Contempt of Court – Non-compliance with Court Orders – The petitioners were denied marks for their National Trade Certificates despite a clear High Court order directing the Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) to consider these certificates for recruitment as Shramiks – Held: APSRTC's failure to comply with the Court’s order constituted contempt – The respondent's reasons for rejecting the marks were unfounded and contrary to the Court’s directives – A fine of ₹2000 was imposed on the second respondent, with a default sentence of two weeks' simple imprisonment [Paras 7-12]​.

Employment Law – Recruitment Criteria – Awarding of Marks – The Court clarified that the awarding of 30 marks for National Trade Certificates was mandated by the Court’s previous order, and APSRTC had no discretion to deviate from this directive – The contention that additional marks should be awarded for both National Trade and National Apprenticeship Certificates was rejected as unjustified and speculative [Paras 8-9]​.

Decision – Contempt petition allowed – Fine of ₹2000 imposed on the second respondent, with a default sentence of two weeks' simple imprisonment [Para 12]​.

Civil Law – Res Judicata – Consolidated Suits and Appeals – Appeal dismissed due to res judicata – The appellant challenged the judgment of the First Appellate Court in two consolidated suits concerning property rights and easementary claims. The Court held that, due to the dismissal of a related appeal (RSA No. 278 of 1995) for default, the principle of res judicata applied, preventing further adjudication on the same issues in the current appeal – Held: The present appeal is dismissed as barred by res judicata [Paras 42, 47].

Civil Procedure – Applicability of Res Judicata to Dismissed Appeals – Court refers to the principle that once an appeal is dismissed in default, the findings of the lower courts become final and are not open to challenge in another appeal on the same matter – Non-filing or dismissal of an appeal results in finality to the judgment in the earlier case [Para 42].

Decision:

Appeal dismissed – No order as to costs.

Landlord-Tenant Law – Bonafide Requirement – Availability of Alternative Premises – The appellant challenged the eviction decree passed on the ground of bonafide requirement, asserting that the landlord’s daughter-in-law could conduct her business from another available room (Room No. 3) with commercial electricity, negating the need for eviction – Held: The plaintiff failed to prove bonafide requirement as the alternative premises were available and had been used for business earlier – The admission that refusal of eviction would not cause hardship further weakened the plaintiff’s case – The decree was set aside [Paras 12-25]​.

Comparative Hardship – Tenant’s Business and Hardship – The tenant proved that after the original tenant's death, the son continued to operate his laundry business from the suit premises – The Court found that the plaintiff’s claim of comparative hardship was baseless, particularly when the daughter-in-law had no significant difficulty in continuing her consultancy business from the existing premises [Paras 26-27]​.

Decision – Civil Revision Application allowed – Eviction decree set aside – No order as to costs​.

Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act – Anticipatory Bail – Disclosure Statements – The applicants, husband and wife, were implicated through the disclosure statement of a co-accused from whom 73.80 grams of smack was recovered. The Court held that although such statements are not solely reliable for conviction, they could be considered at the anticipatory bail stage – The applicants’ non-cooperation and absconding warranted refusal of anticipatory bail [Paras 33-36]​.

Pre-Arrest Bail – Scope and Considerations – The Court reiterated that anticipatory bail is an exceptional remedy and should not be granted as a matter of course. Despite joining the investigation intermittently, the applicants failed to cooperate fully, evaded arrest, and absconded – Held: The applicants did not make a case for pre-arrest bail due to their conduct and the gravity of the allegations [Paras 37-40]​.

Decision – Bail applications dismissed

Motor Vehicles Act – Compensation Enhancement – Age Determination – The claimants sought enhancement of compensation for the death of the deceased, aged 36, in a motor accident, challenging the Tribunal's findings regarding age, deductions for personal expenses, and the exclusion of future prospects – Held: The Tribunal wrongly drew an adverse inference regarding the deceased’s age as 40, ignoring the postmortem report which recorded the age as 36 – The correct multiplier for 36 years is 15, and personal expenses should have been deducted at 1/4th instead of 1/3rd – Future prospects at 50% of the income were awarded as per Pranay Sethi [Paras 25-32, 36-40]​.

Income Calculation and Future Prospects – The gross salary of the deceased was ₹23,403, and the deduction for professional tax was only ₹200 – Based on this, the total annual income was ₹2,78,436 – Future prospects were computed at 50% of the income, following National Insurance Co. Ltd. vs. Pranay Sethi [Paras 28-31]​.

Interest Rate Enhancement – The interest awarded by the Tribunal at 6% per annum was increased to 9% per annum in line with recent Supreme Court judgments – Held: Compensation awarded was enhanced to ₹49,76,907 with 9% interest from the date of the claim petition until the date of deposit [Paras 54-56]​.

Decision – Appeal by the claimants allowed, compensation enhanced – Appeal by the employer dismissed – Compensation awarded at ₹49,76,907 with 9% interest per annum from the date of the claim petition​.

