Supreme Court Weekly Round-Up

Conviction In Serious & Heinous Crime Per Se Can’t Be Reason To Deny ParoleWhile dealing with the parole application of a prisoner serving sentence upon conviction under the TADA Act, the Supreme Court clarified that seriousness or heinous nature of the crime ought not to have any bearing on the consideration of application for parole. The prisoner was found guilty for having supplied explosives for conducting bomb blasts on the first anniversary of Babri Masjid demolition. His conviction was upheld by all courts concurrently, including the Supreme Court.That The Arbitrator Is An Employee Of A Party By Itself Is Not A Disqualification In Cases Before The Amendment Of 2015 In Aravalli Power Company Ltd. v. Era Infra Engineering Ltd. , the Supreme Court had occasion to consider the impact of the 2015 amendment to Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996 in proceedings initiated before the amendment came into force. The Court came to the conclusion that cases governed by 1996 Act as it stood before the Amendment Act came into force, the fact that the named arbitrator is an employee of one of the parties is not ipso facto a ground to raise a presumption of bias or partiality or lack of independence on his part. Acquisition Of Building Alone Without Underlying Land Permissible When State Has Ownership Over The LandThe state can proceed to acquire only the buildings existing on the land under the Land Acquisition Act, without acquiring the underlying land, when the state otherwise has ownership rights over the land. This was held by the Supreme Court while allowing the appeals filed by Maharashtra, enabling the government to proceed to compulsorily acquire the buildings under the occupation of M/s Reliance Industries Ltd, and M/s Express Papers. In both cases, the owners of buildings were not the owners of the land; the ownership of land belonged to the state.There Can Be Simultaneous Proceedings Under SARFAESI And Arbitration Act For Recovery Of Loan ArrearsThe Supreme Court held that NBFC is entitled to initiate both arbitration proceedings and SARFAESI proceedings with respect to a loan account, and that the ‘doctrine of election’ was not attracted in such a scenario. It was further clarified that there was no illegality in an Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) invoking SARFAESI Act for recovery of loan arrears with respect to an account classified as Non-Performing Asset (NPA) before the NBFC got notified under the Act. It was also clarified that the Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code- SC Interprets Scope Of ‘Existence Of Dispute’ Between Operational Creditor And CorporateThe judgment of the Supreme Court in Mobilox Innovations Pvt.Ltd. v.Kirusa Software Pvt.Ltd. rendered by a bench of Justices R. F Nariman and Sanjay Kishan Kaul settleed a significant issue under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016. The issue was whether the existence of a dispute by itself without the record of initiation of any suit or arbitration proceedings in relation to it is sufficient to make an application for insolvency resolution at the instance of operational creditor unsustainable.MoEF Order Is Capable Of Destroying National Parks And Wildlife Sanctuaries In The countryIn a special leave petition filed against an order of the Bombay High Court, the Supreme Court observed that an order passed by the Ministry of Environment and Forests was capable of destroying national parks and wildlife sanctuaries in the country.Interim Wages Part Of Wages As Per ESI Act And Is To Be Reckoned For ESI Contribution The Supreme Court declared that interim wages will come within the definition of wages as per Sec.2(22) of Employees State Insurance(ESI) Act, and that the employer is liable to pay ESI contribution on the interim wages as well.NGT Can Only Decide A Substantial Question Relating To The Environment: NGT Decision On SPCB Appointments QuashedThe Supreme Court, on Friday, set aside the order of the National Green Tribunal whereby the functioning of Chairmen of 10 State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) had been ceased due to the failure of such States to make appointments in adherence to NGT’s earlier judgment.Can’t Extend Time For Filling Vacant Seats In Super-Specialty, PG & MBSS CoursesThe Supreme Court, on Friday, refused to extend the time for filling up the vacant seats in super-specialty, post-graduate and MBBS courses. The Interlocutory Applications demanding an extension were filed in the case titled, Ashish Ranjan and Ors. v. Union of India & Ors., wherein the Court had earlier laid down a time schedule to be followed for completing admissions to medical colleges.SC Upholds Ban On Mate Mahadevi’s Book, Even While It Agreed She Has A Right To Interpret Her ReligionWhile balancing the right to express one’s views in religious matters, and the State’s so-called duty to restrict them, in order to prevent violent protests against it, the Supreme Court tilted in favour of the latter. The Court was hearing the Kannada author and mystic...

Supreme Court Weekly Round-Up

Ashok K.M

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