(821) INOX AIR PRODUCTS LIMITED NOW KNOWN AS INOX AIR PRODUCTS PRIVATE LIMITED AND ANOTHER Vs. THE STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 30-01-2025 Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 — Section 3(f) — Definition of 'Manufacture' — The term 'manufacture' includes any process or part of a process for making, altering, ornamenting, finishing, packing, labelling, breaking up, or otherwise treating or adopting any drug or cosmetic with a view to its sale or distribution — It does not include compounding or dispensing of any drug or the packing of any drug or cosmetic in the ordinary course of retail business India Law Library Docid # 2422134
(822) PARIMAL KUMAR AND OTHERS Vs. THE STATE OF JHARKHAND AND OTHERS[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 30-01-2025 Jharkhand Primary School Assistant Acharya Cadre (Recruitment, Promotion and Service Condition), Rule, 2022— Jharkhand Primary School Sahayak Acharya Sanwarg (Assistant Teacher Cadre) (Appointment, Promotion and Service Conditions) (Third Amendment) Rules, 2024 — Eligibility Criteria Cannot Be Changed Midway During Recruitment Process — The court held that once the recruitment process has commenced (i.e., from the date of the advertisement), the eligibility criteria cannot be altered midway unle India Law Library Docid # 2422155
(823) LOK PRAHARI THROUGH ITS GENERAL SECRETARY S.N.SHUKLA I.A.S. (RETD) Vs. UNION OF INDIA AND OTHERS[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 30-01-2025 High pendency of cases — Supreme Court allows High Courts to appoint ad-hoc Judges under Article 224A of the Constitution, even if the vacancy exceeds 20% of the sanctioned strength, and sets a limit of 10% of the sanctioned strength for such appointments — The Court adopts a continuing mandamus to monitor the situation and ensure the backlog is addressed India Law Library Docid # 2422156
(824) MS MAJA DARUWALA AND ANOTHER Vs. STATE OF WEST BENGAL AND ANOTHER[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 30-01-2025 Foreigners Act, 1946 — Sections 14A and 14B —Constitution of India, 1950 — Article 21 — Right to Liberty and Fair Trial — Illegal Detention Post-Sentence — The prolonged detention of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh after they have completed their sentence under the Foreigners Act, 1946, is violative of their fundamental right to life and personal liberty guaranteed under Article 21 — Administrative Overreach — The executive policies and procedures that allow for indefinite detention pending r India Law Library Docid # 2422259
(825) SMT. N. USHA RANI AND ANOTHER Vs. MOODUDULA SRINIVAS[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 30-01-2025 Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC) — Section 125 — Supreme Court addressed whether a woman can claim maintenance from her second husband under Section 125, if her first marriage is legally subsisting — The court held that denying maintenance to a woman in such a situation would defeat the social justice objective of Section 125 CrPC, which is to prevent vagrancy and destitution — This is especially true if the second husband knowingly entered into the marriage and enjoyed its benefits but seek India Law Library Docid # 2422264
(826) ASHOK SAXENA Vs. THE STATE OF UTTARAKHAND ETC[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 30-01-2025 Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) — Sections 302, 304 Part I and Exception 4 to Section 300 — Culpable Homicide not amounting to murder— Appellant, aged 74, killed another in 1992 during a heated altercation, initially charged with murder under Section 302 IPC — Whether the act qualifies as murder under Section 302 IPC or culpable homicide not amounting to murder under Section 304 IPC, considering the doctrine of transfer of malice and the heat of the moment —Prosecution argued intent to kill, applying Sec India Law Library Docid # 2422265
(827) K. BALAJI Vs. STATE REP. BY THE INSPECTOR OF POLICE[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 30-01-2025 Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) — Sections 341, 392, 397 and 506(ii) — The appellant was convicted under Sections 341, 392 read with 397, and 506(ii) IPC by the Trial Court — The High Court modified the sentence under Section 392 read with 397 IPC but upheld the other sentences — The appellant appealed to the Supreme Court, challenging the framing of the charge under Section 397 IPC, arguing that the knife recovered was not proven to be a deadly weapon, and contested the sentence under Section 392 IPC — India Law Library Docid # 2422323
(828) CH SUKESH REDDY AND ANOTHER Vs. VOOKANTI MAHENDER REDDY AND OTHERS[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 29-01-2025 Injunction — Appellant appealed against a Telangana High Court order that suspended their building permission pending a civil suit — The appellants argued no injunction was in effect during the writ appeal, while the first respondent alleged fraud and encroachment — The Supreme Court found the High Court's decision based on incorrect facts, as no injunction existed, and noted insufficient evidence of fraud — It allowed the appeal, permitting completed and future construction, subject to the civi India Law Library Docid # 2422387
(829) M.S. SANJAY Vs. INDIAN BANK AND OTHERS[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 29-01-2025 Constitution of India, 1950 — Article 226 — In exercising discretionary jurisdiction under Article 226, Writ Courts must prioritize substantial justice over technical statutory infractions, refraining from upsetting actions/orders that, despite minor flaws, have attained finality and where upsetting them would cause injustice to parties who have substantially relied on the original outcome, as in cases of long-consummated auctions and subsequent significant investments India Law Library Docid # 2422482
