Questions and answers on law (Part 68)

1) Supreme Court: High court or Session court must hear accused in revision against order of magistrate of dismissal of complaint

 We hold, as it must be, that in a revision petition preferred by complainant before the High Court or the Sessions Judge challenging an order of the Magistrate dismissing the complaint under Section 203 of the Code at the stage under Section 200 or after following the process contemplated under Section 202 of the Code, the accused or a person who is suspected to have committed crime is entitled to hearing by the revisional court. In other words, where complaint has been dismissed by the Magistrate under Section 203 of the Code, upon challenge to the legality of the said order being laid by the complainant in a revision petition before the High Court or the Sessions Judge, the persons who are arraigned as accused in the complaint have a right to be heard in such revision petition. This is a plain requirement of Section 401(2) of the Code. {Para 58}

Supreme Court of India

Manharibhai Muljibhai Kakadia & ... vs Shaileshbhai Mohanbhai Patel & ... on 1 October, 2012

Author: R Lodha

Bench: R.M. Lodha, Chandramauli Kr. Prasad, Sudhansu Jyoti Mukhopadhaya

https://www.lawweb.in/2013/02/an-accused-person-does-not-come-into.html

2)  Gender Stereotypes:- The Supreme Court of India has released a Handbook on Gender Stereotypes to assist judges and legal practitioners in recognizing, understanding, and combating gender stereotypes present in legal language and judgments. Gender stereotypes are assumptions about the characteristics that individuals of a particular gender have, or the roles that they should perform. The handbook highlights common stereotypical words and phrases that are often used to describe women in legal documents and provides specific examples of language that should be replaced with more neutral and accurate terms. The initiative aims to promote more equitable and unbiased language usage in judicial discourse and encourages a shift towards language that reflects a more modern and respectful understanding of gender and promotes equal rights for all individuals, regardless of their gender. The handbook emphasizes that the language a judge uses reflects not only their interpretation of the law, but their perception of society as well. The initiative is aimed at fulfilling the judiciary’s unique duty not only to avoid perpetuating these stereotypes, but also to challenge and rebut such conceptions.

Doctrine of pleasure:- The doctrine of pleasure is a common law rule that originated in England and was introduced in India during British rule. Under this doctrine, civil servants are regarded as servants of the Crown and serve at the pleasure of the Crown, which means that the Crown has the power to terminate their services at any time without assigning any reason. The doctrine of pleasure is incorporated in Article 310 of the Indian Constitution, which provides that all persons who are members of the Defense Services or the Civil Services of the Union or of All-India Services hold office during the pleasure of the President. Similarly, members of the State Services hold office during the pleasure of the Governor. However, the doctrine of pleasure is subject to certain restrictions, such as the provisions of Article 311, which lays down procedural safeguards for civil servants, and the fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution, which impose limitations on the free exercise of the doctrine. 

Print Page