Time and again Court has said, there should not be any element of political consideration in matters like appointment of a Public Prosecutor. The only consideration for Government should be ‘merit’. A good, seasoned and experienced Public Prosecutor will not only bring contradictions on record, but will also cross-examine a hostile witness at length. It is not sufficient for a Public Prosecutor while cross-examining a hostile witness to merely hurl suggestions, as mere suggestions have no evidentiary value. The impact of a Court appearance on a child and duty of Court towards a child witness h ..read more

Many times, Parents including Close Relatives of a Wife make a mountain out of a mole. No sooner it reaches Police, fair chances of reconciliation would get destroyed. The foundation of a sound marriage is tolerance, adjustment and respecting one another. Tolerance to each other’s fault to a certain bearable extent has to be inherent in every marriage. Petty quibbles, trifling differences are mundane matters and should not be exaggerated and blown out of proportion to destroy what is said to have been made in heaven. Police cannot be utilized for purpose of holding a Husband at ransom. If crim ..read more

An offence of ‘criminal intimidation’ arises when the accused intends to cause alarm to the victim, though it does not matter whether the victim is alarmed or not. The word ‘intimidate’ means to make timid or fearful, especially: to compel or deter by or as if by threats. The word ‘threat’ refers to the intent to inflict punishment, loss or pain on the other. Mere expression of any words without any intent to cause alarm would not be sufficient to bring home an offence under Section 506, IPC [Manik Taneja v. State of Karnataka, (2015) 7 SCC 423]. – Hon’ble Justice Sanjiv Khanna, Sharif Ahmed v ..read more

A ‘service’ involving ‘art’ necessarily involves ‘freedom and discretion in presentation’. Before release of ‘Fan‘ in 2016, Yash Raj Films Private Limited circulated a ‘promotional trailer’, both on television and online, which contained a song in form of a video. Afreen Fatima Zaidi states, ‘Fan‘ did not contain the song, even though the song was widely circulated for promoting and publicising ‘Fan‘. A song in a ‘promotional trailer’ may be seen in context of multifarious uses of advertisements. It can allure, entice, capture attention and pique interest of ‘consumers’. But, a ‘promotional tr ..read more

Intelligence Officer/Inspector-Mrs. Krishna Chaube on 10.12.1999 at about 06:30 PM had received the secret information, Abdul Hamid Chandmiya would be carrying narcotic substances in an Auto Rickshaw-GJ­9T­2355 at about 07:00 AM on 11.12.1999 and shall be passing through Shahpur Darwaja. It was recorded and reported to Superior Officer-Mr. Pawan Singh Tomar. Auto Rickshaw-GJ­9T­2355 was chased and found abandoned near a road. Abdul had escaped. On conducting a search, a driving license of one Rajubhai was found in addition to 1.450 Kilograms of charas. The secret information, as received by Mr ..read more

Karikho Kri-Independent, Dr. Mohesh Chai-Bharatiya Janata Party and Nuney Tayang-Indian National Congress contested from 44 Tezu (ST) Assembly on 11.04.2019. Karikho Kri emerged victorious with 7538 votes, while Dr. Mohesh Chai secured 7383 and Nuney Tayang secured 1088 votes. Once it is accepted, Kri’s Kinetic Zing Scooty-AR-11/4474, Maruti Omni Van-AR-11A/3100 and TVS Star City Motorcycle-AR-11/685 were either gifted or sold before filing of nomination, said cannot be considered to be still owned by Karikho Kri’s Wife and Son for purposes other than those covered by The Motor Vehicles Act, 1 ..read more

A ‘corrupt practice’ is easy to level but difficult to prove. No allegation would fall within definition of ‘corrupt practice’ of ‘undue influence’ as envisaged in Section 123(2) of The Representation of the People Act, 1951. Election Petition No. 01 of 2021 of Aminul Haque Laskar against Karim Uddin Barbhuiya also lacks ‘concise statement’ of ‘material facts’. An omission of a single ‘material fact’ would lead to an ‘incomplete’ cause of action and would amount to ‘disobedience’ of Section 83(1)(a) of The Representation of the People Act, 1951 [Azhar Hussain vs. Rajiv Gandhi, (1986) Supp. SCC ..read more

Chief Justice Sabyasachi Mukharji in Charan Lal Sahu v. Union of India, (1990) 1 SCC 613 felicitously described, “Principles of Natural Justice are fundamental… no man or no man’s right should be affected without an opportunity to ventilate his views… we are also conscious, justice is a psychological yearning.” This echoes what Lord Megarry said in John v. Rees, [1969] 2 All E.R. 274. Lord Megarry in John v. Rees rightly emphasized, feeling of resentment to those who find a decision against them has been made behind their back. These are telling observations. A distinction between ‘no opportun ..read more

This litigation between parties started sometime in 1981. We are in 2024. Almost 43 years have elapsed. It would be a mockery of justice if we condone a delay of 12 years and 158 days. We are of view, a question of limitation is not merely a technical consideration. We should not keep the ‘Sword of Damocles’ hanging over the head of Respondent for an indefinite period of time to be determined at whims and fancies of Appellants. In a plethora of decisions of this Court it has been said, delays should not be excused as a matter of generosity. – Hon’ble Justice J.B. Pardiwala, Union of India v. J ..read more

In matters of appointment of Judicial Officers, opinion of a High Court is not a mere formality because a High Court is in best position to know about suitability of candidates as District Judges. Constitution therefore expects Governors to engage in ‘constructive constitutional dialogue’ with High Courts before appointing persons to a post of a District Judge under Article 233. Chief Justice A.N. Ray in State of Haryana v Inder Prakash Anand H.C.S., (1976) 2 SCC 977 observed, “Governor will act in harmony with recommendation of a High Court. If recommendation of a High Court is not held to be ..read more