B N AGRAWAL

The case involved the death of Biswajit, alleged to be a murder committed by his wife Sonali Mukherjee (A‑1) and her alleged lover Assadid Poddar (A‑2) through gardenal poisoning. The trial court convicted both under s.302 IPC; the Madras High Court acquitted A‑2 and reduced A‑1's conviction to s.304(Part I) IPC. On ap…

The Supreme Court examined the criminal contempt proceedings against senior advocate R.K. Anand and former special public prosecutor I.U. Khan arising from a televised NDTV sting operation that captured their alleged attempts to influence a prosecution witness in the high‑profile BMW hit‑and‑run trial. The Court held t…

The petitioners, railway clerks belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, challenged a Railway Board letter dated 9 October 2003 that applied the reservation policy to posts created by a cadre‑restructuring exercise in Group C and D. The Central Administrative Tribunal had struck down the reservation clau…

A large number of police constables were appointed in 1990 by posting vacancies on a notice board, contrary to Rule 663(d) of the Bihar Police Manual which mandates advertisement in newspapers and through the employment exchange. When the irregularity was discovered, the Director General ordered their dismissal, which …

The appellant, Y. Satyanarayana Reddy, occupied 1 acre 21 guntas of government land in Lingojiguda, Andhra Pradesh. The Mandal Revenue Officer filed a land‑grabbing petition, leading the Land Grabbing Tribunal to order eviction. The Special Court, however, remitted the matter, later allowing the appellant to retain pos…

Allottees of residential and commercial plots in Chandigarh were required to pay the balance of the premium in instalments, together with interest, penalty and ground rent, after an initial payment. They contended that the State could not demand these payments until basic amenities such as roads, water supply and drain…

The Supreme Court examined an appeal by United India Insurance Company Ltd, which sought to avoid liability for a motor accident on the ground that the driver’s licence was allegedly fake. The accident involved a vehicle driven by Janu, who presented a licence that appeared genuine; the insurer attempted to prove a dif…

K.C. Builders, a partnership engaged in construction, filed original income tax returns for AY 1983-84 to 1986-87 and later revised them based on an approved valuer's report. The Assessing Officer treated the difference as concealed income and levied penalties under Section 271(1)(c) and initiated prosecution under Sec…

The State of Maharashtra, as landlord, obtained a decree of ejectment against M/s Super Max International, the tenant, under sections 13(3)(a) and 13(1)(g) of the Bombay Rents, Hotel and Lodging House Rates Control Act, 1947, on grounds of tax defaults and the landlord's bona‑fide need. The High Court stayed execution …

The Supreme Court examined whether the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai had taken the statutory "steps" required under Section 126 of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning (MRTP) Act to commence acquisition of land reserved for a public purpose, after the appellants served a purchase notice under Section 12…

The Supreme Court examined whether the statutory first‑charge provisions in the Bombay Sales Tax Act (s.38C) and the Kerala General Sales Tax Act (s.26B) conflicted with the Recovery of Debts Due to Banks and Financial Institutions Act, 1993 (ORT Act) and the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and En…

The case concerned a double murder that occurred on 15 January 1985 when an alleged unlawful assembly, allegedly led by Probodh Purkait, attacked the houses of Payed Ali Laskar and Dr. Srinibas Roy, dragging out and killing Abdur Rahaman Laskar and Abdur Molla. The trial court convicted six persons under Sections 148, …

The case involved two senior IAS officers who married under the Special Marriage Act in 1984. The wife unilaterally decided not to have children, refused cohabitation, neglected her husband during illness, insulted him and eventually forced him out of their home, leading to a separation that lasted over sixteen years. …

The Supreme Court examined whether a ministerial note dated 8 June 1999 could be treated as a decision under Section 48(1) of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 to withdraw from the acquisition of land occupied by Shanti Sports Club, and whether the Government’s refusal to de‑notify the land (letter dated 9 June 2000) was …

