M SRINIVASAN

The Maharashtra Girni Kamgar Union (appellant) sought cancellation of the registration of respondent No.4 union as a representative union under Section 15(b)(ii) of the Bombay Industrial Relations Act, 1946, alleging that its membership fell below the 25% statutory minimum for a continuous three‑month period. The dispu…

Dr. J. Shashidhara Prasad was appointed Vice Chancellor of Mysore University on 20 August 1997, effective 4 September 1997, by the Governor (Chancellor) under Section 11 of the Karnataka State Universities Act, 1976. The next day the Chancellor learned of a pending criminal case against the appointee and rescinded the …

Mr. Nand Lal Balwani, an advocate enrolled with the Bombay Bar Association, shouted slogans and hurled his shoe in an open court, thereby interrupting the proceedings. He was informed that his conduct was intended to intimidate the court and was charged with contempt. Balwani filed an affidavit admitting his intemperat…

The State of Haryana acquired land under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 and awarded compensation of Rs.10 per square yard, which was later enhanced to Rs.12 and then Rs.15 per square yard by the District Judge and the High Court respectively. The landowner also claimed a solatium of 30% on the increase and interest at …

The Industrial Coal Enterprises (respondent) established a small‑scale manufacturing unit in Uttar Pradesh with a capital investment below Rs. 3 lakh and obtained sales‑tax exemption under Section 4‑A of the U.P. Sales Tax Act, 1948, effective from 9 August 1985. The unit later shifted to its own premises, raising its …

The Union of India appealed against a decision of the Central Administrative Tribunal that had directed consideration of two respondents for future vacancies as Pharmacists under the Central Government Health Scheme Delhi (Group C) Ayurvedic Recruitment Rules, 1978, by relaxing the qualification requirement. The respon…

The respondents imported goods that were exempt from basic customs duty under a notification issued under Section 25(1) of the Customs Act when the goods entered Indian territorial waters and were stored in a bonded warehouse. When the goods were later removed from the warehouse, the exemption was withdrawn and the res…

The Supreme Court heard a public‑interest litigation filed against the State of Jammu and Kashmir concerning the conduct of the annual Amarnath Yatra. The Delhi High Court had directed the State to keep the Balta route permanently open, akin to the Vaishno Devi route, and to improve the traditional Pahalgam route. The …

The petitioners, Jain Brothers, who import automobile spare parts, challenged Section 3(2) of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975, on the ground that including customs duty in the valuation of imported goods for the purpose of levying an additional duty equal to excise duty was unconstitutional and ultra vires. The Supreme Co…

The appellant G. Puttaswamy was declared elected after a recount ordered by the Returning Officer, which the respondent H.D. Revanna challenged, alleging that the recount violated Rule 63 of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961 and that the appellant committed corrupt practices under Sections 100 and 123 of the Represen…

A motor accident gave rise to a compensation claim by Santro Devi and others against National Insurance Co. Ltd. The Motor Accidents Claim Tribunal found that the driver of the offending vehicle held a valid licence that had been duly renewed, and the Punjab & Haryana High Court affirmed this finding. The High Court, h…

Dalmia Cement Ltd., owner of two cement factories in Pakistan, entered into a sale agreement on 24 July 1962 and a supplemental agreement on 2 November 1962 that stipulated profits and losses from the factories after 30 September 1962 would be credited to the buyer, Mr. Maneckji. The actual transfer of assets occurred …

The petitioners sought relief under Article 32 concerning the communal riots in Meerut (Sept‑Oct 1982) and the subsequent enquiry commission headed by Justice C.D. Parekh. The Supreme Court repeatedly directed the Uttar Pradesh government to file an affidavit detailing the action taken on the commission’s report, but t…

The Chief Minister of Sikkim and an IAS officer were charged under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947 for offences alleged in 1984. After the 1947 Act was repealed and replaced by the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, a Special Judge appointed under the 1988 Act tried the case, but later held it lacked jurisdicti…

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) challenged orders of the Rajasthan High Court that allowed certain students, who did not meet eligibility criteria, to appear for board or university examinations. The petitioners argued that such orders contravened the statutory eligibility requirements and amounted to a…

The respondent's son suffered a pituitary gland disorder and was prescribed the imported drug Norditropin, for which the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) denied reimbursement of Rs. 313,200. The respondent filed a writ petition, and the Punjab & Haryana High Court directed reimbursement, treating the drug as a lif…

The husband, Lakhmi, was alleged to have killed his young wife by striking her head with a spade (phali) and a blunt instrument (kunda). Several eyewitnesses saw the assault, and the accused, when examined under Section 313 of the CrPC, admitted killing his wife with a kunda, denying the use of the phali. The trial cou…

The petitioners, American Remedies Pvt Ltd and another, challenged a demand for differential sales tax that arose after the Andhra Pradesh legislature amended Entry 37 of the Andhra Pradesh General Sales Tax Act, 1957 by the 1996 Amendment Act. They argued that the demand was invalid and that liability should depend on…

