Supreme Court's Practice of Changing Its Own Decisions

 

Change in ideas, rules and policies with the change of country, time and circumstances is natural. But it doesn't mean that the Supreme Court should keep on changing its thoughts and decisions only in a matter of a few months or a few days. It appears that the SC has made a practice of changing its decisions. It should be called coincidence or misfortune! Such cases are going on increasing. Let's take a look at some of the major cases in which the apex court has changed its decisions.

Section 498A of Indian Penal Code

Section 498A of IPC states, "Husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty - Whoever, being the husband or the relative of the husband of a woman, subjects such woman to cruelty shall be pun­ished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years and shall also be liable to fine".

Explanation: For the purpose of this section, “cruelty” means-

Right to Privacy is a Fundamental Right - Intrinsic to Life and Liberty

On 24 August 2017, Thursday, the Supreme Court of India passed a landmark and progressive judgment. A constitutional bench of nine judges categorically held that the right to privacy is a fundamental right provided under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. It will be accorded the same protection as other fundamental rights under Chapter III of the Constitution; however, like all other fundamental rights, it is not absolute.

No Arrest in Dowry Case - Guidelines to prevent Misuse of 498A

On 27 July 2017, Thursday, acknowledging a growing trend among women involved in marital discord to abuse Section 498A of IPC to rope in their husbands' relatives (including parents, minor children, siblings and grandparents) in criminal cases, the bench of Justices AK Goel and UU Lalit said it was high time such frivolous cases which violated the human rights of innocent was checked. The court broke away from the reigning perception to rule that in dowry cases, the account of the alleged victim need not be taken at face value.