The tenant held premises under a lease that required payment of monthly rent of Rs 100 and, additionally, Rs 111 as half of the annual property tax. The tenant failed to pay rent for January‑March 1990 and the agreed tax for three years. After a two‑month notice demanding the arrears, the tenant tendered only the rent,…

The case involved a shop jointly owned by two brothers, one of whom had let out the front portion to a tenant with the other co‑owner's consent. After the death of the co‑owner, his heirs sold their share and the surviving co‑owner filed a suit for partition. The trial court ordered a longitudinal partition with a wall…

Pawan Kumar and Balwinder Singh (Binder) were convicted under Section 302 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code for the murder of a taxi driver whose body was found in a hotel room. The prosecution relied solely on circumstantial evidence that the accused hired the taxi, stayed in the hotel with the driver, and…

The Supreme Court examined a landlord‑tenant suit where the landlord obtained an ex‑parte decree for rent arrears and eviction. The tenant contended that he never received a summons because the process server’s report was unreliable and he testified under oath that no summons was served. The Court evaluated the require…

The petitioners sought to strike down Rules 41(2) and 49‑0 of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961 and to direct the Election Commission to provide for negative voting and its secrecy in ballot papers and EVMs. The Court examined the constitutional status of the right to vote, the concept of negative voting, and the sco…

Swamy Shraddananda, convicted of murdering his wife Shakereh under sections 302 and 201 IPC, was sentenced to death by the trial court and the Karnataka High Court affirmed the sentence. The Supreme Court, hearing a split decision on sentencing, noted that while the murder was cold‑blooded and motivated by greed, the d…

Mukhtiar Ahmed Ansari was convicted under TADA (Sec. 5) and the Arms Act (Sec. 25(IB)) for allegedly possessing firearms and ammunition in a notified area after being arrested near Delhi's Bahai Temple in 1993. He had earlier been acquitted of the related kidnapping charge. On appeal, the Supreme Court examined whether…

The husband, Naveen Kohli, filed a petition for divorce under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 on the ground of cruelty, alleging that his wife, Neelu Kohli, was bad‑tempered, engaged in indecent conduct, transferred property to herself, and repeatedly harassed him through criminal and civil complaints. The trial court fou…

The State of Uttar Pradesh charged five accused with murder and other offences arising from a violent incident on 3 August 1974 during a festival, where the accused formed an assembly, used firearms and sticks, and killed two persons while injuring others. The trial court convicted them under Sections 302/34, 302/149 a…

The Nature Lovers Movement challenged the Kerala government's regularisation of forest land occupied by unauthorised settlers, arguing that Section 2 of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 is not prospective and that the state could assign forest land without Central Government approval. The Supreme Court examined the …

The Supreme Court examined the acquisition of land (survey Nos.803 and 804) by the State of Goa for a tourism development project undertaken by Fomento Resorts and Hotels Ltd. The Court had to decide whether the acquisition fell under Section 40(1)(aa) or Section 40(1)(b) of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, and whether …

The Supreme Court examined the validity of confessions recorded under Section 15 of the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, 1987 (TADA) in a murder‑conspiracy case. The appellants argued that their confessions were involuntary, obtained while in police custody, and later retracted, and that no corrobo…

The landlord of a flat in Greater Bombay filed a suit under Section 28 of the Bombay Rents, Hotel and Lodging Houses Rates Control Act, 1947 seeking eviction of the occupant, who claimed tenancy rights as a family member of the deceased tenant. The Small Causes Court entertained the suit, but the appellate court held t…

Nagar Mal, a Mitakshara coparcener, adopted Nemi Chand, thereby creating a joint coparcenary. Upon Nagar Mal's intestate death in 1989, his undivided half‑share in the ancestral property had to be allotted among his three heirs – the adopted son and his two daughters. The trial court erroneously awarded each daughter a…

The Supreme Court, hearing a writ petition under Article 32 filed by environmental activist M.C. Mehta on behalf of a Monitoring Committee, examined the Taj Heritage Corridor project undertaken near the Taj Mahal. The Court found that construction and river‑bed reclamation work had commenced without the mandatory clear…

