Civil Law - Caste Status - Scheduled Tribe Status – Offspring of Tribal Mother & Non-Tribal Father – Constitutional Scheme (Arts. 341, 342, 15(4), 16(4)) – ST Certificate Quashed – Appellant born to ST mother (Oraon) and forward-class father (Kayastha) claimed ST status based on a certificate and alleged community acceptance – Held: ST status is not acquired by me...
Departmental Inquiry – Disagreement with Enquiry Officer – Natural Justice – Rule 3(1), Rule 18(3) CCS (Conduct) Rules – Remand Ordered – Inspector (Central Excise) was exonerated by Enquiry Officer; Disciplinary Authority recorded tentative disagreement and sought reply but passed removal order without considering the employee’s representation filed before comm...
Civil Writ - Urban Misuse – Breach of Undertakings – Enforcement of Rule of Law – Commercial Misuse Ordered to Stop – The Court considered applications by traders who had given undertakings to cease commercial use of residential premises but failed to comply – Held: No modification of earlier orders permitted, and misuse must stop immediately – Rule of law must ...
PIL/Environmental Governance – Interlocutory applications challenging/linked to notifications – Infructuous upon issuance of final notification – Liberty reserved – I.A. No. 1874 (in WP 4677/1985) and I.A. No. 3 (in WP 98/2000) dismissed as infructuous with liberty to file substantive petitions against final notification; connected Writ Petition (C) No. 98/2000 also dismiss...
Public Premises Act – Sections 3 & 4 – Constitutional Challenge and Appointment of Estate Officer – Dismissed – Writ petitions/appeals assailed (i) Section 3 and its second proviso as violative of Article 14 (“judge in his own cause”), (ii) show cause under Sections 4(1)-(2), and (iii) appointments under Allocation of Business Rules – Held: Section 3 v...
Administrative Law – Judicial Overreach – High Court’s Power in Writ Jurisdiction – Directions issued by the High Court for refixation of licence fee and initiation of vigilance enquiry in a writ petition filed by the appellants against enhancement of licence fee held to be beyond the scope of the lis – High Court erred in travelling beyond pleadings and rendering app...
Public Procurement – Tender Eligibility – State-specific Past Performance – Condition requiring bidders to have supplied sports goods worth ₹6 crores cumulatively to Chhattisgarh State agencies in the last three years held arbitrary and discriminatory – Creates an artificial barrier and closes the market to otherwise competent bidders from outside the State – Violat...
Civil Procedure – Amendment of Pleadings – Order 6 Rule 17 CPC – Delay – Amendment sought by plaintiff in eviction suit rejected by trial court and affirmed by High Court on ground of delay – Supreme Court held delay alone is not a valid ground to reject amendment – Amendment can be allowed even at a late stage if it helps resolve the real controversy between th...
Taxation Law - Income Tax – Reassessment – Validity of Sanction under Section 151 – ITAT quashed reassessment on ground that approval for reopening by Principal Commissioner of Income Tax was mechanical – Approval merely recorded “Yes, I am convinced it is a fit case” – Held: Such wording amounts to valid approval satisfying requirement of Section 151 &nda...
Family Law – Mutual Consent Divorce – Withdrawal of Consent – Irretrievable Breakdown of Marriage – Petition under Section 13B filed by both parties – Wife withdrew consent at second stage – Trial Court and High Court dismissed petition relying on Sureshta Devi – Supreme Court held consent must subsist until decree – However, exercised power under Ar...