Insights
Plain-language notes on developments in the law and what they mean in practice.
On 1 July 2024 India replaced its three core criminal statutes. Most offences carried over with new numbers, but the procedure, timelines and rules on electronic evidence changed in ways that matter in practice.
Read more →Overlapping maintenance claims across different laws once produced inconsistent orders. In Rajnesh v. Neha the Supreme Court brought order to the area with a set of binding guidelines.
Read more →Unnecessary arrest and slow bail have long burdened the criminal justice system. In Satender Kumar Antil the Supreme Court issued practical directions to address both.
Read more →Writs are the constitutional remedy a court uses to protect rights against the State. A plain guide to the five writs and when each is used.
Read more →A plain guide to bail under the new criminal procedure code: bailable and non-bailable offences, anticipatory and default bail, and where to apply.
Read more →A plain walk through the stages of a criminal case, from the FIR to judgment and appeal, under the new criminal procedure code.
Read more →What the law guarantees a person who is arrested: the grounds of arrest, a lawyer, production before a magistrate within 24 hours, and protection against needless arrest.
Read more →A short, practical guide to conducting yourself in court: dress, punctuality, how to address the judge, and how to give evidence as a witness.
Read more →In Executive Trading Company v. Grow Well Mercantile, the Supreme Court held that a defendant in a summary suit cannot place a defence on record without first applying for, and obtaining, leave to defend.
Read more →In Abhimanue v. State of Kerala, the Supreme Court restored bail the High Court had cancelled, holding that past antecedents alone cannot justify taking away bail once granted.
Read more →In Gurvinder Singh v. Jasbir Singh, the Supreme Court held that once an anticipatory bail plea is dismissed, the High Court cannot recall its own order and grant bail.
Read more →Faced with anticipatory bail applications that had lain undecided for nearly six years, the Supreme Court directed that bail pleas be disposed of, preferably within two months of filing.
Read more →In Shiv Steels v. State of Assam, the Supreme Court held that a reassessment cannot be sustained once the original assessment has become time-barred, and that no tax can be imposed by inference.
Read more →In ONGC v. G & T Beckfield Drilling Services, the Supreme Court held that a clause barring interest on delayed payments does not automatically bar an arbitral tribunal from awarding pendente lite interest.
Read more →In its suo motu stray-dog proceedings, the Supreme Court first ordered stray dogs in Delhi-NCR removed to shelters, then modified that to require their release after sterilisation and vaccination, save for rabid or aggressive dogs.
Read more →In Vikram Bakshi v. R.P. Khosla, the Supreme Court held that a criminal court cannot reopen its own concluded order, and that the inherent power under Section 482 cannot be used to get around that bar.
Read more →In Dharam Singh v. State of U.P., the Supreme Court ordered the regularisation of long-serving daily-wage employees, holding that selectively regularising others in the same establishment while denying them violated equality.
Read more →In A.K. Jayaprakash v. S.S. Mallikarjuna Rao, the Supreme Court held that contempt requires wilful disobedience; a delay caused by genuine difficulty is not enough.
Read more →In Abhinav Mohan Delkar v. State of Maharashtra, the Supreme Court reaffirmed that abetment of suicide requires a close, proximate link between the accused's act and the suicide, and a deliberate intention.
Read more →In Gian Chand Garg v. Harpal Singh, the Supreme Court set aside a cheque-bounce conviction after the complainant signed a compromise deed and accepted the amount in full settlement.
Read more →In Jamnalal v. State of Rajasthan, the Supreme Court set aside a suspension of sentence, holding that a court must first see whether the convict has a fair, palpable chance of acquittal on appeal.
Read more →In Glencore International AG v. Shree Ganesh Metals, the Supreme Court held that an unsigned contract containing an arbitration clause can bind the parties where they have accepted and acted on its terms.
Read more →In Kallu Nat v. State of U.P., the Supreme Court held that a Sessions Court can summon a person not charge-sheeted by the police as an accused at the committal stage, under Section 193 CrPC.
Read more →In Activitas Management Advisor v. Mind Plus Healthcare, the Supreme Court held that an exclusive jurisdiction clause can fix the seat of arbitration even without the words 'seat' or 'venue'.
Read more →In Airen and Associates v. Sanmar Engineering Services, the Supreme Court held that acknowledging only part of a debt does not extend the limitation period for the whole claim.
Read more →In Hyatt International v. Additional Director of Income Tax, the Supreme Court held that a permanent establishment can exist even without premises exclusively at the foreign enterprise's disposal.
Read more →In NHAI v. O.J. Janeesh, the Supreme Court affirmed a Kerala High Court view that the highways authority cannot demand toll where the road is left in a poor, pothole-ridden condition.
Read more →In Suresh Chandra v. Parasram, the Supreme Court held that where a decree is joint and indivisible, failing to substitute a deceased party's legal heirs in time abates the entire appeal.
Read more →In Ghanshyam Soni v. State (NCT of Delhi), the Supreme Court quashed a 498A case where the allegations were generic and spread across many relatives without specifics.
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