Author: Anvita Dwivedi

The Supreme Court has held that a port trust functioning under the statutory framework governing major ports can nevertheless be treated as a “custodian” of imported goods under the Customs Act, 1962, and can consequently be made liable to pay customs duty on goods pilfered while in its custody. A Bench comprising Justice B.V. Nagarathna and Justice Manmohan overturned the Bombay High Court’s contrary view concerning the Mumbai Port Trust and upheld the validity of a Customs Department notification approving the Port Trust as a custodian under Section 45(1) of the Customs Act. The ruling resolves an important question concerning…

Chief Justice of India Surya Kant has responded to the extraordinary complaints raised by Supreme Court Judge Justice Sandeep Mehta concerning the functioning of Rajasthan High Court Acting Chief Justice Justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma, making it clear that allegations against a sitting constitutional court judge cannot be adjudicated through competing narratives in the public domain. The CJI has stated that the concerns raised by Justice Mehta have been taken note of and are being examined at the appropriate institutional level. At the same time, he emphasised that Justice Sharma must be given a fair opportunity to respond before any conclusion…

The Supreme Court has issued a comprehensive set of directions aimed at strengthening the implementation of laws dealing with dowry-related offences, bringing renewed judicial attention to a social practice that has remained criminalised for decades but continues to survive through social acceptance, economic pressure and inadequate enforcement. A Bench of Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice Augustine George Masih, while examining compliance with its earlier directions in State of Uttar Pradesh v. Ajmal Beg, has directed States, Union Territories and High Courts to improve the functioning of Dowry Prohibition Officers, strengthen support mechanisms for women, prioritise prosecutions involving dowry death and…

The Supreme Court has delivered an important ruling on the limits of the Revenue’s power to invoke the extended limitation period under Section 74 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, holding that a show-cause notice cannot acquire the benefit of the longer limitation period merely by mechanically using expressions such as “fraud”, “wilful misstatement” or “suppression of facts”. A Bench comprising Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice K. Vinod Chandran set aside proceedings initiated against Tata Steel Limited, observing that when the department seeks to invoke the exceptional machinery of Section 74, the foundational facts which allegedly establish…

The Allahabad High Court has dismissed a petition filed by a minor Muslim student seeking permission to wear a hijab or headscarf along with the uniform prescribed by her school, holding that the petitioner failed to establish that wearing a headscarf constituted an essential religious practice of Islam whose observance was constitutionally protected in the circumstances of the case. A Division Bench comprising Justice J.J. Munir and Justice Indrajeet Shukla was dealing with the challenge brought by the student through her mother against the refusal of Tagore Public School, Attarsuiya, Prayagraj, to permit her to continue wearing the headscarf with…

The Allahabad High Court has stepped into an unusual but constitutionally significant dispute arising from the protest of more than 200 schoolchildren in Hamirpur, Uttar Pradesh, who were compelled to travel several kilometres with their parents to draw administrative attention to the poor road connecting their village to their school. Taking suo motu cognizance of reports concerning the children’s protest, a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Arun Bhansali and Justice Kshitij Shailendra has directed the Forest Department to process and issue the requisite No Objection Certificate for the construction of the pending road stretch with expedition. The proceedings, registered as…

The Supreme Court has intervened in a politically significant dispute concerning the alleged defection of 20 Trinamool Congress MPs, questioning the pace at which the Lok Sabha Speaker is dealing with petitions seeking their disqualification under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution. A Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana heard a writ petition filed by Trinamool Congress General Secretary and Lok Sabha leader Abhishek Banerjee, who sought an expeditious decision on the disqualification petitions pending before Speaker Om Birla. During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informed the Court that notices…

The Supreme Court has directed former Tehelka editor-in-chief Tarun Tejpal to surrender within two weeks and place a surrender certificate on record before his challenge to the Bombay High Court’s recent conviction can proceed on merits. The direction comes shortly after the Goa Bench of the Bombay High Court reversed Tejpal’s acquittal in the long-pending sexual assault case and sentenced him to ten years’ rigorous imprisonment. The Supreme Court’s order does not examine the correctness of the conviction, the appreciation of evidence or the sentence imposed by the High Court. Instead, it addresses a narrower but important question of criminal…

The Supreme Court has granted interim protection from coercive action to journalist Abhishek Upadhyay in connection with an FIR registered by the Uttar Pradesh Police over an alleged road-rage incident in Ghaziabad, while directing the police to furnish him with a copy of the FIR and permitting him to approach the Allahabad High Court for appropriate relief. A Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana passed the order while hearing Upadhyay’s writ petition challenging the criminal proceedings. The Court’s intervention is significant not because it has, at this stage, concluded that the…

The Supreme Court has once again underscored that the power to grant bail in a serious criminal case is a judicial discretion that must be exercised on the basis of relevant material and demonstrable reasons, and not as a matter of routine. In a significant judgment concerning a murder prosecution, a Bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta set aside the bail granted to two accused persons after finding that the courts below had failed to consider vital circumstances indicating their prima facie involvement in a premeditated and exceptionally grave attack. The Court emphasised that while a bail…