Weekly Overview| Supreme Court Judgments: February 5 – February 9, 2024
1) 'Barbaric': SC sentences man accused of raping 7-year-old girl in temple premises to 30 years rigorous imprisonment
The Court upheld the conviction of a man accused of raping a 7-year-old girl in a temple premises. The Court modified the sentence to 30 years of rigorous imprisonment. It noted that the act was barbaric and recognised the need for a deterrent punishment for Section 376 AB of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) conviction.
The Petitioner, who had been convicted under Section 376 AB of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) and was facing multiple charges, contested the judgment of the High Court of Madhya Pradesh.
Cause Title- Bhaggi @ Bhagirath @ Naran v The State Of Madhya Pradesh (Neutral Citation: 2024 INSC 82)
Date of Judgment- February 5, 2024
Coram- Justice C. T. Ravikumar and Justice Rajesh Bindal
2) Section 75A Customs Act | If duty drawback remains unpaid three months after claim is filed, claimant is entitled to interest also
The Court held that as per Section 75A of the Customs Act, 1962 (Act) if the duty drawback remains unpaid three months after the claim is filed, the claimant is entitled to an interest in addition to the drawback amount.
The Court dismissed an Appeal filed by the Union against the order of the Division Bench affirming the Single Judge’s order that the Respondent was entitled to duty drawback awarding interest at 15% for the delay.
Cause Title- Union Of India And Ors. v M/S. B. T. Patil And Sons Belgaum (Construction) Pvt. Ltd. (Neutral Citation: 2024 INSC 83)
Date of Judgment- February 5, 2024
Coram- Justice Abhay S. Oka and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan
3) Evidence insufficient to conclude that accused shared common intention with others to commit murder: SC alters conviction u/s 302 to s. 304 Part II IPC
The Court altered the conviction of an accused under Section 302 to Section 304 Part II IPC as it found that there is no sufficient evidence to establish that he shared the common intention with the other accused to murder the deceased.
The Telangana High Court and a trial court had convicted four accused under Section 302 read with Section 34 of the IPC and they were sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life.
Cause Title- Velthepu Srinivas & Ors. v. State Of Andhra Pradesh (Now State Of Telangana) & Anr. (Neutral Citation: 2024 INSC 87)
Date of Judgment- February 6, 2024
Coram- Justice B.R. Gavai and Justice Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha
4) 'Immovable Property' sale not affected by govt. notification that takes away pre-emption rights in Haryana municipal land sales
The Court addressed the nuanced implications of a state notification issued on October 08,1985 regarding the Punjab Pre-emption Act, 1913 (Act, 1913) that excluded pre-emption rights in municipal land sales.
The Court rejected the Appeal contesting the High Court's decision, which upheld the Trial Court's decree. This decree required the payment of INR 50,238 to the buyer, deducting 1/5th of the pre-emption amount initially deposited in court when the lawsuit was filed. Despite the notification's limitations, the Court noted that it does not apply to the sale of immovable property, preserving tenants' rights beyond mere land ownership.
Cause Title- Jagmohan And Another v Badri Nath And Others (Neutral Citation: 2024 INSC 86)
Date of Judgment- February 6, 2024
Coram- Justice C.T. Ravikumar and Justice Rajesh Bindal
5) Supreme Court upholds validity of no-confidence motion against Maharashtra Gram Panchayat Sarpanch
The Court upheld the validity of no-confidence motion against a Sarpanch (Village head) of Jambulani Gram Panchayat in Maharashtra.
The court observed that when an individual has ceased to be a member of a Gram Panchayat due to automatic disqualification, the No Confidence Motion cannot be rejected on the ground that the voting requirement of 3/4th of the members entitled to sit and vote was unfulfilled.
Cause Title- Sudhir Vilas Kalel & Ors. vs Bapu Rajaram Kalel & Ors. (Neutral Citation: 2024 INSC 90)
Date of Judgment- February 7, 2024
Coram- Justice Vikram Nath and Justice KV Viswanathan
6) No unlawful assembly as two out of five accused were acquitted: SC acquits three men accused in 21-year-old murder case
The Court acquitted three men accused in a murder case of the year 2003. The court said that alteration or modification of charges after twenty-one years on an incident, especially when the accused had undergone incarceration for more than seven years, was not possible.
The Court held that due to the acquittal of two out of three accused by the High Court, the condition for an unlawful assembly could not be established. The accused had entered the house of the complainant and assaulted his parents (deceased) who succumbed to their injuries and died. The accused were convicted with the aid of Section 149 of the IPC.
Cause Title- Kishore & Ors. v. State of Punjab (Neutral Citation: 2024 INSC 91)
Date of Judgment- February 7, 2024
Coram- Justice Abhay S. Oka and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan
7) Bail, the exception & jail, the rule: Supreme Court explains test for rejection of bail in UAPA cases
The Court, in a judgment delivered recently, explained in detail the principles governing consideration of Bail Applications in cases under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA).
The Court dismissed the Appeal challenging the dismissal of the Bail Application by the Trial Court that was upheld by the High Court.
Cause Title- Gurwinder Singh v State Of Punjab & Another (Neutral Citation: 2024 INSC 92)
Date of Judgment- February 7, 2024
Coram- Justice M. M. Sundresh and Justice Aravind Kumar
8) Supreme Court summarizes principles relevant for checking whether a subordinate legislation is 'ultra vires' the Parent Act
The Court summarized legal principles relevant in adjudicating cases where subordinate legislation are challenged on the ground of being ‘ultra vires’ the parent Act.
The Court discussed these principles while holding that Rule 9(3)(b) of the Chartered Accountants’ (Procedure of Investigation of Professional and Other Misconduct and Conduct of Cases) Rules, 2007 falls within the scope of the rule-making power of the Central Government under Section 29A(1) of the Chartered Accountants’ (Amendment) Act, 2006.
Cause Title- Naresh Chandra Agrawal v. The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and Others (Neutral Citation: 2024 INSC 94)
Date of Judgment- February 8, 2024
Coram- Justice P.S. Narasimha and Justice Aravind Kumar
9) ‘No whisper that any inquiry was conducted’: SC orders reinstatement of army personnel discharged from service for allegedly producing false relationship certificates
The Court ordered the reinstatement of Army personnel who were discharged from service for allegedly producing false relationship certificates at the time of recruitment holding that there was no inquiry conducted to ascertain the same.
The appellants were dismissed from service by the Army for producing false relationship certificates which upon verification were found to be manipulated and false.
Cause Title- No.2809759H Ex-Recruit Babanna Machched v. Union Of India & Ors. (Neutral Citation: 2024 INSC 95)
Date of Judgment- February 8, 2024
Coram- Justice Bela M. Trivedi and Justice Pankaj Mithal
10) Ends of justice would be met: Supreme Court reduces sentence of POCSO convict
The Court reduced the period of imprisonment of man who was convicted under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO) saying that the ends of justice would be met.
The Court was deciding a criminal appeal filed by a man against the judgment of the Madras High Court by which he was convicted under Section 3(a) read with Section 4 of the POCSO Act.
Cause Title- Rajasekar v. The State Rep. by the Inspector of Police (Neutral Citation: 2024 INSC 96)
Date of Judgment- February 5, 2024
Coram- Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma
