Supreme Court Weekly Roundup [July 1-9]

Supreme Court Grants Interim Protection To Teesta Setalvad For 7 Days ; Stays HC Order After Special Night SittingCase title- Teesta Atul Setalvad vs State of Gujarat Citation-SPECIAL LEAVE PETITION (CRIMINAL) Diary No(s). 25725/2023The Supreme Court at a special sitting on Saturday night granted interim relief to social activist Teesta Setalvad in connection with an FIR lodged against her by Gujarat police for allegedly fabricating documents to implicate high government functionaries in relation to the 2002 Gujarat riots. While staying the Gujarat High Court's order which dismissed her bail application and directed Setalvad to immediately surrender, the 3-judge bench took note of the earlier order passed by the Supreme Court in September 2022 which granted her interim bail.The bench noted that “while passing the September 2022 order, the earlier bench led by the then CJI UU Lalit had taken into account the fact that the petitioner was a lady who was entitled to special protection under Section 437 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.” Taking this factor into consideration, the bench opined, “the single bench of the High Court ought to have granted some protection to the petitioner so that she can challenge the order before the Supreme Court.”Supreme Court Issues Notice In Appeal By AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan Against Delhi Police’s History Sheet Declaring Him A 'Bad Character'Case Title: Amanatullah Khan Versus The Commissioner Of Police, Delhi And Ors.Citation: Petition(s) for Special Leave to Appeal (Crl.) No(s).5719/2023The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice to the Delhi Commissioner of Police in an appeal by Aam Aadmi Party MLA Amanatullah Khan challenging the opening of a history sheet against him by Delhi Police in March last year declaring him as a 'bad character'.In the petition, Khan pointed out that he is neither a convict nor a proclaimed offender. However, as an elected representative and a mass leader who takes up the causes of the down-trodden, the petitioner has had run-ins with the Delhi police, the petition adds.Plea On 'Increasing Suicides Among Husbands' : Supreme Court Dismisses PIL Seeking 'National Commission For Men'Case title: Mahesh Kumar Tiwari V. Union Of IndiaCitation: WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) Diary No. 10740/2023The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a Public Interest Litigation filed seeking guidelines to deal with increasing suicide rates among married men subjected to domestic violence and the setting up of a ‘National Commission for Men’ for dealing with such grievances.“If you expect us to hold that these husbands have committed suicide because of harassment by the wife, you are sadly mistaken",the Court told the Petitioner.The Court also stated “In cases where somebody is actually harassed by the wife, or it leads to committing suicide, whosoever are the victims of the crime, his family members can file a case, they can prosecute the person. The law takes care of this, there are adequate provisions for this.”After Allowing Workmen To Work For 2 Decades, Management Cannot Challenge Award' : Supreme Court Allows Appeal Of FCI WorkersCase title : FCI Executive Staff Union v. Employer, Management of FCI,Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (SC) 491The bench of Justices Krishna Murari and Sanjay Kumar held that having allowed the workmen to render services for 2 decades to their own benefit, the management now cannot claim a right to challenge the award. The workmen altered their position and remained with FCI due to their absorption in services. Now, having put them in such a position, the management cannot turn back the clock.“Having allowed the workmen to put in regular service to its own benefit for over two decades, the management can no longer claim an indefeasible right to continue with and canvass its challenge to the Award, merely because it made its compliance with the Award conditional long ago. In light of their absorption in regular service, these workmen, who may have otherwise opted for employment opportunities elsewhere, altered their position and remained with the FCI. Having placed them in that position, it is no longer open to the management of FCI to seek to turn back the clock", the Court observed.'Downright Bizarre': Supreme Court On High Court Judgment Resulting In Different Jail Terms For Convicts In Same OffenceCase Title: Uggarsain v. The State of Haryana & Ors.Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (SC) 492The Court reminded that the principle of proportionality should guide the sentencing process. Various precedents, which hold that the Court has the duty to impose the "appropriate sentence" which is proportionate to the crime, were cited in the judgment.“The sentencing in this case, to put it mildly, is inexplicable (if not downright bizarre). On the one hand, Krishan underwent sentence for 9 years 4 months- at the other end of the spectrum, Sunder s/o Rajpal underwent only 11 months. No rationale appears from the reasoning of the High Court for this wide disparity. It is...

Supreme Court Weekly Roundup [July 1-9]

Suraj Kumar

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