(830) NARCOTIC CONTROL BUREAU Vs. LAKHWINDER SINGH[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 29-01-2025 Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 — In appeals against conviction under the NDPS Act, the Appellate Court is not constrained by a rigid rule requiring a convict to undergo half of their substantive sentence before being eligible for bail; instead, the Court can exercise its discretion to grant bail if the convict has served a substantial part of their sentence and their appeal is unlikely to be heard before completion of the sentence, to prevent violation of Article 21 rights. India Law Library Docid # 2422411
(831) HITESH VERMA Vs. M/S HEALTH CARE AT HOME INDIA PVT. LTD. AND OTHERS[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 29-01-2025 Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 — Sections 138 and 141— Dishonour of Cheque — Person who is not a signatory to a cheque cannot be held liable under Section 138, unless the case falls under the purview of Section 141 of the same Act — The Court emphasized that for liability to be established under Section 141, it must be explicitly stated in the complaint that the person was in charge of and responsible for the company's business at the time the offense was committed — In this case, the appellan India Law Library Docid # 2422291
(832) AJAY MALIK Vs. STATE OF UTTARAKHAND AND ANOTHER[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 29-01-2025 Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) — Sections 343 and 370 — Wrongful Confinement, Human trafficking and Criminal conspiracy — Quashing of Criminal Proceedings — Lack of Prima Facie Evidence against appellant, High Court, under Section 482 of the CrPC, may intervene to prevent abuse of court processes when there is no prima facie case made out — The court scrutinized the evidence, including the FIR, witness statements, and affidavits, to determine India Law Library Docid # 2422087
(833) MAHABIR AND OTHERS Vs. STATE OF HARYANA[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 29-01-2025 Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC) — Section 401(3) — Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) — Section 302 — Murder — Reversal of Acquittal — High Court cannot convert a finding of acquittal into a conviction in its revisional jurisdiction — Section 401(3) of the CrPC explicitly prohibits this — This reinforces the finality of acquittals and establishes that the revisional jurisdiction is not an avenue for the High Court to act as a court of appeal — The only recourse for a High Court in such cases is to orde India Law Library Docid # 2422089
(834) H. ANJANAPPA AND OTHERS Vs. A. PRABHAKAR AND OTHERS[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 29-01-2025 Transfer of Property Act, 1882 — Section 52 — Leave to Appeal for Non-Parties — A person who is not a party to a decree or order may, with the leave of the court, file an appeal if they are bound by the decree, aggrieved by it, or otherwise prejudicially affected — The rejection of an impleadment application does not automatically disqualify a party from seeking leave to appeal India Law Library Docid # 2422090
(835) S. VISHNU GANGA AND OTHERS Vs. M/S ORIENTAL INSURANCE COMPANY LIMITED REP. BY ITS DIVISIONAL MANAGER AND OTHERS[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 29-01-2025 Motor Accident Claims — Income Determination — The court clarified that Income Tax Returns are reliable evidence to assess the income of a deceased person. India Law Library Docid # 2422091
(836) KRISHNADATT AWASTHY Vs. STATE OF M.P AND OTHERS[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 29-01-2025 Selection of Shiksha Karmis (school teachers) — Strict Adherence to Audi Alteram Partem — The court established that a decision made without providing the affected parties a fair opportunity to be heard is invalid — The court held that the initial decision by the Collector to set aside the appointments was flawed because it was made without giving the selected candidates a notice or an opportunity to present their case, which is a violation of natural justice — India Law Library Docid # 2422092
(837) VINOBHAI Vs. STATE OF KERALA[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 29-01-2025 Penal Code, 1860 — Section 302 — Murder — Evidence Act, 1872 — Section 27 — Acquittal — Conviction of the appellant for murder was overturned due to unreliable eyewitness testimony — The Supreme Court determined that the evidence presented by the prosecution, particularly the testimony of two eyewitnesses was not credible enough to prove the appellant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt India Law Library Docid # 2422058
(838) INDEPENDENT SUGAR CORPORATION LTD. Vs. GIRISH SRIRAM JUNEJA AND OTHERS [SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 29-01-2025 Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 — Section 31(4) — Mandatory Prior Approval — The central holding of the court is that the proviso to Section 31(4) of the IBC mandates that CCI approval for a combination must be obtained prior to the approval of a resolution plan by the Committee of Creditors (CoC) — The court interprets the word "prior" literally, meaning the CCI approval must precede the CoC's approval — This is a key point of departure from the NCLAT's India Law Library Docid # 2422136
(839) DR. TANVI BEHL Vs. SHREY GOEL AND OTHERS [SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 29-01-2025 Education Law — Residence-based reservations in PG Medical courses — Invalidity of Residence-Based Reservation — The court explicitly states that providing for domicile or residence-based reservation in PG Medical Courses is unconstitutional and cannot be done. India Law Library Docid # 2422137
(840) AJAI KUMAR CHAUHAN Vs. THE STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 29-01-2025 Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) — Sections 300, 302 and 304 — Murder — Sudden provocation — Alteration of Conviction from Section 302 to 301 Part I Exception 4 of Section 300 — The Court finds that while there is evidence of an altercation, the prosecution has failed to prove premeditation, and the incident likely occurred in the heat of passion due to sudden provocation, warranting the lesser charge — Considering the appellant has already served over ten years in prison, including remission, the India Law Library Docid # 2422258