S P KURDUKAR

Shiv Kumar filed a criminal case against Hukum Chand for the death of his sister. During the Sessions trial, Kumar sought to have his private counsel, R.C. Gugnani, conduct the prosecution under the direction of the Public Prosecutor, who gave consent. The Sessions Court permitted this, but the High Court set aside the…

The Supreme Court examined whether an arbitrator can award interest for the period before a reference (pre‑reference period) under the Interest Act, 1839 when the arbitration agreement is silent on interest. The Court noted earlier decisions—Executive Engineer v. Jena, State of Orissa v. G.C. Roy, and State of Orissa v…

Sheo Narayan Singh, a constable in the Bihar Military Police, was dismissed for forging his military service records. He appealed the dismissal, which was set aside by the Deputy Inspector General but later restored by the Director General using power under Rule 853‑A of the Bihar Police Manual. The High Court quashed …

Molai, a jail guard, and Santosh, a prisoner, were convicted of raping, strangling and murdering Naveen, the 16‑year‑old daughter of an assistant jailor, and disposing of her body in a septic tank. The prosecution relied on circumstantial evidence, forensic findings of human blood on a knife, and recovered clothing wit…

The State of Bihar enacted the Bihar Forest Restoration and Improvement of Degraded Forest Land Taxation Act, 1992 to levy a tax on the excavation and use of forest land for non‑forest purposes. Respondents, including Indian Aluminium Company, held mining leases under the Mines and Minerals Regulation Act, 1957 and cha…

The appellant was tried before the Sessions Court for uxoricide and was convicted under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code for murder. On appeal, the Andhra Pradesh High Court set aside the murder conviction and, invoking Section 222 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, convicted him instead under Section 306 IPC for a…

The appellant, Ahmad Umar Saeed Sheikh, was charged under IPC sections 307, 332, 427, the Foreigners Act, and TADA sections 3 and 4. He contended that the FIR, lodged on a Sub‑Inspector's complaint, was invalid because it was recorded without the prior approval of the District Superintendent of Police required by TADA …

The case concerned employees of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) who were recruited under Rule 5(1) of the CAT (Group B and C Miscellaneous Posts) Recruitment Rules, 1989 and were absorbed on the same day. A dispute arose whether their inter‑se seniority should be measured from the date of deputation to the CA…

Six accused were convicted under IPC sections 147, 148, 307 and 302 for a homicide. The Madras High Court set aside the convictions, acquitting them on the ground that the appellant's statement recorded under Section 164 of the CrPC (initially a dying declaration) materially contradicted the FIR report. The Supreme Cou…

Govindrao, an agent of the State Bank of Indore, was charged with causing loss to the bank by allowing large loans to be granted in violation of banking rules, which later became irrecoverable. The disciplinary authority dismissed him from service, and his subsequent appeals—including a special appeal—were rejected. Af…

The petitioners sought judicial intervention under Article 32 for the upgradation of sewerage management systems in the trans‑Yamuna area of Delhi and several sectors of NOIDA. The Supreme Court constituted a five‑member committee chaired by former Cabinet Secretary P.K. Kaul to examine the issues and submit a report. …

Vithalrao Ganpatrao Warhade filed a declaration under the Maharashtra Agricultural Land (Ceiling on Holdings) Act, 1961 as amended by the 1972 and 1975 amendments. The Surplus Land Determination Tribunal and the Appellate Tribunal declared part of his land surplus and ordered its surrender. The Bombay High Court set as…

The plaintiff B.K.N. Pillai sued P. Pillai for eviction, alleging that the defendant was a licensee. The defendant initially pleaded that he was a lessee, but later sought to amend his written statement to add an alternative defence that, if he were a licensee, his licence was irrevocable under Section 60(b) of the Ind…

The appellants were convicted under Sections 302, 302/114 and 498-A of the IPC solely on the basis of the deceased's dying declaration. The Supreme Court examined whether the dying declaration was reliable, focusing on the requirement that the declarant be conscious and in a fit state of mind, which must be certified b…

The appellants, tenants, owed rent for July‑December 1988 and, after a grievance about missing receipts, sent a bank draft covering the full arrears on 2 February 1989, before the landlords filed an eviction petition on 6 February 1989 alleging wilful default under Section 10(2)(i) of the Andhra Pradesh Building (Lease…

Ramesh Chand Sharma was promoted to Assistant Legislative Draftsman (Hindi) Class II, while senior employee Udham Singh Kamal was passed over because he lacked three years of experience in the feeder cadre. Kamal filed a representation which was rejected on 2 July 1991 and subsequently filed an application before the H…

Two direct recruits challenged a seniority list of Sales Tax Inspectors issued by the State of Maharashtra, which was quashed by the Maharashtra Administrative Tribunal (MAT) and upheld by the Supreme Court on res judicata grounds. The State issued a fresh seniority list in 1992, which the promotees again challenged; t…

Dr. D.K. Deka and Dr. P.K. Baruah, doctors at Mahendra Mohan Choudhary Hospital, were accused by a Guwahati High Court judge of manipulating medical reports to keep accused Geeta Kalita in hospital, thereby thwarting a court order to produce her in police custody. The judge, relying on a medical board’s report that fou…

The Supreme Court examined review petitions that sought to overturn the view that Article 16(4) of the Constitution creates a fundamental right to reservation in public employment. The petitions relied on observations in Indira Sawhney that the reservation power was justified as a reasonable classification. The Court r…

The appellant, a Provident Fund Inspector, was tried for accepting a bribe to exempt a hospital from statutory provident‑fund contributions under Section 161 of the IPC and Section 5(2) read with Section 5(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947. The Special Judge acquitted him, but the Kerala High Court set as…

Tulsi Singh was convicted by a Special Court for the murder of his wife based solely on a confession he gave before a Judicial Magistrate. The appellant contended that the confession was not recorded in accordance with Section 164(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code, which requires the magistrate to caution the accused a…

The appellants, dealers in glass and plastic bangles, were assessed entry tax under Karnataka Tax on Entry of Goods Act, 1979 after the Commissioner clarified that glass bangles and plastic bangles fell within Entry 30 and Entry 54 of the 1992 notification, attracting a 2% tax. The appellants challenged the assessment …

The appellant, Usha Harshad Kumar Dalal, a co‑owner of a building, filed a partition suit in 1978 and a Court Receiver was appointed who took symbolic possession while Suhrid Geigy Trading Ltd. (R‑2) occupied the premises. After the licence expired, the amendment to the Bombay Rents, Hotel and Lodging Houses Rates Cont…

The petitioners challenged the constitutional validity of the amendment made on 19 May 1989 to Rule 26(3) of the Delhi Administration Subordinate Service Rules, 1967, which provided for the integration of seniority of officers from the Executive and Ministerial branches by a 'rota' system. The Supreme Court examined wh…

The appellant, Ramesh Babulal Doshi, was charged with the murder of Khodibhai Patel and related offences. The prosecution relied solely on circumstantial evidence, including sightings of the appellant with the deceased, a trunk containing the body, and blood‑stained articles recovered from the appellant's flat. The tri…

The plaintiff, a Sikh Gurdwara, sued the heirs of a former mortgagee for possession of a notified agricultural land that had been gifted to the Gurdwara but remained in the possession of the mortgagee. An earlier suit against the local Gurdwara committee, filed within the 90‑day period prescribed by Section 28 of the S…