Author: kkslawoffices

The Supreme Court, hearing a plea of juvenility in an appeal filed by the accused convicted by the Allahabad High Court for offence under Section 302 IPC, has held that when there are conflicting reports & documents regarding the assessment of age of the accused Rule 12(3)(b) of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Rules, 2007 would apply & the Court has to extend the benefit of juvenility to the accused by considering his age on lower side within the margin of one year.

The Supreme Court (SC), while dealing with the issue of whether an offence under Section 302 IPC could be reduced to culpable homicide not amounting to murder since the accused had no intention to kill the deceased, has held that the ‘Doctrine of Transfer of Malice’ applies in such cases, which provides that where there is ‘mens rea’ of committing an offence it can be transferred to another. The SC noted that the intention to kill some other person is immaterial as the accused had the intention of committing the offence, though accidently he might have killed another person.

The Bihar (In Admission In Educational Institutions) Reservation (Amendment) Bill, 2023 & the Bihar Reservation of vacancies in posts and services (For SC, ST, EBC and OBC) Amendment Bill, 2023 received the accent of the governor on 21.11.2023 thereby increasing the overall reservation for SCs, STs & OBCs from 50% to 65%. The statement of object stipulates the reason for bringing the amendment that according to the “‘Caste based Survey 2022-23’, it is apparent that large section of backward classes, schedule caste and schedule tribe need to be promoted…”

The Supreme Court (SC), while dealing with the powers of the Adjudicating Authority (AA) to direct re-evaluation of the assets after submission of resolution plan for its approval, has held that such a direction is unwarranted, when the resolution plan has been duly approved by the Committee of Creditors (CoC) & when no objections as to any deficiency/irregularity in the resolution plan has been raised by either resolution professional, resolution applicant or the CoC. The SC further noted that when a final negotiated resolution plan is approved by CoC and the same does not fall short of conditions stipulated under Section 30 & 31 of the Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code, 2016, AA’s interference is unwarranted.

The Supreme Court (SC), in an appeal filed challenging the order passed by the Karnataka High Court for declaration, has held that revenue records cannot be considered as documents of title. The SC further noted that in a suit for declaration the burden of proof rested on the shoulders of the plaintiff to reasonably establish the probability of better title over the property than the other party.

The European Commission (EC) issued a statement of objections to Adobe’s acquisition of Figma, as it is of the opinion that the acquisition is likely to impact the competition in the global markets for the supply of interactive product design software. The EC noted that, at present, Figma is the clear market leader & Adobe one of its largest competitors, & that the transaction will result in the discontinuation of Adobe’s own interactive product design tool, so as to constitute a “Reverse Killer Acquisition”.

The Norwegian Competition Authority (Konkurransetilsynet) has issued statement of objections to the Norwegian-Widerøe merger since the Konkurransetilsynet is of the opinion that the market for air-travel in Norway is likely to be impeded if this acquisition is allowed to go through. Konkurransetilsynet highlighted that if the acquisition is allowed only two players will remain in the market thereby increasing the likelihood of price coordination, increase in overall price of the tickets and reduction in choice for consumers in selected routes where both the parties operate.

The Supreme Court (SC), while dealing with the issue of whether anticipatory bail can be granted by a court which is not located within the State where the FIR was lodged, has held that considering the constitutional imperative of protecting a citizen’s right to life & personal liberty, the High Court or Sessions Court could grant limited anticipatory bail as interim protection under Section 438 of CrPC. The SC opined that grounds such as reasonable & immediate threat to life, personal liberty, impediments owing to arbitrariness & the medical status/ disability of the applicant must be considered while granting such “extraterritorial limited anticipatory bail.”

The Punjab & Haryana High Court (P&H HC), dealing with issue of vires of the Haryana State Employment of Local Candidates Act, 2020 (2020 Act), which provides for 75% reservation for employment of local candidates of Haryana in the private sector, has held that the 2020 Act deals with certain specific requirement of residence for employment, which is within the exclusive domain of the Parliament by virtue of Art. 16(3) & Art.35 r/w. Entry 81 of List –I of the Constitution thus, the enactment of 2020 Act was beyond the purview of Haryana State Legislature & hence, ultra vires to the Constitution.