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Hindustan Times
08-05-2025
- Hindustan Times
Judicial intervention vital in weeding out vexatious proceedings: SC
New Delhi, The Supreme Court on Thursday said judicial intervention to weed out vexatious proceedings was crucial in protecting people from misery and quashed the criminal prosecution of two persons. The bench quashed the prosecution initiated against the two appellants, who were also accused of assault to deter the public servant from discharge of his duty. A bench of Justices P S Narasimha and Joymalya Bagchi said summoning an accused was a serious matter, affecting liberty and dignity of the individual. "Judicial intervention under section 482 CrPC to weed out vexatious proceedings is of pivotal importance in order to protect individuals from untelling harassment and misery and to ensure unmerited prosecutions do not crowd overflowing dockets of criminal courts and yield space for deserving cases," the bench said. Section 482 of the CrPC deals with inherent powers of the high court. Faced with the agony of a lame prosecution, it was of little solace to a litigant to be told that inherent powers were shut out as he was entitled to approach the trial court and pray for discharge, the top court said. The bench's verdict came on an appeal challenging the Allahabad High Court's July 2015 order refusing to quash a criminal case against some persons for allegedly obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions. It noted one of the appellants was a project coordinator at an organisation which was fighting against human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation of children in Uttar Pradesh. The top court said the incident happened in June 2014 when a team of officials and the appellants inspected a spot following allegations that bonded child labourers were engaged in a brick kiln at Varanasi. The appellants claimed they had found children and labourers who were brought to the police station but the owner of the brick kiln intervened and took them away. Later, a police complaint was lodged alleging that the appellants along with others forcibly put the labourers and the children in dumpers and took them away. After a chargesheet was filed and cognisance was taken by a magistrate, the appellants approached the high court seeking quashing of the chargesheet. The top court said the high court had not adverted either to the facts of the case or the contentions raised by the appellants. The bench said the high court observed the appellants had a right to seek discharge before the trial court. "However, prior to arriving at such finding it is the duty of the high court to ascertain whether the uncontroverted allegations in the FIR/chargesheet constitute an offence, or continuation of the proceeding suffers from a legal bar or is wholly vexatious and an abuse of process of law," it said. The bench said uncontroverted allegations in the chargesheet did not disclose use of force or holding out threatening gestures giving rise to an apprehension of use of force towards public servant. It referred to a report of the additional labour commissioner, Uttar Pradesh, to the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights regarding the incident. The bench said in the report, the additional commissioner had gone to the extent of alleging that the appellants had offered bribes to labourers to make false statements. "Such insinuations are wholly unfounded and not borne out from the statements recorded during investigation," it said. "This hostile stance of the department fortifies our conclusion that registration of the criminal case was a product of malice and personal vendetta against the appellants," the bench said while allowing the appeal.
Economic Times
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Economic Times
Audit laws to keep them on their toes
Live Events Laws are made, implemented, but aren't systemically reviewed. Last week, hearing a case on validity of provisions of the Consumer Protection Act , the Supreme Court directed the Central Consumer Protection Council and Central Consumer Protection Authority to undertake a review of the 'working of the statute'. The bench said that it was the apex court's duty to direct GoI to undertake performance audits and assess impact of whether the judiciary has such a mandate is a matter for a broader debate on the pecking order of statutory institutions. But that debate aside, the Supreme Court is on to something critical to government efficiency and effectiveness: need to review audit is an idea that one of the judges, P S Narasimha, articulated last year when hearing a case related to the Maharashtra Slum Areas Act 1971. Reviewing the impact and efficacy of laws is not just a good idea, but should be deemed a necessary one, particularly in a dynamic society like ours still dealing with developmental must be fit for purpose, and not just de jure but also de facto. Sometimes, despite due diligence, laws turn out to be ineffective, have unintended consequences, or encounter challenges that blunt their intended impact. Sometimes they may just outlive their utility. A periodic performance audit can help ensure that the laws remain 'on their toes'.GoI has undertaken exercises in identifying redundant and outdated laws and weeding them out. A performance audit would make that exercise regular, more detailed, ensuring that laws are changed with time and their utility. It would certainly help the government ascertain impact, identify deficiencies, challenges, as well as positive outcomes.
