In case of inability of accused to pay compensation, State should be directed to pay the same under Section 357A from Victim Compensation Scheme funds: SC

A Supreme Court Bench comprising of Justice T.S. Thakur and Justice A.K. Goel has observed that in case "the accused is unable to pay adequate compensation to the victim or his heir, the Court ought to have awarded compensation under Section 357A against the State from the funds available under the Victim Compensation Scheme framed under the said section.The Court was hearing an Appeal...

Dying Declaration by a person explaining circumstances of death of another admissible and reliable as evidence : SC

In a notable judgment, a 2 judge bench comprising of Justices Adarsh Kumar Goel and Dipak Misra have given a fresh dimension to the Dying Declaration (DD) Jurisprudence in the country. Via this judgment, the bench speaking through Goel J opened the admissibility scheme of DD from the maker for his/her death to a statement made as DD explaining circumstances for death of any other person...

When an accused is charged with Dowry Death he ought to have entered the witness box to prove his innocence beyond reasonable doubt; SC [Read the Judgment] Updated

A two Judge Bench of the Supreme Court while interpreting S.304B of IPC and S.113B of Indian Evidence Act has held that the Accused being charged of the commission of a dowry death ought to have entered the witness box themselves to prove his defence beyond reasonable doubt. Justice Vikramjit Sen who wrote the Judgment heavily relied on Sher Singh v. State of Haryana, [reported in (2015) 1...

Judicial orders of Civil Court are not amenable to Writ jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution [Read the Judgment]

Setting aside a two Judge Bench judgment of the Supreme Court in the case of Surya Dev Rai vs. Ram Chander Rai and others, a Supreme Court bench comprising of Chief Justice H.L. Dattu, Justice A.K. Sikri and Justice A.K. Goel has ruled that judicial orders of civil court are not amenable to writ jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution and that jurisdiction under Article 227 is...

Breaking; Two Judge Bench (SC) Lets off Rapist with the 'sentence already undergone' citing a Judgment which was held as 'no longer a precedent' by Three Judge Bench [Read Jt]

A two Judge Bench of the Supreme Court in Ravindra Vs State of MP, while upholding the conviction of an accused in a Rape Case, sentenced him to the 'sentence already undergone' by reducing the mandatory minimum sentence for Rape. The Bench comprising of Justices M.Y.Eqbal and Pinaki Chandra Ghosh held that a rape convict can be awarded lesser punishment if courts find "adequate and...

SC recommends setting up of special benches in all HCs to decide election disputes [Read the Judgment]

A Supreme Court Bench comprising of Justice J. Chelameswar and Justice R.F. Nariman has asked for creation of special Benches in all High Courts of the country, in order to expedite elections petitions, since "very rarely an election dispute gets resolved during the tenure of the declared candidate, reducing the adjudicatory process into a mockery of justice"."We deem it desirable that in...

Those appointed in government service through physically handicapped quota would also be entitled to reservation while getting promoted: SC

Refusing to accept the Government’s stand, a Supreme Court Bench comprising of Chief Justice H.L. Dattu and Justice A.K. Sikri has ruled that the Government cannot deny quota in promotion to the people who were initially appointed to a post under the reservation policy for the physically handicapped.The Court was hearing the Government’s plea against a decision of the Bombay High Court...

Social Justice Bench of Apex Court takes suo motu cognizance of letters complaining of 2 rape videos circulating on WhatsApp

The Social Justice Bench of the apex Court comprising of Justice Madan B. Lokur and Justice U.U. Lalit has taken suo motu cognizance of a letter on posting on two rape videos of WhatsApp. The Bench has directed the CBI to launch an investigation to nab the culprits and sought responses from the Centre and governments of Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Odisha, Delhi and Telangana. The Court...

Essar Leaks: CPIL files PIL in SC seeking a Court monitored investigation by CBI or SIT

A Public Interest Litigation has been filed by Advocate Prashant Bhushan for and on behalf of Centre for Public Interest Litigation in Supreme Court demanding a Court monitored investigation by an SIT or the CBI into “the high level of political bureaucratic corporate nexus wherein corporates use their money power to change public policies, plant questions in Parliament, get access to...

Apex Court reserves verdict on validity of Section 66A of Information Technology Act

The Supreme Court has reserved its verdict on the petitions challenging the Constitutional validity of Section 66A of the Information Technology Act. It was argued that the definitions of terms such as grossly menacing, offensive and materials which cause annoyance to public are vague and it may lead to abuse of the provision. They also argued that even genuine comments criticizing a...

A person can be given SC/ST status even after his re-converson if there is evidence establishing the acceptance by the community : Supreme Court

The Supreme Court of India while hearing a petition relating to the issue or reconversion and caste has held that a person continues to belong to a scheduled caste even after reconversion. Laying down the test to decide such cases, the two judge bench consisting of Justices Dipak Misra and V. Gopala Gowda, "In our considered opinion, three things that need to be established by a...

SCBA calls for a special General Body Meeting to deprecate the new practice of sudden listing of matters introduced by CJI

After a strongly worded letter from Supreme Court Bar Association [SCBA] President Dushyant Dave complaining about “sudden and unannounced listing of matters”, to the Chief Justice of India , the Association today decided to convene a  Special General Body Meeting on 10th March, 2015 at 4.15. An Extraordinary Emergent Meeting of the Executive Committee of the Supreme Court Bar...