A motor accident occurred on 16 April 1987 at 10:00 am, killing Smt. Salta Bai. The bus involved was owned by respondent No. 5 and driven by respondent No. 6. The owner bought an insurance policy for the bus on the same day at 9:00 pm, and the policy expressly stated that its commencement was 16 April 1987 at 21:00 hou…

In a municipal council election with 424 voters, the quota for election was 213 votes. No candidate reached the quota, leading to successive rounds of elimination under the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961. The appellant, G.N.R. Dudhagaonkar, contended that 71 ballot papers, which were declared exhausted because they co…

The appellant-assessee, a manufacturer of chewing tobacco, challenged a Tribunal order that excluded the value of packing material when computing the assessable value of the goods and that used the net weight of tobacco (excluding packaging) to determine the value per kilogram for exemption under Notification No.35/79-…

R.D. Sharma was charged under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947 for an offence alleged in an FIR dated 2 November 1982. After a charge‑sheet in 1985, the Special CBI Judge framed charges only in 1993 and, by June 1995, had examined merely three of the forty witnesses listed. Sharma filed a writ petition seeking qu…

Sureendra Narain (Munna Pandey) was convicted of murder under IPC s.302 for shooting Shree Prakash in a rickshaw. The prosecution relied on three eye‑witnesses who named the accused in the FIR, and the accused surrendered later and sought a test identification parade, which was ordered by the Sessions Court but never c…

The petitioner filed a writ petition under Article 32 of the Constitution challenging the correctness of a decision that had become final on its merits. The petition sought reconsideration of that final decision. The Court examined whether Article 32 can be invoked to obtain a fresh look at a final order. Relying on th…

The respondent, Ganga Singh, first obtained an injunction against M.P. Jain and the Municipal Corporation and later filed a suit under Section 6 of the Specific Relief Act seeking possession of a tuck‑shop premises. The trial court, despite finding that the respondent was not a tenant of the appellant or his predecesso…

Harsh Pratap Sisodia passed his intermediate examination without biology and later cleared biology, subsequently qualifying the All India Pre‑Medical/Pre‑Dental Entrance Examination conducted by CBSE. He was allotted a seat in an MBBS programme under the 15% All India Quota, but the Dean of Dr. V.M. Medical College, So…

The appellant, a civil servant, was found guilty in a departmental enquiry and dismissed from service. He challenged the dismissal by filing a civil suit, which was initially dismissed, but the District Judge later set aside the dismissal order, declaring it illegal. The respondents appealed to the High Court, which he…

The Commissioner of Income Tax, Shillong appealed against the order of the Income Tax Officer (ITO) who had reopened the assessment of Tarajan Tea Co. (P) Ltd. under Section 147(a) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, on the ground that a decision in another tea company case—holding that the sale of standing trees was a revenu…

SUGAULI SUGAR WORKS (P) Ltd., a private limited company, transferred Rs 3,45,000 from a suspense account to its capital reserve account for the assessment year 1965‑66. The Income Tax Officer included Rs 2,56,529 in the assessee's total income under Section 41 of the Income‑Tax Act, treating the transfer as a benefit o…

The State of Tamil Nadu assessed Mahalakshmi Textile Mills Ltd. for sales tax. The assessee invoked the Deputy Commissioner’s suo motu powers under Section 32 of the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act, 1959, questioning the assessment. After the Deputy Commissioner dismissed the petition, the High Court ordered a merits‑…

The Supreme Court examined a private limited company's claim for deduction of interest on loans taken to purchase rubberised machinery for the assessment years 1972‑73 to 1974‑75. The machinery had not been put to use and no depreciation was claimed, prompting the Income Tax Officer to disallow the interest deduction a…

P. Muniappan, an assistant professor, was charged with murdering his wife Nagammal after she was found hanging in their kitchen with burn injuries and signs of struggle. The prosecution relied on extensive circumstantial evidence—Muniappan's motive to obtain a divorce and a second marriage, his exclusive presence in th…

The Divisional Level Committee and the State of Uttar Pradesh appealed against a High Court order that had upheld Harswarup Drum Udyog's claim to sales‑tax exemption under Section 4‑A of the U.P. Sales Tax Act, 1948. The respondent's application was initially rejected because the lease deed, required to be registered f…

Continental Chemicals Ltd. obtained a sales tax registration in November 1985 and made a trial sale on 1‑Nov‑1985, but only acquired permanent registration as an industrial unit on 11‑Sep‑1986 and began actual production on 3‑Mar‑1986, with its first sale on 5‑Mar‑1986. The company applied for a six‑year sales‑tax exem…

The appellant, a son of Prahalad, was a minor when the property was sold to the plaintiff on 6 February 1953. The plaintiff filed a suit for trespass in 1971, alleging that the appellant had forcibly entered the land. The trial court dismissed the suit, and the High Court examined the date on which the appellant attain…

The Orissa State Warehousing Corporation, a statutory body under the Warehousing Corporation Act, 1962, earned interest on fixed deposits placed with banks. The Income‑Tax Officer added this interest to its total income, holding that it was not covered by the exemption in section 10(29) of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The…