General Clauses Act

Rambeer Shokeen was arrested on 1 December 2016 in connection with offences under the Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act, 1999 (MCOCA) and the Arms Act. The prosecution filed an application on 28 February 2017 for an extension of time to file the charge‑sheet, which was pending when the appellant filed a statut…

The case concerned the interpretation of Customs Notification No. 20/1999, under which the respondents claimed a concessional customs duty rate for imported vitamin E50 feed powder. The Customs department denied the benefit, classifying the goods under a higher duty heading, leading to a series of appeals up to the Sup…

Glaxo India Ltd. manufactured three bulk drugs and their formulations. The Central Government fixed maximum prices for these drugs by notifications dated 12‑May‑1981, 20‑Nov‑1986 and 2‑Jan‑1989, the latter superseding the earlier ones. The Government later demanded that Glaxo deposit Rs 71.21 crore into the Drug Prices…

The appellant, accused in a rape case, sought a cloned copy of the contents of a memory card/pen‑drive that the prosecution intended to rely upon, arguing that the electronic record should be treated as a "document" under the Evidence Act and thus be furnished under Section 207 of the CrPC. The trial court and High Cou…

The Himachal Pradesh Government introduced the 1999 Pension Scheme for employees of state-owned corporations, replacing the Employees' Provident Funds Scheme, 1995. After a high‑level committee found the scheme financially unsustainable, the Government issued a notification on 2 December 2004 repealing the scheme, allo…

The Jharkhand State Electricity Board (JSEB) appealed against a High Court order directing it to refund excess amounts charged to two high‑tension consumers under a 1994 agreement. The consumers had paid the bills under protest, arguing that after the Electricity Act, 2003, tariff power shifted exclusively to the State…

The appellants, land‑holders of plots 36‑43 in Survey No. 71, challenged the State of Gujarat's claim that their land had vested in the State under the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, 1976, on the basis of a handwritten corrigendum and a panchnama. The Supreme Court examined whether such a corrigendum could re…

The State of Karnataka appealed against the Karnataka High Court’s order acquitting a government servant, Chandrasha, who was convicted under Sections 7 and 13(1)(d) read with 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 for demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 2,000 to facilitate the encashment of surrender‑leave …

The appellant was charged with offences under Sections 408, 420, 467, 468 and 471 of the IPC, registered in May 2007. The Madhya Pradesh Amendment to the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, which came into force on 22 February 2008, shifted the jurisdiction for offences under Sections 467, 468 and 471 from a Judicial Mag…

The Union of India issued an excise duty exemption for new industries in earthquake‑hit Kutch, promising a full cash/PLA refund. Subsequent notifications in 2008 limited the refund to a percentage based on actual value addition, citing tax‑evasion concerns. The original writ petitioners claimed the later notifications …

The original plaintiff filed a suit for specific performance of an oral sale agreement dated 12‑02‑1986 concerning a property that the owner subsequently sold to defendants No.2 and No.3 on 29‑08‑1986. The trial court granted the decree in favour of the plaintiff, but the first appellate court set aside the decree, hol…

The Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA) repealed the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1973 (FERA) but saved prosecutions for offences under sections 56 and 57 of FERA if cognizance was taken within two years of FEMA's commencement. An Enforcement Officer appointed under FERA filed a complaint on 11 February 20…

The Union of India appealed against a show‑cause notice issued to respondents for importing certain goods in August 1997, which was based on an order dated 14‑Nov‑1986 issued under Clause 8(1) of the Imports (Control) Order, 1986. After the Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, 1992 came into force, the impor…

The appellants, the widow and daughter of Ishwar Singh, challenged the validity of Section 50(a) of the Delhi Land Reforms Act, 1954, claiming it violated Articles 14, 15, 21 and was repugnant to the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 after the latter's Section 4(2) was deleted by the 2005 amendment. The Supreme Court held tha…

The Union of India had granted a ten‑year exemption from excise duty for certain goods, including pan masala and tobacco products, through a 2003 notification. In 2007 it issued a new notification withdrawing that exemption on the ground that the products were hazardous to health. Manufacturers such as Unicorn Industri…

The appellant, a director of a mining company, was granted a lease to excavate sand in specific plots in Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh, but was alleged to have mined sand outside the permitted area, leading to registration of an FIR under Section 379 IPC, the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 and the …

The Supreme Court examined two appeals challenging the forfeiture of gratuity by a public sector undertaking (Western Coal Fields Ltd.) and the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) after employees were terminated for misconduct. The employees argued that forfeiture required a criminal conviction, which …

The former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, N. Chandrababu Naidu, was added as accused No.37 in FIR No.29/2021 alleging massive misappropriation of funds related to skill development projects, invoking offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and the IPC. He sought quashing of the FIR and the remand order…

The tenant (appellant) occupied a flat in Kolkata and was served a summons for eviction on 29 September 2022. He filed applications under Sections 7(1) and 7(2) of the West Bengal Premises Tenancy Act, 1997, together with a Section 5 Limitation Act application, 17 days after the statutory 30‑day period for depositing r…

The appellant, a Sub‑Inspector of Uttar Pradesh Police, was ordered to withhold his integrity certificate for 2010 on the ground that he failed to record the past criminal history of an accused in a bailable offence. He challenged the order, arguing that withholding the certificate was not a punishment contemplated und…

The State of Kerala issued a Government Order on 11 July 1986 promising exemption from building tax for hotels set up in the state, and subsequently amended the Kerala Buildings Tax Act, 1975 by inserting Section 3A on 6 November 1990 to give effect to that promise. M/s Manuelsons Hotels Private Limited relied on the p…

The Rajasthan Electricity Regulatory Commission (State Commission) was asked to approve the procurement of 1,000 MW of power through a competitive bidding process. After negotiations, the Commission approved only 500 MW and adopted the tariffs of the lowest bidders, while the higher‑priced bids of L‑4 and L‑5 were reje…

The appellants, Nabha Power Ltd. and its associate, bid for a mega‑power project under a Request for Proposal (RFP) that required bidders to consider the law as defined in Clause 1.1 of the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). They argued that a press release dated 01‑Oct‑2009 announcing Cabinet approval of modifications to…

The case concerned three former Short Service Commissioned Officers who had joined the Indian Army after the period of emergency and were later appointed to the Uttar Pradesh Provincial Police Service. They claimed back‑service seniority and other benefits under the Uttar Pradesh Non‑technical (Class‑II) Services (Rese…

The Calcutta Club, a Section 25 company operating as a members' club, was served with a notice for non‑payment of sales tax on food and drinks supplied to its permanent members. The Club argued that, under the doctrine of mutuality, no sale occurred because the supplier and the buyer were the same persons, a view uphel…

The Supreme Court examined the validity of two Goa Government notifications (15‑May‑1996 and 1‑Aug‑1996) granting a 25% electricity tariff rebate to industrial consumers. The appellants argued that the notifications were lawful government decisions, while the State contended they were issued by the Power Minister witho…

The appellants, owners of land in Mumbai, challenged the municipal corporation’s acquisition of their property for a link road, arguing that the road could only be built after amending the Development Plan under the Maharashtra Regional Town Planning Act (MRTP Act). The High Court upheld the acquisition, holding that t…

The appellant, a permanently locomotor‑disabled electrician employed by Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board since 1985, was scheduled to retire on 30 September 2018 at age 58. An Office Memorandum dated 29 March 2013 had extended the superannuation age to 60 years for physically disabled employees, but only for th…