resolution Plan under IBC — A Resolution Plan approved under Section 31(1) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) is binding on all stakeholders, including the Central Government, for statutory dues. India Law Library Docid # 2423653
(491) INDIAN COUNCIL OF SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH (ICSSR) Vs. NEETU GAUR AND OTHERS[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 20-03-2025 Autonomy of CRRID —Supreme Court ruled that the Centre for Research in Rural and Industrial Development (CRRID) is an autonomous institution and not under "deep and pervasive" control of the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) — Even though ICSSR provides substantial grants, that alone does not make it liable for CRRID’s actions India Law Library Docid # 2423654
(492) THE STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH Vs. SATENDRA, ETC[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 20-03-2025 Evidence Act, 1872 – Appreciation of Evidence – Eyewitness Testimony – Minor Discrepancies vs. Core Credibility – Appeal Against Acquittal – Appeal by State against High Court's acquittal reversing trial court's conviction for offences including murder — Incident involved midnight intrusion into house, assault, and fatal shooting of deceased by respondents identified via torch/lantern light by three related eyewitnesses — High Court acquitted citing discrepancies and factors like non-matching b India Law Library Docid # 2423923
(493) RANVIRSINH KAYAMSINH BHADORIA AND OTHERS Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 20-03-2025 Criminal Law — Evidence — Appreciation — Partially Disbelieved Eyewitnesses — Corroboration Need — When key eyewitnesses have been disbelieved by the appellate court regarding the involvement of some accused leading to their acquittal, extreme caution is necessary before convicting other accused based on the same witnesses’ testimony, especially without strong independent corroboration or clear India Law Library Docid # 2424532
(494) MUNIMASTHAIAH Vs. THE STATE OF KARNATAKA AND OTHERS[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 20-03-2025 Service Law — Reckoning Suspension Period — Exoneration due to Dropped Proceedings — Karnataka Civil Services Rules, 1958 (KCSRs) — Rule 99(1) and 99(2) — Where disciplinary proceedings culminating in dismissal are eventually rendered infructuous due to the employer’s failure to act upon directions for re—determination/reconciliation for a prolonged period (nine years), leading to the prohibition of further inquiry, the employee is considered effectively exonerated for India Law Library Docid # 2424539
(495) SMT. SHANTABEN THAOKRDAS BANSAL (DEAD) THR. LR. Vs. RAMANBHAI CHHOTUBHAI PATEL AND ANOTHER[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 20-03-2025 Bombay Rents Hotel and Lodging House Rates Control Act, 1947 — S. 12(3)(a), Explanation I — Dispute Regarding Standard Rent — Procedure — For a tenant to validly raise a dispute regarding standard rent under Explanation I to Section 12, the tenant must, before the expiry of one month after receiving the notice under S. 12(2), make an application to the Court under S. 11(3) for fixation of standard rent India Law Library Docid # 2424540
(496) XXX Vs. YYY[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 20-03-2025 Civil Procedure Code, 1908 — S. 25 — Transfer Petition — Matrimonial Dispute — Constitution of India — Art. 142 — Dissolution of Marriage — Irretrievable Breakdown — Petition filed by husband seeking transfer of divorce case (filed by wife in Jaipur u/s 12(1)(a) & 13(1)(ia) HMA) to Delhi, as both parties (lawyers by profession) reside in Delhi — During pendency, wife filed I.A. invoking Art. 142 seeking divorce on ground of irretrievable breakdown, citing separation since March 2022 and failure India Law Library Docid # 2424606
(497) THAKUR RANGJI MAHARAJ VIRAJMAN MANDIR, VRINDAVAN Vs. UNION OF INDIA THROUGH ITS SECRETARY AND OTHERS[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 20-03-2025 Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958 — Sections 20A, 27 & 28 — Land within Prohibited Area — Use for Green Belt/Environmental Improvement — Owner’s Right to Compensation — Where land admittedly owned by a private entity (appellant Temple Trust) falls within the ‘prohibited area’ (100 meters) of a protected monument (Taj Mahal) as defined under Section 20A(1) of the 1958 Act, and such land is utilized by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) or the Government for cr India Law Library Docid # 2425142
(498) SUNITA AND OTHERS Vs. VINOD SINGH AND OTHERS[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 19-03-2025 Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 — Evidence Act, 1872 — Section 47 — Determination of Deceased's Age for Compensation — Deceased's age can be determined based on scientific assessment (Post-Mortem Report) over contradictory documentary evidence — The Court relied on the Post-Mortem Report to fix the deceased's age at 45 years, overriding the discrepancy in documentary evidence India Law Library Docid # 2423597
(499) SUPREME COURT BAR ASSOCIATION AND ANOTHER Vs. STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH AND OTHERS[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 19-03-2025 Advocates Act, 1961 — Section 30 — Supreme Court Rules, 2013 — Order 4 Rule 1(b) — Advocates' Right to Appear and Get Appearances Marked — Advocates do not have an indefeasible right to appear or get appearances marked without being duly authorized. India Law Library Docid # 2423598
(500) RAJU NAIDU Vs. CHENMOUGA SUNDRA AND OTHERS[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 19-03-2025 Transfer of Property Act, 1882 — Section 53A — When an appellate court modifies the decree of a trial court, the trial court's decree merges into the appellate decree — The appellate decree becomes the operative decree for execution purposes — An executing court can extend the time for compliance with the appellate decree if the appellate court did not specify a time limit — Section 53A of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882, may not be applicable India Law Library Docid # 2423606