Industrial Law – Termination of Employment – Respondent's employment on a daily wage basis terminated after 54 days under fixed-term contracts – Industrial dispute raised and referred to Labour Court – Labour Court ordered reinstatement, citing violations of Sections 25G and 25H of the Industrial Disputes Act – High Court upheld Labour Court's decision – Supreme Court examined scope of Section 2(oo) and Section 2(bb) – Held that termination on expiry of the contract does not constitute retrenchment – Appeals allowed, Labour Court and High Court orders set aside [Paras 1-13].

Contractual Employment – Fixed-term Contracts – Applicability of Industrial Disputes Act – Supreme Court emphasized importance of contract terms – Determined that fixed-term nature of employment excluded application of Sections 25G and 25H [Paras 1-13].

Decision – Appeals Allowed – Held – Termination on expiry of fixed-term contracts does not amount to retrenchment – Labour Court and High Court orders set aside – No order as to costs [Para 13].

Water Distribution Policy – Judicial Review – Appellants challenged the meager water allocation to the Kutch district from the Sardar Sarovar Project – High Court dismissed the plea, stating policy decisions on resource allocation lack judicially manageable standards – Supreme Court affirmed, emphasizing the expertise required for such policy decisions, and upheld the High Court's view that the allocation was a matter for the executive, not judicial intervention [Paras 1-16].

Constitutional Obligations – Directive Principles – Appellants argued that the State failed to distribute water equitably as mandated by Articles 38(2) and 39(b) – Court held that while these principles guide the State, the judicial review of such policies is limited to cases of clear arbitrariness or constitutional violations, which were not established in this case [Paras 1-16].

Decision – Appeal Dismissed – Held – Allocation of water is a complex policy decision involving various factors and expert considerations, and judicial intervention is unwarranted unless policies are clearly arbitrary or unconstitutional – No costs awarded [Paras 1-16].

Family Law – Domicile and Jurisdiction – Appellant-husband contested the jurisdiction of the Family Court in Mumbai to entertain a petition for judicial separation filed by the Respondent-wife, arguing that both parties had acquired Swedish citizenship and domicile – High Court held the petition maintainable, stating the husband failed to prove abandonment of Indian domicile and acquiring Australian domicile – Supreme Court upheld, emphasizing the requirement of domicile in India under Section 1(2) of the Hindu Marriage Act – Appeal dismissed [Paras 1-29].

Interpretation of Hindu Marriage Act – Extra-territorial Operation – Examination of Section 1(2) indicating that the Act applies to Hindus domiciled in India, even if residing outside India – Court clarified that the Act’s extra-territorial operation is justified when there is a nexus with India – Analysis of various High Court judgments, leading to the conclusion that the Act applies only to Hindus domiciled in India [Paras 12-20].

Decision – Appeals Dismissed – Held – Both parties domiciled in India, hence the Family Court in Mumbai has jurisdiction under the Hindu Marriage Act – Other contentions rendered academic due to this finding – No costs awarded [Paras 29-30].

Company Law – Transfer of Shares – Appellant sought to register the transfer of shares acquired through loan repayment – Respondent refused, citing non-compliance with Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act – Company Law Board and High Court upheld refusal – Supreme Court examined the applicability of Sections 13 and 16 of the Act to unlisted public company shares – Affirmed that the provisions of the Act apply to unlisted securities – Appeal dismissed [Paras 1-35].

Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act – Marketable Securities – Interpretation – Defined 'securities' to include shares of a public limited company regardless of stock exchange listing – Rejected Appellant's argument that unlisted shares are not 'securities' under the Act – Emphasized the Act's intent to regulate transactions in securities, not limited to stock exchanges [Paras 10-30].

Spot Delivery Contract – Definition and Application – Evaluated whether the transaction qualified as a spot delivery contract – Determined it did not meet criteria due to deferred consideration – Upheld Company's refusal to register shares based on illegality of the contract [Paras 31-35].

Decision – Appeal Dismissed – Held – Transfer of shares invalid under Sections 13 and 16 of the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act – High Court and Company Law Board decisions affirmed – No costs awarded [Para 35].

Property Law – Coparcenary Property – Appellant claimed that property acquired by his father on partition retained its coparcenary character after his birth – Trial court ruled in appellant’s favor, finding property became coparcenary property on his birth – Lower appellate court reversed, treating property as self-acquired – High Court affirmed lower appellate court’s view – Supreme Court examined coparcenary property principles under Hindu law and reversed the High Court decision, reinstating trial court’s decree [Paras 1-15].

Coparcenary Property – Birth of Coparcener – Legal implications – Court clarified that property inherited by a single coparcener on partition is separate property until a son is born, at which point it acquires coparcenary character – Court noted this principle is well-settled and supported by precedent, including M. Yogendra and Others vs. Leelamma N. and Others (2009) 15 SCC 184 [Paras 11-13].

