Supreme Court Weekly Round-Up

Repeated Saying Of Word ‘Goonda’ Or ‘Prejudicial To Maintenance Of Public Order’ Insufficient To Invoke Preventive DetentionRhetorical incantation of word “goonda” or “prejudicial to maintenance of public order” cannot be sufficient justification to invoke the draconian powers of preventive detention, the Supreme Court held. A bench comprising Justice L Nageswara Rao and Justice Navin Sinha quashed preventive detention of a man who was accused of selling spurious chilli seeds to farmers.‘Last Seen Together’ Along With ‘Absence Of Satisfactory Explanation’ Insufficient For ConvictionThe Supreme Court, in Anjan Kumar Sarma vs State of Assam, reiterated that “last seen together” along with “absence of satisfactory explanation” cannot be made the sole basis of conviction, when the other circumstances could not be proved.NDPS Act, Being A Presumptive Legislation, The Interpretation Has To Be StrictThe Supreme Court bench of Justices L.Nageswara Rao and Navin Sinha, on Thursday, in a case under the NDPS Act, restored the acquittal by the Additional Sessions Judge, Ludhiana of an accused, which was reversed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court.Relation Of Witnesses To Deceased By Marriage Not Enough To Reject Their TestimonyThe fact that the witness may be related to the deceased by marriage, cannot be sufficient reason to classify him as a related and interested witness to reject his testimony, the Supreme Court observed while dismissing the appeals in a murder case (Chandrasekar vs State). Punjab And Haryana High Court’s Direction Recasting The Merit List For Admission To Postgraduate Medical Courses Set Aside The Supreme Court’s Vacation Bench of Justices L Nageswara Rao and Navin Sinha, on Thursday, directed the Punjab Government to reconsider the incentive to be given to the Rural Medical Officers afresh by keeping in mind the objective with which the Regulation 9 of the Medical Council of India Regulations 2000 were made.SC Directs Haryana Government To Notify Fresh Criteria To Identify Remote/Difficult Areas For Grant Of Weightage In NEET The Supreme Court Vacation bench of Justices L.Nageswara Rao and Navin Sinha, on Thursday, held that the Haryana Government’s notification dated 5.5.2017 identifying remote/difficult areas for the purpose of grant of weightage to candidates appearing in the NEET examination, is based on no data, reflects inadequate preparation, and is in the nature of a knee jerk reaction to situations.SC Stays Grant Of Rs.55.5 Lakh Compensation To An Injured Air WarriorThe Supreme Court’s Vacation Bench of Justices L.Nageswara Rao and Navin Sinha, on Tuesday stayed the award by the Delhi High Court of Rs.55.5 lakh to a Wing Commander in the Indian Air Force, who sued the Ministry of Defence and the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, for his injuries which he suffered while bailing out of a fighter aircraft, whilst on duty in a MiG 21 aircraft in 2005. The bench issued notice on the appeal filed by the HAL against the Delhi High Court verdict.Saharanpur Caste-Violence: SC Denies Urgent Hearing On Petition For SIT Probe The Supreme Court on Friday denied urgent hearing of a Petition demanding a probe by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) into the recent incidents of caste violence in Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur district.

Supreme Court Weekly Round-Up

Ashok Kini

Tags