Author: Anvita Dwivedi
In a landmark decision with far-reaching consequences for India’s indirect tax regime, the Supreme Court of India has upheld the constitutional validity of Section 16(2)(c) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (CGST Act), holding that a purchasing dealer is not entitled to claim Input Tax Credit (ITC) unless the supplier has actually deposited the corresponding tax with the Government. A Bench comprising Justice Sanjay Kumar and Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva, while dismissing a batch of Special Leave Petitions arising from the Gujarat High Court’s judgment, affirmed that the statutory condition linking ITC to actual payment of tax by…
In a judgment that significantly strengthens India’s jurisprudence on product liability, negligence and corporate accountability, the Supreme Court of India has held OTIS Elevator Company liable for the death of a senior officer of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) caused by the malfunctioning of an elevator installed and maintained by the company. Holding that manufacturers and maintenance agencies entrusted with elevators perform a function involving public safety and therefore owe an exceptionally high duty of care, the Court ruled that an elevator cannot be viewed as an ordinary commercial product. Instead, it constitutes a sophisticated mechanical system upon which…
In a significant ruling that clarifies the law governing interim release of seized vehicles, the Supreme Court of India has held that a registration certificate (RC) is not, by itself, conclusive proof of entitlement to interim custody under Sections 451 and 457 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC). Delivering judgment in Krishnan Narayana v. State of Andhra Pradesh & Others, a Bench comprising Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice Augustine George Masih observed that while registration remains an important evidentiary circumstance, it is only one among several factors that a criminal court must evaluate while deciding who is “best…
For nearly three decades, arbitration has been projected as the preferred mechanism for resolving commercial disputes in India. The Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, inspired by the UNCITRAL Model Law, promised speed, party autonomy, confidentiality and minimal judicial interference. Successive legislative amendments and judicial pronouncements have further strengthened India’s ambition of becoming a global arbitration hub. Yet beneath this narrative of institutional success lies an under-examined reality. For thousands of subcontractors operating in infrastructure, construction, manufacturing, engineering and public procurement projects, arbitration frequently remains less a mechanism of justice than a system of structural exclusion. While principal contractors, government agencies…
In a significant judgment examining the delicate balance between retributive justice, reformative sentencing and victim compensation, the Allahabad High Court has upheld the conviction of a former police constable for an attempt to murder committed in 1984, while reducing his sentence from six years’ rigorous imprisonment to four years after taking into account the extraordinary delay of more than four decades in the disposal of the criminal appeal. At the same time, the Court substantially enhanced the fine imposed upon the convict and directed that ₹35,000 out of the enhanced fine of ₹40,000 be paid to the injured victim, or…
In a judgment that revisits the delicate constitutional balance between executive compassion and constitutional equality, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has struck down the Tamil Nadu Government’s decision to grant compassionate appointments to the family members of those who lost their lives in the Karur stampede, holding that such appointments violate the guarantees of equality before law under Article 14 and equality of opportunity in public employment under Article 16 of the Constitution. The Division Bench comprising Justice C.V. Karthikeyan and Justice R. Sakthivel observed that however sympathetic the circumstances may be, government employment cannot be distributed…
In one of the first authoritative interpretations of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS), the Supreme Court of India has clarified that the newly enacted criminal procedure law fundamentally alters the manner in which police custody remand may be granted. Departing from the long-settled understanding under Section 167 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC), the Court has held that Section 187(2) of the BNSS permits police custody to be granted even beyond the initial fifteen days of remand, provided that the aggregate period of police custody does not exceed fifteen days and the request is made within…
The constitutional controversy surrounding the police action against student protesters has acquired a new legal dimension, with the Supreme Court of India now being approached by an advocate who alleges that he himself became a victim of custodial violence while attempting to provide legal assistance to detained students. Advocate Manik Gupta, practising before various courts in Delhi including the Supreme Court, has filed an intervention application in the pending writ proceedings concerning the alleged use of excessive police force during the nationwide student protests over examination paper leaks. The application alleges that while visiting the Nizamuddin Police Station on the…
The Supreme Court of India has taken a significant step towards strengthening financial accountability in criminal investigations by directing the Uttar Pradesh Government to consider the inclusion of a forensic auditor in the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the alleged theft and financial irregularities connected with works undertaken for the Ayodhya Ram Mandir project. During the hearing of the matter, the Bench emphasised that allegations involving complex financial transactions, diversion of funds and suspected misappropriation cannot always be effectively investigated through conventional policing alone. Recognising the specialised nature of financial crimes, the Court suggested that the investigative exercise should be…
In a significant judgment clarifying the limits of the moratorium under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC), the Supreme Court of India has held that the commencement of a Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) against a company does not automatically bar consumer complaints from proceeding against its promoters, directors, landowners or other co-respondents who are not themselves corporate debtors. A Bench comprising Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta, while setting aside an order of the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC), ruled that the statutory moratorium under Section 14 of the IBC is confined exclusively to the corporate…