Money Laundering – Discharge Application – Prima Facie Case Established – The petitioner, a trustee of the All India Overseas Bank Employees Union Trust, sought discharge from a money laundering case under the PMLA, contending no involvement in the administration of the trust's funds. The Court held that the allegations, including siphoning of funds from union members and projecting proceeds of crime as untainted, prima facie implicated the petitioner. The discharge application was rightfully rejected [Paras 7-12, 44].

Trustees' Liability – Section 3 of PMLA – Possession of Proceeds of Crime – The petitioner argued that he had resigned from the trust and was not involved in any illegal activities. The Court rejected this contention, stating that mere resignation did not absolve the petitioner from the liability, and his role as a trustee during the period of alleged offenses was sufficient to invoke Section 3 of the PMLA. The trust, being an association under Section 2(s) of PMLA, was involved in laundering proceeds of crime, implicating the petitioner [Paras 14-16, 48].

Burden of Proof – Section 24 of PMLA – Presumption of Money Laundering – The Court emphasized that under Section 24 of the PMLA, the burden of proof lies on the accused to prove innocence once the presumption of money laundering is raised by the authorities. In this case, the prosecution's evidence, including statements and financial records, established a prima facie case, and the petitioner failed to disprove the allegations [Paras 18-20, 51-54].

Decision:

Criminal revision case dismissed – Order of the Principal Sessions Court rejecting the discharge petition is upheld – No costs.

Service Law – Voluntary Retirement – Claim for Past Dues – The respondent, who availed the Special Voluntary Retirement Scheme (SVRS), sought the setting aside of a disciplinary punishment imposed on him prior to his retirement – Held: The respondent, having voluntarily retired under the SVRS and accepted its benefits based on his final salary (which included the penalty imposed), cannot now claim a higher pay scale or retrospective benefits – The availing of SVRS amounted to a complete cessation of the employee-employer relationship, extinguishing any claims for enhancement of pay or reversal of penalties imposed earlier [Paras 43-48]​.

Disciplinary Proceedings – Impact of Voluntary Retirement – The Court ruled that once the respondent accepted retirement under the SVRS, he forfeited the right to challenge penalties that affected his salary – The judgment of the Single Judge setting aside the punishment imposed was reversed, as it would contradict the finality of the SVRS package [Paras 44-47]​.

Decision – Appeal allowed – Judgment of the Single Judge set aside – No further financial benefits to the respondent​.

Criminal Law – Murder vs. Culpable Homicide – The appellants were convicted for murder under Section 302 IPC. The Court held that the act of hitting the deceased on the head with a wooden reeper, even though fatal, did not indicate an intention to cause death – Held: The injuries inflicted, though serious, were likely to cause death but were not sufficient in the ordinary course of nature to cause death. Hence, the conviction was altered from Section 302 to Section 304 Part I IPC [Paras 11-12]​.

Evidence – Sole Testimony of Eyewitness – PW5’s Credibility – The Court accepted the sole testimony of PW5, the only eyewitness to the incident, as credible and reliable. His account of the appellants attacking the victim was corroborated by medical evidence, including the postmortem report. The absence of the murder weapon from trial was not considered fatal to the prosecution’s case [Paras 8-10]​.

Sentence Reduction – Culpable Homicide Not Amounting to Murder – The Court reduced the appellants' sentence from life imprisonment under Section 302 IPC to seven years rigorous imprisonment under Section 304 Part I IPC. The appellants were also ordered to pay a fine of ₹10,000 each, with a default sentence of three months' simple imprisonment [Para 13]​.

Decision – Appeal partly allowed – Conviction altered from Section 302 IPC to Section 304 Part I IPC – Sentence reduced to seven years rigorous imprisonment​.

Criminal Law – Conviction Based on Circumstantial Evidence – The appellant was convicted of murdering his elder brother based on circumstantial evidence – The prosecution failed to establish a continuous chain of circumstances leading to the guilt of the accused – There were discrepancies in witness testimonies regarding the timeline and actions of the accused, which raised reasonable doubt about the prosecution's case – The appellant was acquitted due to failure of the prosecution to prove the guilt beyond reasonable doubt [Paras 27-58]​.

Dying Declaration and Witness Testimonies – Reliability – Witness testimonies were inconsistent about the events leading up to the victim's death – Despite allegations that the victim had made a dying declaration implicating the appellant, there was no corroboration by neutral witnesses – The inconsistencies in key testimonies regarding the victim's condition and the actions of the accused weakened the prosecution's case [Paras 31-42]​.

Discovery of Weapons – Section 27 of the Indian Evidence Act – The recovery of a blood-stained iron pipe allegedly used in the crime was not forensically linked to the accused – The failure to establish a clear connection between the recovered weapon and the crime led the Court to dismiss the discovery as insufficient evidence for conviction under Section 27 of the Indian Evidence Act [Paras 47-55]​.

Decision – Appeal allowed – Conviction and sentence set aside – Appellant acquitted of all charges and ordered to be released unless required in any other case [Para 58]​.