Supreme Court Quashes Case Against Ex-Director Of Drug Manufacturing Company For Substandard Drugs Seized After His Resignation

The Supreme Court recently quashed a case under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 ("Act") against a former Director of a Drug Manufacturing Company, which had undergone a raid for allegedly manufacturing a substandard drug, after noting that the director resigned from the company before the raid took place. The Court held that the director could not be held liable for the company's...

'Legislative Decisions' Not Immune From Judicial Review; Protection Under Article 212(1) Only For 'Proceedings In Legislature' : Supreme Court

Drawing a distinction between 'legislative decisions' and 'proceedings in the Legislature', the Supreme Court in a recent judgment has held that while 'proceedings in the Legislature' are immune from review based on allegation of 'procedural irregularities', there is no absolute bar on judicial review of 'legislative decisions'.A bench of Justices Surya Kant and NK Singh made the observation...

S. 411 IPC | Supreme Court Acquits Jeweler Accused Of Possessing Stolen Gold Bars Since He Had No Knowledge That They Were Stolen Property

The Supreme Court today (February 25) acquitted a jeweler who was convicted under Section 411 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for receiving stolen property in the high-profile ₹6.7 crore Vijaya Bank fraud case. The Court observed that mere possession of the stolen property by the accused would not justify a conviction under Section 411 of IPC unless it is proven that the accused had...

Supreme Court Outlines Principles To Determine Proportionality Of Punishment Imposed On Member Of Legislature

While setting aside the expulsion of RJD MLC Sunil Kumar Singh from the Bihar Legislative Council for making derogatory remarks against Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the Supreme Court emphasised that a punishment imposed on a Member of the Legislature for breach of privileges must be proportionate to the misconduct."There is no gainsaid that imposing a disproportionate punishment not...

JJ Act Bars Public Disclosure Of Juvenile's Conviction Record; Child Won't Suffer Any Disqualification Due To Conviction : Supreme Court

The Supreme Court recently opined that Section 24 of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015, which states that a child shall not suffer disqualification due to a conviction of an offence under this Act, is protective in nature. Therefor, cases where such conviction details continue to appear in public or official documents undermine the safeguard intended by the legislature. “By expressly stating...

''Highly Excessive' : Supreme Court Quashes Bihar Legislative Council's Decision To Expel RJD MLC For Comments Against Nitish Kumar

The Supreme Court today set aside the decision of the Bihar Legislative Council to expel RJD MLC Sunil Kumar Singh for making defamatory words against Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.Although the Court observed that Singh's conduct was "abhorrent" and "unbecoming", it held the punishment of expulsion to be "highly excessive" and "disproportionate." The expulsion violated not only Singh's...

GST Act | Can Time Limit To Adjudicate Show Cause Notice Be Extended By Notification Under S.168A? Supreme Court To Consider

The Supreme Court is to decide whether the time limit for adjudicating show cause notice and passing an order can be extended by the issuance of notifications under Section 168-A of the GST Act. This provision empowers the Government to issue notification for extending the time limit prescribed under the Act which cannot be complied with due to force majeure.“The issue that falls for...

'Child A Competent Witness' : Supreme Court Summarizes Law On Child Witness Testimony

The Supreme Court today (February 24) overturned the acquittal of a man accused of murdering his wife, ruling that his seven-year-old daughter's testimony was credible. The Court found the accused guilty based on circumstantial evidence and held that his failure to explain the circumstances of his wife's death, which occurred within the four walls of his house with only their daughter...

Courts Should Not Lightly Interfere With Personal Liberty : Supreme Court Sets Aside HC Order Cancelling Bail

The Supreme Court, while setting aside a High Court ruling cancelling bail of an accused under an attempt to murder charge, observed that an individual's liberty is a precious right under the Constitution, and courts should be cautious before interfering with it. Elaborating, the Court said that since there was no evidence showing that the accused's conduct after bail warranted deprivation of...

Prevention Of Corruption Act | Preliminary Inquiry Not Mandatory Before Registering FIR Against Public Servant : Supreme Court

The Supreme Court recently observed that a preliminary inquiry is not mandatory before registering an FIR against a public servant under the Prevention of Corruption Act. Moreover, the accused cannot have a vested right to claim preliminary inquiry before FIR registration in corruption cases. “it is perspicuous that conducting a preliminary inquiry is not sine qua non for registering a...

Supreme Court Weekly Round-up: February 10, 2025 To February 16, 2025

Nominal IndexCitationsHitesh Verma v. M/S Health Care At Home India Pvt. Ltd., Diary No. – 29293/2019 2025 LiveLaw (SC) 176Marippan & Anr. v. State Represented By The Inspector of Police 2025 LiveLaw (SC) 177AC Chokshi Share Broker Private Limited v. Jatin Pratap Desai & Anr. 2025 LiveLaw (SC) 178Lalita v. Vishwanath & Ors., Criminal Appeal No. 1086 of 2017 2025 LiveLaw...

Physical Presence Not Necessary In Domestic Violence Act Proceedings : Supreme Court Quashes Magistrate's Order To Extradite Husband From US

The Supreme Court (on February 20) observed that, in proceedings under the Domestic Violence, there is no requirement for a party to be personally present as such proceedings are quasi-criminal in nature. Elaborating, the Court said that such proceedings have no penal consequences except when there is a breach of a protection order, under Section 31 of the Act. In the present case,...