Supreme Court Half Yearly Digest 2022 (Jan - Jun) Tax

Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017; Section 56 - In terms of the principal part of Section 56 of the CGST Act, the interest would be awarded at the rate of 6 per cent. The award of interest at 9 per cent would be attracted only if the matter was covered by the proviso to the said Section 56 - Wherever a statute specifies or regulates the interest, the interest will be payable...

Allahabad HC Holds Police Officer Guilty Of Contempt For Violating 'Arnesh Kumar Guidelines', Sentences Him To 14 Day Imprisonment

The Allahabad High Court last week sentenced a police officer to undergo simple imprisonment for 14 days after holding him guilty of contempt for deliberately bypassing the mandate of the Supreme Court in the case of Arnesh Kumar v. State of Bihar.As per the Arnesh Kumar judgment, the arrest should be the exception where the offence is punishable with less than 7 years imprisonment, and...

Majority Of Poor People Forced To Engage Private Lawyers, Says Justice Lalit While Launching "Legal Aid Defence Counsel System"

On Sunday, at the launch of Legal Aid Defence Counsel (LADC) System in 22 State Legal Services Authorities, National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) Executive Chairperson and Chief Justice of India designate Justice U.U. Lalit announced that 365 LADC offices have been set up across the country to extend legal aid to the marginalised populace.LADC is a NALSA-funded project to provide...

Contractor Cannot Be Blacklisted For Life; Blacklisting Order Without Specifying Period Unsustainable : Supreme Court

The Supreme Court recently observed that a contractor cannot be blacklisted for life."One cannot be blacklisted for life. The order of blacklisting to the extent that it has not specified the period cannot be sustained", observed a bench comprising Justices Hemant Gupta and Vikram Nath.The blacklisting order was passed over an allegation that the contractor used foul language against...

Can A Person Who Is Ineligible To Be An Arbitrator Nominate Another Arbitrator? Supreme Court Refers Issue To Larger Bench

Noting that there exists conflicting decisions on the issue of appointment of Arbitrators under Section 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, the Supreme Court, on Tuesday, referred it to a larger Bench. Given the frequent recurrence of the issue, the Apex Court also observed that the question of law be resolved at the earliest. "In the circumstances, we direct that...

CJI Ramana Urges Students To Build A Vibrant Democracy Where Differences Of Identities & Opinions Are Respected

While delivering the convocation address at the Acharya Nagarjuna University at Vijayawada, Chief Justice of India urged the students to build a democracy filled with vibrancy and idealism, where the differences of identities and opinons are respected.In his address, CJI lamented the declining social participation of students. He recalled that in earlier days, Universities used to be...

Supreme Court Half Yearly Digest 2022 (Jan - Jun) CRIMINAL TRIAL

Criminal Trial - A mere chart giving description of offences, numbers and the sections of the offences and about the nature of offences cannot be taken into account at the stage of conviction - If the Prosecution wanted the Court to take note of the fact that there were other matters in which accused were involved, the concerned Chargesheets should have been produced on record...

Supreme Court Dismisses PIL To Stop Private Zoo In Gujarat From Acquiring Animals

The Supreme Court has dismissed a PIL filed against the recognition granted to Greens Zoological Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre, an upcoming private zoo, at Jamnagar, Gujarat.A bench comprising Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and Krishna Murari dismissed the PIL filed by one Kanhaiya Kumar observing "we are unable to find any logic or basis in this petition". The order was passed on August...

CAT Cannot Dispense With Trial Even If Contempt Was Committed In The Face Of It, When Alleged Contemnor Denies Charges : Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has held that the Central Administrative Tribunal has no power to dispense with trial before punishing for contempt committed in the face of it, if the alleged contemnor is denying the charges.The Court noted that unlike the Supreme Court, which has powers under Articles 129 and 142 of the Constitution of India, the CAT cannot punish for contempt in the face of it...

Courts This Week- A Weekly Round Of Important Legal Developments In The Country [Episode-129]

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State Has No Public Duty To Inidcate HSN Code For GST Rate In Public Tender : Supreme Court

The Supreme Court, on Tuesday, held that there is no public duty on the State to indicate HSN Code in public tender documents. A Bench comprising Justices K.M. Joseph and Hrishikesh Roy quashed the mandamus issued by the Allahabad High Court, inter alia, directing Central Government to verify the HSN Code from taxing authorities and indicate the same on bid documents, at the instance...

Some Corroboration Is Necessary When Witness Testimony Is 'Neither Wholly Reliable Nor Wholly Unreliable': Supreme Court

The Supreme Court observed that some corroboration is necessary when an ocular testimony falls into category of "neither wholly reliable nor wholly unreliable". In this case, the accused were convicted by the Trial Court under Section 302 read with Section 149, Section 307 read with Section 149 and Section 148 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. Dismissing the appeal, the High Court confirmed...