Five men were tried for a gang rape under Section 376 of the IPC. The trial court convicted all, and the High Court upheld the conviction of Pardeep Kumar, while acquitting one accused and two died during appeal. Pardeep Kumar appealed, arguing that the prosecutrix had expressly stated that he did not rape her and that…

The plaintiffs, owners of a leasehold premises in Gurgaon, sued the defendants for recovery of rent arrears and ejectment. The defendants failed to appear on the scheduled date, leading the trial court to proceed ex-parte and later set aside the ex-parte order under Order 9 Rule 7, imposing a condition that the defenda…

The State of Andhra Pradesh prosecuted S. Janardhana Rao, a Metropolitan Sessions Judge, for demanding Rs 6 lakh (later reduced to Rs 3 lakh) as illegal gratification to secure the acquittal of accused in a pending Sessions case. A trap, authorized by the Chief Justice, led to the money being handed to the judge's wife…

The case concerned promotion of Junior Engineers in the Slum Wing of the Delhi Development Authority (DDA). The rules provided separate promotion quotas for graduate and diploma holders, requiring three years of service for graduates and eight years for diploma holders to be promoted to Assistant Engineer. The dispute …

The landlord filed an eviction suit under clause (a) of Section 21(1) of the Karnataka Rent Control Act, 1961, alleging that the tenant was in arrears of rent. The tenant argued that the advance rent paid at the commencement of tenancy should be adjusted against the arrears, and that Section 18, which limits advance re…

The case concerned assistant teachers of Bihar's Nationalised Schools whose pay on promotion had been fixed under the now‑defunct Fundamental Rule 22‑C (FR.22‑C). The State of Bihar issued an office order in 2000 directing re‑fixation of pay under the amended provisions FR.22(1)(a)(1) and FR.22(1)(a)(2) and recovery of…

The case concerned eviction suits filed by thika tenants (Kanailal Ghosh and others) against Bharatias (Narayanchandra Ghosh and others) occupying rooms in a house. The suits were filed under the Calcutta Thika Tenancy Act, 1949, before the Calcutta Thika Tenancy (Acquisition and Regulation) Act, 1981 came into force. …

The case concerned A.K. Pandey, an army officer charged with selling a weapon, who was informed of the charges on 2 November 1995 and tried by a General Court Martial on 6 November 1995, but the trial began at 10:10 a.m., less than the 96‑hour interval mandated by Rule 34 of the Army Rules, 1954. Pandey pleaded guilty,…

The State of West Bengal appealed against a West Bengal Administrative Tribunal order that granted higher pay scales to two officers, Kamal Sengupta and another, after a review application was allowed. The respondents contended that the Tribunal had no jurisdiction to review its own order on the basis of a later decisi…

The appellant, Satyawati Sharma, purchased a house in Delhi and sought eviction of tenants who were using the premises for a watch shop and a clinic, invoking the landlord's bona‑fide need under the Delhi Rent Control Act, 1958. The Act’s Section 14(1)(e) permits eviction only when the premises are let for residential …

The predecessor‑in‑interest of the respondents owned ten acres of land in Hyderabad and had leased it to Hyderabad Industries Ltd. The Mandal Revenue Officer issued a notice under Section 6 of the Andhra Pradesh Land Encroachment Act, 1905, to vacate the land. The notice was challenged and the High Court quashed it, di…

The appellant, a 44‑year‑old unmarried woman, was admitted for a diagnostic laparoscopy but, while under general anaesthesia, the respondent doctors performed an abdominal hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo‑oophorectomy without her informed consent. The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission dismissed her cla…

The Delhi Bar Association challenged a notification issued by the Lieutenant Governor of the National Capital Territory of Delhi that divided the territory into nine civil districts, alleging that the Lt. Governor lacked authority and that the decision was a policy matter not subject to judicial review. The Supreme Cou…

The Zoroastrian Co‑operative Housing Society Ltd. (appellant) was formed to provide housing for members of the Parsi community and its bye‑law 7 limited membership to Parsis. Respondent No. 2, a qualified member, sought to transfer his share to Respondent No. 3, a non‑Parsi builder, but the Society refused permission u…

