Supreme Court Criminal Law Digest: July 2023

1996 Lajpat Nagar blast case - The bomb blast caused at the behest of the accused persons resulted in the death of 13 persons and 38 persons suffered injuries. There was further damage caused to the livelihood of the shopkeepers, whose shops were burnt down due to the said bomb blast. It is evident that these accused persons were part of the plan for future blasts in the nation as well....

Does CrPC Apply To Customs Act? Supreme Court To Decide In DRI's Appeal Against Adani Enterprises

The Supreme Court on Tuesday (10 Oct) directed that the case of Directorate of Revenue Intelligence(DRI) v. Adani Enterprises Ltd would be heard along with the case of Senior Intelligence Officer v. Sanjay Agarwal where 2 questions framed earlier by the Supreme Court have relevance in the present case.Those 2 questions are as follows-Whether the Customs/DRI Officers are police officers and,...

Insisting That Donor Egg Cannot Be Used For Gestational Surrogacy Is Prima Facie Against Surrogacy Rules: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has observed that insisting that only the egg and the sperm of an intending couple can be used for gestational surrogacy is prima facie against Rule 14(a) of the Surrogacy (Regulation) Rules, 2022. A new amendment introduced in March 2023 to Form 2 read with Rule 7 of the Surrogacy Rules specifies that donor eggs cannot be used for gestational surrogacy of an intending...

Advocates Cannot Claim Right Of Legal Representation Under Industrial Disputes Act: Supreme Court Answers Reference

The Supreme Court has affirmed that an Advocate cannot claim the right of legal representation under the the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. Agreeing with the view expressed in Paradip Port Trust, Paradip vs. Their Workmen (1977) 2 SCC 339, a three-judge bench comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, CT Ravikumar, and Sudhanshu Dhulia answered a reference against the judgment.The issue that...

Chandrababu Naidu's Plea : Will Remand Order Be Valid If PC Act Offences Go Due To Lack Of Sec 17A Sanction? Supreme Court Asks AP CID

The Supreme Court on Tuesday, while hearing former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu's plea, asked the Andhra Pradesh Crime Investigation Department (AP CID) whether the order of a special court remanding the legislator to custody would be valid even if the offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act do not survive or are dropped on grounds of non-compliance with the...

What Does `Vacant Land’ Under Section 2 Of Urban Land Ceiling Act Mean? Supreme Court Refers To Larger Bench

The Supreme Court on Tuesday referred the question of the construction, meaning and import of the term ‘vacant land’ contained in Section 2(q) of the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, 1976 to a larger bench. The Ceiling Act was enacted to impose a ceiling on the acquisition of urban property. It imposed a ceiling on ‘vacant land’ in urban agglomeration. The acquisition of...

Supreme Court Questions Gujarat Govt On Time Taken To Decide Remission Applications, Seeks Details Of Pending Petitions For Premature Release

The Supreme Court has asked the State of Gujarat to explain the time span taken to decide applications filed by prisoners seeking remission. The Court further asked the State to inform the number of petitions pending in High Courts and Supreme Court seeking premature release.A bench comprising Justices Abhay S Oka and Pankaj Mithal was hearing a writ petition filed by a prisoner...

Cheque Dishonour Cases - What Should Courts Ask Accused Once Presumption Under S.139 NI Act Is Applicable? Supreme Court Explains

Reiterating the principles relating to the presumption under Section 139 of the Negotiable Instruments Act 1881, the Supreme Court reversed the acquittal of an accused in a case for cheque dishonour.A bench comprising Justices Aravind Kumar and SVN Bhatti observed that there was a "fundamental flaw" in the approach taken by both the Trial Court and the High Court.Summarising the law relating...

Supreme Court To Hear Challenge Against Electoral Bonds Scheme On October 31

The Supreme Court will hear the batch of petitions challenging the Electoral Bonds scheme on October 31, 2023. A bench comprising CJI DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala, and Justice Manoj Misra heard the preliminary issues today. The petitioners have decided to not argue on the scheme being passed as a money bill as of now since the issue pertaining to money bills is yet to be decided by...

Liberal Approach Be Taken Regarding Delay In Appeals Filed By State : Supreme Court

The Supreme Court, recently (October 9), while deciding over a discretionary order of the High Court granting the prayer for condonation of delay observed that such an exercise of discretion does, at times, call for a liberal and justice-oriented approach by the Courts, where certain leeway could be provided to the State.The Bench comprising Justices Bela M. Trivedi and Dipankar Datta...

Automatic Termination Of Indian Citizenship On Acquiring Another Citizenship Is Unconstitutional: LSE Professor's Plea In Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice to the Central Government in a petition filed by Constitutional scholar and Public Law Chair at the London School of Economics, Professor Tarunabh Khaitan, challenging the constitutionality of the provisions of the Citizenship Act, 1955 that automatically terminates Indian citizenship upon acquisition of another citizenship.A bench of Justice AS...

Money Bill, Speaker's Powers, Minority Status Of AMU : Issues In 7-Judge Bench Matters Which Supreme Court Will Hear Soon

The Supreme Court will be finishing pre-hearing steps in six 7-judge bench matters on October 12. These matters include exploration of the state's authority to levy additional taxes on dealers, the boundaries of parliamentary and legislative powers, examination of whether religious minorities can administer educational institutions not established by them, legality of 'primary preference'...