Decision – Appeal Allowed – Held – Property became coparcenary on the birth of the appellant – Sale deeds and release deed executed by appellant’s father without legal necessity were invalid – Lower appellate court and High Court judgments set aside, trial court decree restored [Paras 13-15].

Recruitment Process – Challenge to Selection Procedure – Petitioners challenged the selection process for the Madhya Pradesh Higher Judicial Service, alleging midway changes in the criteria and lack of transparency in normalization of marks – High Court was empowered under Rule 7 and Rule 9(iv) to formulate its own procedure – Selection procedure upheld by Supreme Court [Paras 5-24, 45-48].

Normalization of Marks – Legality and Justification – The normalization process for evaluating answer sheets adopted by the High Court was justified to ensure fair selection – Marks awarded by different evaluators were standardized – No violation of constitutional or statutory provisions found [Paras 43-47, 57-58].

Statutory Empowerment – Rule-Making Authority of High Court – High Court's authority to prescribe selection procedures upheld – Advertisement and subsequent selection process were in accordance with the prescribed rules and did not deviate from constitutional mandates [Paras 6, 24-25, 66-67].

Decision – Appeals and Writ Petitions Dismissed – Held – High Court’s selection process upheld as fair and in compliance with the established rules and guidelines – No relief granted to petitioners [Paras 4, 46, 66].

Foreign Exchange Regulation – Contravention of FERA Provisions – Appellant challenged the order of the High Court dismissing the appeal against the Tribunal's decision setting aside penalties and confiscation under FERA – High Court held no legal infirmity in the Tribunal's order – Supreme Court examined contraventions of Sections 19(1)(a) and (d), 29(1)(a) and (b), and procedural adherence under FERA – Appeals dismissed [Paras 1-60].

Establishment of Place of Business – Corporate Veil – Examination of whether the foreign entities established a place of business in India without RBI's permission – Supreme Court upheld the Tribunal's finding that no contravention of Section 29(1)(a) occurred – Lifting the corporate veil deemed unnecessary as no fraudulent activity was established [Paras 40-45].

Foreign Investment Policy – Automatic Route – Court analyzed the compliance with the Foreign Exchange Management Act and relevant notifications – Emphasized strict adherence to statutory provisions and notifications for foreign investments – Concluded that the activities undertaken were within the legal framework [Paras 46-59].

Decision – Appeals Dismissed – Held – High Court and Tribunal's decisions upheld – No contravention of FERA found in the business activities of the respondents – No costs awarded [Paras 60].

Consumer Protection – Jurisdiction – Appellant, a retired Medical Officer, claimed non-payment of retiral benefits and filed a complaint before the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum – Supreme Court examined whether such matters fall under the Consumer Protection Act – Held that service-related disputes of government servants do not fall within the jurisdiction of consumer forums as they do not constitute 'consumer' disputes under the Act – Appeal dismissed [Paras 1-17].

Service Law – Retiral Benefits – Government servant claimed deductions from retiral benefits without notice – Supreme Court reiterated that service matters, including payment of retiral benefits, should be adjudicated under relevant service rules and not consumer protection laws – Government assured refund of penal rent if charged [Paras 18].

Decision – Appeal Dismissed – Held – Government servants cannot approach consumer forums for service-related disputes – Appropriate forum is the State Administrative Tribunal or Civil Court – Assurances given by the government regarding payment of dues and penal rent recorded [Paras 16-18].

Administrative Law – Selection and Appointment – Suppression of Material Facts – Appellants, selected for the post of police constables, were discharged during training due to alleged suppression of their involvement in a criminal case – Tribunal and High Court upheld the discharge based on the suppression in attestation forms – Supreme Court found appellants were not aware of the criminal case registration at the time of filling forms – Held, appellants did not suppress any material fact intentionally [Paras 1-7].

Criminal Procedure – Preventive Arrest – Sections 151 CrPC – Appellants detained under Section 151 CrPC during a protest, unaware of formal case registration – No information provided about the arrest or registration of crime – Supreme Court held that preventive arrest under Section 151 CrPC does not constitute involvement in a criminal case requiring disclosure in attestation forms [Paras 4-7].

Employment Law – Continuity of Service – Supreme Court directed reinstatement of appellants with continuity of service but without back pay for the period of exclusion – Ordered immediate re-induction for training and restoration of seniority – Emphasized non-discrimination for other similarly situated candidates [Paras 8-9].

Decision:

Appeal allowed – Orders of High Court and Administrative Tribunal set aside – Appellants to be re-inducted into training immediately with original seniority restored – No entitlement to back pay for the period of exclusion unless there is a delay in implementation [Paras 8-10].