The father, Rama Narang, filed a contempt petition against his two sons, Ramesh and Rajesh Narang, alleging that they deliberately violated a Supreme Court consent order that required joint management of their family company, NIHL, and joint signing of cheques for transactions exceeding Rs 10 lakhs. The Court examined …

The Supreme Court examined the murder of a family of ten, including three infants, committed by A‑1 (Sonia) and her husband A‑2 (Sanjiv) to prevent the transfer of property to the step‑brother. The trial court convicted them under Sections 302, 34 and 120‑B IPC and sentenced them to death, a decision the High Court lat…

The Supreme Court examined a dispute where two firms (the appellants) were occupying rooms in a flat allotted to a member of a tenant co‑partnership housing society. The member had inducted the firms as tenants without the society’s consent, allegedly violating Section 29(2) of the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act…

The case involved fourteen accused who, on the night of Holi, encircled and assaulted Bindeshwari Rai with deadly weapons, resulting in his death. The trial court convicted all of them under Section 302 IPC, with some also under Section 307 IPC, while the High Court later acquitted them of the Section 302/149 charge bu…

The case involves a 20‑year‑old engineering student who underwent excision biopsy of a mediastinal neurofibroma at Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences and subsequently suffered acute paraplegia. The complainant alleged negligence before, during and after the operation and claimed compensation of over Rs. 4.61 crore, …

The State Government of Nagaland issued an order stopping all payments to its employees except salaries and pensions, including a ban on withdrawals from the General Provident Fund (GPF). The ban was challenged by the CANSSEA Employees Association, leading the Gauhati High Court to direct the State to lift the ban; the…

Advocate Prem Surana, who was also an accused in a criminal case, entered the Jaipur District Court and, after his application for exemption from appearance was rejected and a non‑bailable warrant issued, verbally abused and slapped the presiding Judicial Magistrate in open court. The District Judge referred the incide…

The complainants, exporters of rugs, insured multiple consignments shipped from India to the United States under "warehouse‑to‑warehouse" marine policies covering all risks. The buyer failed to pay and the original documents of title were not presented, leading the exporters to claim loss of the consignments before the…

The Supreme Court examined whether the copy‑edited versions of Supreme Court judgments published in the law report "Supreme Court Cases" (SCC) qualify as original literary works eligible for copyright. It held that the judgments themselves are government works in the public domain and their reproduction does not infrin…

Savita Garg filed a consumer complaint before the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) alleging that her husband, A.K. Garg, died due to medical negligence at the National Heart Institute. The Commission dismissed the petition on the ground that the treating doctors and nurses were not impleaded as p…

The Punjab State Electricity Board introduced a scheme granting time‑bound promotional scales after 9/16 years of regular service and promotional increments after 23 years of regular service. A group of employees who had initially been engaged as work‑charged staff and later regularised claimed that their prior work‑ch…

The Supreme Court examined whether a pre‑decisional hearing must be afforded before an Assessing Officer orders a special audit under Section 142(2A) of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The Court held that, although the provision is silent, the order has civil consequences and therefore the principles of natural justice, part…

The appellant Rajan Rai was convicted of murder under Section 302 read with Section 34 of the IPC and under Sections 3 and 5 of the Explosive Substances Act for allegedly throwing a bomb that killed his brother. Four co‑accused were earlier acquitted by the High Court, while a fifth co‑accused had died before trial. Th…

The Supreme Court examined a raid that uncovered AK‑56 rifles, ammunition and about 600 g of explosive material at the residence of three accused, leading to prosecution under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002 (POTA). The State Government’s order withdrawing the POTA cases and the Review Committee’s finding of no p…

The State prosecuted Mast Ram for murder under IPC 302, alleging he shot the deceased Uttam Chand with a double‑barrel muzzle‑loaded gun. The trial court, relying on eyewitness accounts, a post‑mortem report, a ballistic expert report and a spot‑inspection that placed the victim within firing range, convicted the accus…

