Author: Anvita Dwivedi

The Allahabad High Court has recently delivered an important judgment reiterating one of the most settled yet often misunderstood principles of Indian criminal jurisprudence that while the sole testimony of a rape survivor is legally sufficient to sustain a conviction, such testimony must possess a degree of credibility and consistency that leaves no reasonable room for doubt. Upholding the acquittal of an accused in a 2014 rape case, the Court observed that the prosecutrix, in the facts of the present case, could not be regarded as a “sterling witness”, a legal standard evolved by the Supreme Court for determining whether…

In a judgment that significantly clarifies the law governing transfer of criminal trials within the same Sessions Division, the Allahabad High Court has held that a Sessions Judge is legally empowered under Section 408 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC) to transfer a part-heard criminal trial to the new court of the judicial officer who had substantially heard the matter, provided the transferee court possesses the jurisdiction to try the offence. The ruling is of considerable procedural importance because it addresses a recurring question in criminal administration—whether judicial continuity can be preserved when a Presiding Officer is transferred…

In a significant ruling reinforcing consumer rights and retailer accountability, the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Kurnool, has held Vishal Mega Mart (Airplaza Retail Holding Private Limited) liable for selling an expired packet of Maggi Atta Instant Noodles, observing that the sale of expired food products constitutes not merely a deficiency in service but a serious threat to public health. The Commission’s decision goes beyond awarding compensation to an aggrieved consumer; it reiterates an important legal principle that retailers cannot escape liability by treating expiry dates as the consumer’s responsibility. In an era where organised retail chains command significant consumer…

In a significant order reinforcing the constitutional imperative of a fair and impartial criminal investigation, the Supreme Court has directed the constitution of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to conduct a fresh probe into the death of Salman Khan, the driver of former Congress MLA and Assembly candidate Kunwar Vikram Singh, who allegedly died after being run over during the 2023 Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections. While refraining from expressing any opinion on the merits of the allegations, the Court held that the interests of justice warranted an investigation by an independent team headed by an IPS officer belonging to a…

The Tamil Nadu Government’s decision to approach the Supreme Court against the Madras High Court’s interim order granting protection to former DMK Minister E.V. Velu has once again brought into focus one of the most debated aspects of criminal jurisprudence the extent to which constitutional courts should intervene to protect an accused person during the pendency of an investigation. While the controversy originates from a vigilance case concerning alleged irregularities in road infrastructure projects executed during Velu’s tenure as Minister, the legal questions raised transcend the facts of the individual case. The appeal invites the Supreme Court to examine the…

The Supreme Court’s recent decision to stay the Madras High Court’s direction imposing a blanket prohibition on the slaughter of cows and calves throughout Tamil Nadu has reopened one of the most sensitive intersections of constitutional law, statutory interpretation and judicial review. While questions relating to cattle preservation, religious practices and animal welfare have historically generated intense public discourse, the proceedings before the Supreme Court were fundamentally concerned with a different legal issue whether a constitutional court, while exercising writ jurisdiction, can issue directions that substantially alter the legislative framework governing an entire State. The interim order passed by the…

The Supreme Court’s decision to hear a batch of petitions seeking a court-monitored investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the alleged theft and misappropriation of donations made by devotees to the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust has brought into sharp focus an issue that extends far beyond the facts of a single criminal investigation. At its core, the proceedings raise larger constitutional questions concerning institutional accountability, transparency in the administration of public religious trusts, and the circumstances in which constitutional courts may be called upon to exercise extraordinary jurisdiction to ensure an independent investigation. The petitions,…

The Supreme Court’s recent observations questioning the effectiveness of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 (RERA) are perhaps the strongest judicial indictment of India’s real estate regulatory framework since the legislation came into force nearly a decade ago. Hearing a matter concerning homebuyers who have waited close to twenty years for possession of their flats, the Court expressed serious concern that an enactment conceived as a transformative consumer protection legislation appears to have failed in delivering timely and effective relief to those it was intended to protect. The anguish expressed by the Bench was not confined to the…

The power of arrest under the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (CGST Act) has remained one of the most controversial aspects of India’s indirect tax regime ever since the GST framework came into force. While Parliament empowered tax authorities to arrest persons involved in serious tax fraud, fake invoicing and fraudulent availment of Input Tax Credit (ITC), courts have consistently cautioned that these extraordinary powers cannot be exercised mechanically or as instruments for revenue collection. Recent pronouncements of the Supreme Court have fundamentally reshaped the legal landscape by reaffirming that economic offences, however serious, do not eclipse the…

The Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines, 2025 may regulate digital taxi platforms, but they do not yet answer the larger constitutional question are app-based mobility companies merely technology intermediaries or public transport operators entrusted with obligations towards passengers, drivers and the State? The Government’s issuance of the Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines, 2025 represents another milestone in India’s continuing attempt to regulate app-based taxi services. Yet, the revised framework also exposes a deeper institutional problem. Nearly a decade after digital mobility transformed urban transportation, India continues to regulate one of its largest platform economies not through comprehensive legislation enacted by Parliament, but…