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Indore Development Authority v. Manoharlal and Ors. Etc.

Special Leave Petition (Civil) · 2019 INSC 1184Decided 23 Oct 2019
Special Leave Petition (Civil) Nos. 9036-9038 of 2016
Justice Arun Mishra · Justice Indira Banerjee · Justice Vineet Saran · Justice M.R. Shah · Justice S. Ravindra Bhat

Background

This is an interim order, not a final judgment. A five-judge Constitution Bench was set up to decide how Section 24 of the 2013 Land Acquisition Act should be read. Some parties asked Justice Arun Mishra to withdraw from the bench because he had earlier expressed a view on the question.

Decision Breakdown

This is an interim order, not a final judgment. Justice Mishra gave reasons for declining to recuse himself, and the other four judges recorded that they saw no legal bar to his taking part. The bench decided to proceed to hear the reference on merits.

Lesson Learnt

A judge who has earlier expressed a view on a point of law is not disqualified from sitting on a larger bench deciding it.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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