The Supreme Court examined the murder of Kuljit Singh, where the accused Gurpreet Singh and Mohinder Pal Singh, along with others, were convicted under Section 302 IPC. The prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt that the accused shared a common intention to kill, supported by eyewitness testimony and medical eviden…

The case concerned the status of Hyderabad City Police officers under the Andhra Pradesh Employment (Organization of Local Cadres and Regulation of Direct Recruitment) Order, 1975 (the Presidential Order) and the Hyderabad City Police Act, 1348 Fasli. The petitioners, appointed as Sub‑Inspectors of Hyderabad City Polic…

The appellants, heirs of a Watandar, sued the respondents for a permanent injunction, asserting their right to the watan lands based on a 1941 declaration. The respondents claimed they were the adopted son of the deceased Watandar, relying on a 1931 order of the Mamlatdar, and sought re‑grant of the land. The trial cou…

The Supreme Court examined whether sugar bags pledged by two cooperative sugar mills to Maharashtra State Co‑operative Bank Ltd. could be attached and sold to satisfy the employer's liabilities under the Employees' Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952. The Court held that Section 11(2) of the Act crea…

The appellant Hariom Agrawal sought to admit a photocopy of a tenancy agreement as secondary evidence after the original was allegedly stolen. The agreement, required to bear a Re.1 stamp, instead had a notarial stamp of Rs.4, i.e., a stamp of sufficient amount but improper description. The trial court admitted the pho…

Kishore Lal, an employee insured under the Employees' State Insurance (ESI) scheme, complained that his wife received negligent medical treatment at an ESI dispensary, leading to her condition worsening. He filed a complaint before the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum seeking compensation for negligence, but …

Kusum Devi, the landlady, filed a suit for eviction of tenant Mohan Lal under sections 12(1)(e) and 12(1)(g) of the Madhya Pradesh Accommodation Control Act, 1961, claiming a bona‑fide need for residential occupation and for repairs because the premises were unsafe. The trial court and the first appellate court granted…

The Supreme Court examined writ petitions challenging the Governor's proclamation dated 23 May 2005 that dissolved the Bihar Legislative Assembly after the state had been placed under President's Rule on 7 March 2005. The petitions argued that the dissolution was unconstitutional because the assembly was kept in suspen…

The respondents were appointed to bank positions reserved for Scheduled Tribes on the basis of caste certificates claiming membership in the Konda Reddy community. A District Level Committee later cancelled those certificates after an enquiry, leading to their termination. The High Court quashed the committee’s orders,…

The Palani Roman Catholic Mission (landlord) leased a plot to S. Bhagirath Ammal (tenant) who erected a structure. After the lease expired, the Mission sought possession, and the tenant filed an application under Section 9 of the Madras City Tenants Protection Act, 1921 to purchase the land. While the application was p…

The Supreme Court examined whether employees hired on daily‑wage, nominal muster‑roll, consolidated‑pay or as contingent workers in Andhra Pradesh could be regularised after five years of service and whether the 1998 amendments to the Andhra Pradesh (Regulation of Appointments to Public Services and Rationalisation of …

The Cochin University of Science & Technology (Cochin University) introduced a B.Tech. programme in 1995 reserving 10% seats for NRI students, charging them a one‑time development fee of US$5,000 and a semester fee of Rs.20,000, while other students paid only Rs.20,000 per semester. In 1996‑97 the university raised the…

The Supreme Court examined a batch of six appeals concerning the taxability of Replenishment Licences (REP licences) and the Duty Entitlement Passbook (DEPB) scheme under various State sales tax statutes. The appellants argued that the three‑judge decision in Vikas Sales Corporation v. Commissioner of Commercial Taxes,…

The Supreme Court examined the conviction of a swami and his associates for the systematic rape of thirteen orphaned girls in an ashram and the murder of a male inmate. The Court held that the victims' consent was obtained by deceit and threat, rendering it invalid under Section 375 IPC, and that the rape charges were …