Time of India
05-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Audit laws to keep them on their toes
Laws are made, implemented, but aren't systemically reviewed. Last week, hearing a case on validity of provisions of the Consumer Protection Act , the Supreme Court directed the Central Consumer Protection Council and Central Consumer Protection Authority to undertake a review of the 'working of the statute'. The bench said that it was the apex court's duty to direct GoI to undertake performance audits and assess impact of legislations. #Pahalgam Terrorist Attack Pakistan's economy has much more to lose than India's due to the ongoing tensions, warns Moody's Ratings The day Pakistan got the power to poke India FM Sitharaman meets ADB chief and Italian FM, discusses economic issues; no mention of Pakistan While whether the judiciary has such a mandate is a matter for a broader debate on the pecking order of statutory institutions. But that debate aside, the Supreme Court is on to something critical to government efficiency and effectiveness: need to review laws. Performance audit is an idea that one of the judges, P S Narasimha, articulated last year when hearing a case related to the Maharashtra Slum Areas Act 1971. Reviewing the impact and efficacy of laws is not just a good idea, but should be deemed a necessary one, particularly in a dynamic society like ours still dealing with developmental deficits. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like ₹2 Crore Life Cover For Salaried Employees In DELHI At Just ₹876/Month Best Term Insurance! Click Here Undo Laws must be fit for purpose, and not just de jure but also de facto. Sometimes, despite due diligence, laws turn out to be ineffective, have unintended consequences, or encounter challenges that blunt their intended impact. Sometimes they may just outlive their utility. A periodic performance audit can help ensure that the laws remain 'on their toes'. GoI has undertaken exercises in identifying redundant and outdated laws and weeding them out. A performance audit would make that exercise regular, more detailed, ensuring that laws are changed with time and their utility. It would certainly help the government ascertain impact, identify deficiencies, challenges, as well as positive outcomes. Live Events
Time of India
01-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
We are duty-bound to order performance audit of laws: SC
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has said that in the Indian legislative system, where most bills are introduced by govt and very few private members' bills are presented and debated in Parliament, it becomes the apex court's duty to direct performance audit and assessment of impact of legislations. While upholding constitutional validity of provisions of the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) relating to pecuniary jurisdiction of district, state and national consumer foras, a bench of Justices P S Narasimha and Manoj Misra asked the Central Consumer Protection Council ( CCPC ) and the Central Consumer Protection Authority ( CCPA ) to "survey review and advise the govt about measures for effective and efficient redressal and working of the statute." Two petitioners had challenged the validity of the provisions of the 2019 legislation on the ground that the 2019 Act shifts the basis of the pecuniary jurisdiction of the district, state as well as national commission from value of compensation claimed under the repealed 1986 Act to value of the consideration paid for the goods and services Writing the judgment and emphasising the need for periodic review of legislations to understand its working and changes required, Justice Narasimha said, "A peculiar feature of how our legislative system works is that an overwhelming majority of legislations are introduced and carried through by the Government, with very few private member bills being introduced and debated." by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Chungcheongbuk-do: AI guru Andrew Ng recommends: Read These 5 Books And Turn Your Life Aroun... Blinkist: Andrew Ng's Reading List Undo "In such circumstances, the judicial role does encompass, in this Court's understanding, the power, nay the duty to direct the executive branch to review the working of statutes and audit the statutory impact." "It is not possible to exhaustively enlist the circumstances and standards that will trigger such a judicial direction. One can only state that this direction must be predicated on a finding that the statute has, through demonstrable judicial data or other cogent material, failed to ameliorate the conditions of the beneficiaries," he said. The SC said before directing such audit, the court must prima facie conclude that the statutory schemes and procedures "are gridlocked in bureaucratic or judicial quagmires that impede or delay statutory objectives. This facilitative role of the judiciary compels audit of the legislation, promotes debate and discussion but does not and cannot compel legislative reforms." Referring to CCPC and CCPA, the bench said, it is necessary to ensure that in the functioning of these bodies, there is efficiency in administration, expertise through composition, integrity through human resources, transparency and accountability and responsiveness through regular review, audits and assessments. "Vibrant functioning of the Council and the Authority will subserve the purpose and object of the Parliament enacting the 2019 legislation," it said.."
Time of India
30-04-2025
- Health
- Time of India
SC seeks Centre response on 'illegal clinical trials' in Gujarat
NEW DELHI: SC Wednesday sought central govt's response to allegations by an NGO that as many as 58 illegal clinical trials have been conducted by national and international pharmaceutical companies in the last four years at Ahmedabad municipal corporation-run Sheth Vadilal Sarabhai Hospital . Appearing for the NGO, Swasthya Adhikar Manch , senior advocate Sanjay Parikh informed a bench of Justices P S Narasimha and J Bagchi that these trials were conducted in the absence of an ethical committee, which is mandatory under New Drugs and Clinical Trials Rules, 2019. The allegation about illegal clinical trials in hospital was narrated, with support from news reports published in TOI, in an affidavit, which was filed in the main petition that highlighted how multinational pharma majors are conducting clinical trials without adhering to the safeguards provided under the rules and regulations, and treating those undergoing clinical trials as guinea pigs. The NGO said, "...After coming to know of these clinical trials, Ahmedabad municipal commissioner formed an inquiry committee, which in its report highlighted the irregularities, and has recommended action against the wrongdoers."
