CaseCiter Supreme Court Daily Digest [31 May 2025]

Kamla Nehru Memorial Trust vs U.P. State Industrial Development Corporation Limited 2025 INSC 791 - Legal Notice - Land Allotment - Public Trust Doctrine

Legal Notice - The essential elements of a legal notice would include: a. It should contain a clear and concise set of facts which convey the information leading to the relevant circumstances. This element is also fulfilled when reference is made to any earlier communications issued between the concerned parties; b. It should convey the intimation of any impending legal obligation or breach committed by any party; c. It should convey the intention of the party issuing the communication to hold the other party liable to appropriate legal action or charge; and d. The communication in toto must be unambiguous and should not mislead or suppress material information. If issued under a Statute, it must comply with the relevant requirements prescribed therein as well. (Para 23)

Constitution of India - Article 226 - Land allotment authorities such as UPSIDC possess the inherent right to cancel allotments upon violation of stipulated conditions, this Court has consistently emphasized that judicial intervention in matters concerning land revocation should be circumscribed to ensure adherence to procedural safeguards. (Para 20)

Public Trust Doctrine - The Doctrine emanates from the ancient principle that certain resources (seashores, rivers and forests) are so intrinsically important to the public that they cannot be subjected to unrestricted private control. Rooted in Roman law and incorporated into English common law, this Doctrine recognizes that the Sovereign holds specific resources as a trustee for present and future generations -The Doctrine does not impose an absolute prohibition on transferring public trust property, it subjects such alienation to stringent judicial review to ensure legitimate public purpose and adequate safeguards - When a substantial tract of industrial land is allocated without a comprehensive evaluation, it raises critical questions about adherence to these principles. The Doctrine requires that allocation decisions be preceded by a thorough assessment of public benefits, beneficiary credentials, and safeguards ensuring continued compliance with stated purposes. (Para 29-32) [Context: SC directed State Government of Uttar Pradesh and UPSIDC (i) ensure that any such allotment in the future be made in a transparent, non-discriminatory and fair manner by ensuring that such allotment process fetches maximum revenue and also achieves the larger public interest like industrial development priorities, environmental sustainability, and regional economic objectives; and ii) The Subject Land shall also be allotted strictly in accordance with the procedure as illustrated in direction (i) above. (Para 38)]

Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai vs Pankaj Babulal Kotecha 2025 INSC 792 - Environmental Law - Delayed Grievances - Public Trust Doctrine

Environmental Law - Environmental grievances must be raised promptly when alleged violations commence, not after transformative changes have materialized and become entrenched. (Para 19) [Context: SC set aside High Court’s direction to restore the Subject Property to its original condition as a pond and observed: Though made with laudable intentions, fails to account for the transformed reality and the substantial public benefit derived from the current recreational space. (Para 20)]

Public Trust Doctrine -The public trust doctrine establishes that certain environmental resources are held in trust by the State for the unimpeded enjoyment of the public and for posterity. Although the doctrine imposes a legal obligation upon governmental authorities to protect these resources for public benefit and ecological sustainability, extending to public lands, parks, forests, water bodies, wetlands, and other areas acquired by the State, its application must necessarily be calibrated according to the factual matrix and contemporary public needs. The doctrine, thus, does not operate in isolation but must be harmonized with the objectives of sustainable development and evolving public welfare priorities. (Para 12)

Chetan vs State Of Karnataka 2025 INSC 793 - Evidence Act

Indian Evidence Act 1872 - Section 8 - [ Section 6 BSA] - Mere absconding by itself does not constitute a guilty mind as even an innocent man may feel panicky and may seek to evade the police when wrongly suspected of being involvement as an instinct of self-preservation. But the act of abscondence is certainly a relevant piece of evidence to be considered along with other evidence and is a conduct under Section 8 of the Evidence Act, 1872, which points to his guilty mind- The needle of suspicion gets strengthened by the act. (Para 10.9.2)

Indian Evidence Act 1872 - Section 8 - [ Section 23(2) BSA] -when recoveries are made under Section 27 of the Evidence Act, the accused should explain how he came into possession of the incriminating articles.

Criminal Trial - Motive - Motive is something that is very difficult to prove as it remains hidden in the deep recess of the mind of the person concerned and in the absence of any open declaration by the person concerned himself, the motive has to be inferred from the activities and conduct of the person. (Para 10.11.2) that while proof of motive certainly strengthens the prosecution case based on circumstantial evidence, failure to prove the same cannot be fatal. (Para 10.11.3)

Law Of Evidence - Fact and Proof - Law does not require that a fact requires to be proved on absolute terms bereft of all doubts. What law contemplates is that for a fact to be considered proven, it must eliminate any reasonable doubt. Reasonable doubt does not mean any trivial, fanciful or imaginary doubt, but doubt based on reason and common sense growing out of the evidence in the case. A fact is considered proved if the court, after reviewing the evidence, either believes it exists or deems its existence probable enough that a prudent person would act on the assumption that it exists. (Para 10.12) -Circumstantial Evidence - Where the evidence is circumstantial in nature, the circumstances from which the inference of guilt is to be drawn, should be fully established. In other words, each of the circumstances from which certain inferences are sought to be drawn, is required to be proved in accordance with law, and there cannot be any element of surmise and conjecture, and each of these circumstances so proved must form a complete chain without any break to clearly point to the guilt of the accused person. The court has to examine the cumulative effect of the existence of these circumstances, which would point to the guilt of the accused, though any single circumstance may not in itself be sufficient to prove the offence. Thus, if the combined effect of all these circumstances, each of which has been independently proved, establishes the guilt of the accused, then the conviction based on such circumstances can be sustained. These circumstances so proved must be consistent only with the hypothesis with the guilt of the accused and should exclude every hypothesis except the one sought to be proved. Thus, if upon evaluation of a set of proved circumstances consistent with understandable and socially recognised human behaviour, as a cumulative consequence, a clear and definitive pattern emerges which irresistibly points to the culpability of the accused person, we see no reason why we should not accept such an inferred conclusion to be correct to fasten criminal liability on the accused. On the other hand, if such an inference is sought to be assailed on the ground of any doubt, the doubt must be a reasonable one consistent with human behaviour under the circumstances of the case and not fanciful, abstract speculation or imagination. (Para 10.12.1)

Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 - Section 313 - Examination of an accused under Section 313 CrPC is an important component of the process of judicial scrutiny of the evidence sought to be relied upon by the prosecution against an accused. At the time of indictment and framing of charges against an accused, the untested evidence marshalled by the investigating authority in the course of the investigation is laid bare before the accused, who would have an idea as to the nature of evidence and case being built up against him by the prosecution. This is to enable the accused to prepare and strategize his defence. He will have all the opportunities to discredit any prosecution witness or question any evidence through the tool of cross examination. He will thereafter have the opportunity to lead his defence evidence if any. It is in this context that the answers given by an accused assume great significance in assessing the evidence by the court- While the accused is not obligated to answer the questions put to him and still can maintain his silence or deny the evidence, yet silence or evasive or wrong answers to the questions put by the court provides a perspective to the court in properly evaluating the incriminating materials which have been brought forth by the prosecution by drawing necessary inference including an adverse one. (Para 10.16)