A tragic fire at a mental asylum in Ervadi, Tamil Nadu, killed 25 chained patients, prompting the Supreme Court to take suo motu action under Article 32. The Court examined the failure of the Central and State governments to implement the Mental Health Act, 1987 and related disability statutes, noting that chaining of …

The case concerned employees engaged by Official Liquidators under Rule 308 of the Companies (Court) Rules, 1959 who were paid from the liquidated company's fund ("company paid staff"). They sought regularisation, absorption into the regular cadre of the Department of Company Affairs and parity in pay with Central Gove…

The case involved two complaint proceedings under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act where the complainant died during trial, leaving heirs who had executed general powers of attorney. The heirs' attorneys filed applications under Section 302 of the Code of Criminal Procedure seeking permission to continue t…

A complaint was lodged before the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices (MRTP) Commission against a computer training institute for admitting students to unrecognised courses and for publishing misleading advertisements. The Commission issued an interim injunction and, after the institute’s service advisor (the ap…

The Greater Bombay Co‑operative Bank Ltd. advanced loans to its member company United Yarn Tex Pvt. Ltd. and sought recovery of the dues under the Maharashtra Co‑operative Societies Act, 1960. The High Courts held that, after the establishment of the Debt Recovery Tribunal under the Recovery of Debts Due to Banks and F…

The State of Maharashtra introduced a CPED course, but a private institution, Lokmata Indira Gandhi College of Sports, admitted students without permission for the 1994-95 session. After several writ petitions were dismissed, a forged Supreme Court order dated 28 August 1998 was allegedly sent to the State, directing i…

The Madras Metropolitan Water Supply & Sewerage Board amended its Leave Regulations in 1993 to grant engineers who obtained a post‑graduate degree accelerated seniority (two years for first class, one year for second class). A 1995 amendment withdrew this benefit and applied the withdrawal even to officers already on s…

The State of Goa appealed the acquittal of Sanjay and Anjali Thakran for murder, robbery and criminal conspiracy of a newly‑wed couple. The prosecution relied solely on circumstantial evidence – the accused were last seen with the victims, some jewellery and clothing were recovered from them, and the accused gave no ex…

Polymat India Ltd. and an associate insured their factory premises against fire under two policies issued by National Insurance Co. Ltd. The policies described the location as "factory‑cum‑godown" and the insured answered in the negative to a query about goods stored in the open. After a fire destroyed the building, pl…

A group of Amins employed by the West Bengal government sought to be placed in the same pay scale as Surveyors, invoking the principle of ‘equal pay for equal work’. The High Court had earlier granted such parity in a number of writ petitions without examining the distinct qualifications and duties of the two posts, an…

The Supreme Court examined whether the Graduate of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery (GAMS) degree awarded by the Bihar State Faculty under the Bihar Development of Ayurvedic and Unani Systems of Medicine Act, 1951 remains a recognized qualification in view of the Indian Medicine Central Council Act, 1970, the Bihar Indig…

The appellant, a lessee of a non‑residential municipal premises, sub‑let the property to the respondent and later served a notice under Section 106 of the Transfer of Property Act to terminate the tenancy for non‑payment of rent and self‑occupation. The respondent filed an eviction suit which was dismissed by the trial…

The landlord Abdul Sattar sought eviction of the heirs of his former tenant Mohammed Gouse under clause (p) of Section 21(1) of the Karnataka Rent Control Act, 1961, alleging that one heir had been allotted a house by the Housing Board. The house was allotted in 1984 to the son, Mohammed Ismail, while the original tena…

The landlord filed eviction proceedings against the tenant under Section 21 of the Karnataka Rent Control Act, 1961, and obtained a decree for possession. The tenant appealed to the Supreme Court under Article 136. While the appeal was pending, the Karnataka Rent Act, 1999 came into force, repealing the 1961 Act. Secti…

The Supreme Court examined contempt petitions filed by the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) alleging that senior Tamil Nadu officials (respondents 1‑5) willfully disobeyed a Court order restraining political parties from calling a bandh on 1 October 2007, and that Union Minister T.R. Baalu (respondent …