Article 136 and Criminal Appeals III

“The jurisdiction which this Court exercises under Article 136 has its own self-imposed restrictions. It is sufficient to refer to this Court’s decision reported in Ganga Kumar Srivastava v. State of Bihar, (2005) 6 SCC 211 where this Court after referring to various decisions has laid down certain principles for exercising the power of this […]

The Plea of Limitation VII: Section 14 of The Limitation Act, 1963

Respondent entered into a contract for construction of a commercial complex. Certain disputes arose. Sole Arbitrator passed an Award on 11.11.2010. Both parties appeared before Arbitrator. Arbitrator did not find any justification to allow any claim of Respondent-Contractor. Respondent believed he could take a somersault. It propelled him to file an application under Section 11 […]

Battle of the Articles II: 32/226

“The Court must necessarily abide the parameters which govern a nuanced exercise of judicial power. Hence, where an effort is made to bring issues of governance before the Court, the basic touchstone on which the invocation of jurisdiction must rest is whether the issue can be addressed within the framework of law or the Constitution. […]

Section 2(1)(d) of The Consumer Protection Act, 1986 I

My Lord, Clarificatory Amendments – Retrospective Effect? Yes. “An Explanation was added by The Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act, 1993 to the definition of the expression ‘consumer’ under Section 2(1)(d) of The Consumer Protection Act, 1986. In Laxmi Engineering Works, (1995) 3 SCC 583 the consumer complaint in question was filed before adding of the said […]

Section 31 of The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973

My Lord, Consecutive – Term Sentence – Life Sentence? Yes. “The power of the Court to direct the order in which sentences will run is unquestionable in view of the language employed in Section 31 of The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. The Court can, therefore, legitimately direct that the prisoner shall first undergo the […]

The Real Apprehension in Transferring Cases II

My Lord, Independent of the provisions contained in Codes of Civil and Criminal Procedure is there a source of power which the Supreme Court can invoke for directing transfer of a case from or to the State of Jammu and Kashmir? Yes. “The fact that there is no such enabling provision for transfer from or […]

The Drastic Power of Rejecting a Plaint II

“An application under Order 7, Rule 11 can be filed at any stage. The only restriction is that the consideration of the application for rejection should not be on the basis of the allegations made in the written statement or on the basis of the allegations in the application for rejection of the plaint. Court […]

Principles of Natural Justice II

“Principles of Natural Justice, it is well settled, are not codified rules of procedure. Courts have repeatedly declined to lay down in a strait jacket, their scope and extent. The extent, the manner and the application of these Principles depends so much on the nature of jurisdiction exercised by Court or Tribunal, the nature of […]

Referred to Larger Bench X: Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy

My Lord, Why is Supreme Court not a Constitutional Court? Relying upon Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, Mr. Venugopal established, Supreme Court had strayed from its original character as a Constitutional Court and gradually converted itself into a mere Court of Appeal to correct every error it found in decisions of 24 High Courts and […]

Section 11 of The Arbitration Act III

My Lord, When an Arbitration Agreement is denied, can the Chief Justice or his Designate, in exercise of power under Section 11 of The Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 appoint an Arbitrator without deciding the question whether there was an Arbitration Agreement between the parties, leaving it open to be decided by the Arbitrator? No. […]

The Plea of Limitation VI: Non-Working Saturdays

No Court or Tribunal can extend the period of limitation for filing a suit. Even if any cause, beyond the control of the plaintiff is shown also, the only extension is what is permitted under Section 4 of The Limitation Act, 1963, the period coming under Court holiday. Section 4 no doubt applies to suits […]

Internal Disturbance I

My Lord, Is the ‘Internal Disturbance’ in Manipur equivalent to a ‘War’? “In support of his contention that a war-like situation was and is prevailing in Manipur, Learned Attorney General submitted that, under Section 121 of IPC, ‘war’ is not necessarily conventional warfare between two nations and even organizing and joining an insurrection against Government […]

Section 24A of The Advocates Act, 1961

“Under Section 24A of The Advocates Act, 1961 a person convicted of even a most heinous offence is eligible to be enrolled as an Advocate after expiry of 2 years from expiry of his sentence. This aspect needs urgent attention of all concerned. Apart from the above, we do not find any reason to hold, […]

Compensatory Jurisprudence of Constitutional Courts III: Himgiri Express

“On February 1, 2011 when Himgiri Express left Shahjahanpur Railway Station with hundreds of men on roof top and headed towards Rosa town, an accident took place at Hathaurda Railway Over Bridge near Mohammadabad. The Railway Over Bridge was not tall enough and the gap between the roof of the coach and the bottom of […]

Setting Aside Orders

“It is not open either to parties to a lis or to any third parties, to determine at their own, that an Order passed by a Court is valid or void. A party to the lis or a third party, who considers an Order passed by a Court as void or non est, must approach […]

Section 56 of The Indian Contract Act, 1872 I

“The interpretation of Section 56 of the The Contract Act, 1872 came up for consideration in Satyabrata Ghose v. Mugneeram Bangur & Co., (1954) SCR 310 It was held by this Court that the word ‘impossible’ has not been used in the sense of physical or literal impossibility. It ought to be interpreted as impracticable […]

SC Resolves Conflict Between SICA & Companies Act

“Different situations can arise in the interplay between The Companies Act, 1956 and The Sick Industrial Companies (Special Provisions) Act, 1985 [for instance, in the matter of winding up of a company: i) where winding up proceedings are pending, but no order of winding up has been passed against the company, and a reference is […]

Section 11 of The Arbitration Act II

In a Judgment, indicative of clerical errors and incorrect citations, at least, the following is clear: “The Chief Justice exercises judicial power while passing an order under Section 11 of The Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 and thus can examine the question as to whether the claim which has been raised before him survives and […]

Section 32-A of The NDPS Act

Section 32-A of The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 reads as follows: “32-A. No suspension, remission or commutation in any sentence awarded under this Act – Notwithstanding anything contained in The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 or any other law for the time being in force but subject to the provisions of Section 33, […]

Pension Cuts under Proviso (a), Rule 10(1) of The West Bengal Services (Death-cum-Retirement Benefit) Rules, 1971

Justices A.K. Goel and A.M. Khanwilkar have allowed State of West Bengal v. Aswini Kumar Mahato, [Civil Appeal No. 4689 of 2011] against a Calcutta High Court order in which it was held, once an employee retires on attaining age of superannuation, concerned authority has no jurisdiction to pass an order in a disciplinary proceeding […]

The Last Word

A Diversion for Lawyers and Others