38.6c New Delhi, India, Friday, October 31, 2025
Top Stories Supreme Court
Political NEWS Legislative Corner Celebstreet International Videos
Subscribe Contact Us
close
Judiciary

Laws declared by courts always to be applied retrospectively unless specified otherwise: SC [Read Judgment]

By Jhanak Sharma      28 February, 2025 03:17 PM      0 Comments
Laws declared by courts always to be applied retrospectively unless specified otherwise SC

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday said laws declared by the constitutional courts through their judgements are always retrospective, while the laws made by Legislature are always prospective, unless specified otherwise.

A bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Ahsanuddin Amanullah, however, concurred with the Calcutta High Court's view that the Supreme Court's judgment on mandatory filing of affidavit with a private complaint under Section 156(3) CrPC would apply prospectively.

The court dismissed an appeal filed by Kanishk Sinha and his wife against the Calcutta High Court's judgment which held the 2015 judgment in the case of Priyanka Srivastava Vs State of Uttar Pradesh would apply prospectively.

The 2015 judgment mandated all the private complaints filed under Section 156(3) of the Criminal Procedure Code for lodging the FIR must be accompanied by the affidavit by the complainant.

The bench said this court was then seized with an issue where frivolous complaints were being filed before the Magistrate only to harass people.

The bench pointed out, therefore, in order to check this trend, it was directed that all applications before the Court where Section 156(3) CrPC applications are made must be supported by an affidavit duly sworn by the applicant who seeks to invoke the jurisdiction of the Magistrate.

"Such a step could only be prospective in nature, and this is clearly reflected from the very language used by the judges in the judgment," the bench said.

The court also said it is necessary to mark the words in the para 30 of the 2015 judgment when the bench had said, "... a stage has come in this country…”, indicating that the directions could only be prospective.

"This would signify that what the court intended was that from now onward it would be necessary that an application would be accompanied by an affidavit," the bench said.

With regard to applicability, the court said a law made by the legislature is always prospective in nature unless it has been specifically stated in the statute itself about its retrospective operation, the reverse is true for the law which is laid down by a constitutional court, or law as it is interpreted by the court.

However, the judgment of the court will always be retrospective in nature unless the judgment itself specifically states that the judgment will operate prospectively, the court said.

"The prospective operation of a judgment is normally done to avoid any unnecessary burden to persons or to avoid undue hardships to those who had bona fidely done something with the understanding of the law as it existed at the relevant point of time. Further, it is done not to unsettle something which has long been settled, as that would cause injustice to many," the court said.
 

 [Read Judgment]



Share this article:

About:

Jhanak is a lawyer by profession and legal journalist by passion. She graduated at the top of her cl...Read more

Follow:
FacebookTwitterLinkedinInstagram


Leave a feedback about this
Related Posts
View All

Another CBI Officer Investigating Rakesh Asthana Moves SC Against Transfer, Makes Startling Revelations Another CBI Officer Investigating Rakesh Asthana Moves SC Against Transfer, Makes Startling Revelations

After A.K. Bassi, another CBI officer who was investigating corruption allegations against Special Director Rakesh Asthana moved the Supreme Court.

Ayodhya verdict: SC rules in favour of Ram Lalla, Sunni Waqf Board gets alternate land Ayodhya verdict: SC rules in favour of Ram Lalla, Sunni Waqf Board gets alternate land

SC bench led by CJI Ranjan Gogoi has allotted the dispute site to Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas, while directing the government to allot an alternate 5 acre land within Ayodhya to Sunni Waqf Board to build a mosque.

Supreme Court: Money Spent On Judiciary Less Than 1% In All States Except Delhi Supreme Court: Money Spent On Judiciary Less Than 1% In All States Except Delhi

The court guided all states to document their response to the commission's report within four weeks. If any of the states fail to file a response, it will be presumed that they have no objections to the recommendations made by the commission, the court said.

Supreme Court Top Panel Names Chief Justices for Bombay, Orissa and Meghalaya High Courts Supreme Court Top Panel Names Chief Justices for Bombay, Orissa and Meghalaya High Courts

On April 18, 2020, the Supreme Court Collegium recommended new Chief Justices for three High Courts. Justice Dipankar Datta was proposed as Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court, succeeding Justice B.P. Dharmadhikari. Justice Biswanath Somadder was nominated as Chief Justice of Meghalaya High Court, while Justice Mohammad Rafiq was recommended for transfer as Chief Justice of Orissa High Court.

TRENDING NEWS

sc-hints-at-pan-india-guidelines-on-timeline-to-frame-charges
Trending Judiciary
SC hints at pan-India guidelines on timeline to frame charges

SC mulls pan-India guidelines to curb delays in framing charges; notes cases where charges aren’t framed even after years despite BNSS mandate of 60 days.

30 October, 2025 12:22 PM
limitation-for-continuous-breach-runs-only-till-contract-expiry-kerala-hc-clarifies
Trending Judiciary
Limitation for Continuous Breach Runs Only Till Contract Expiry: Kerala High Court Clarifies [Read Judgment]

Kerala HC clarifies that for continuous breach of contract, limitation under Article 55 starts when breach ceases; once contract ends, breach cannot continue.

30 October, 2025 01:37 PM

TOP STORIES

sc-quashes-uapa-arrests-holds-remand-courts-explanation-cannot-replace-written-grounds-of-arrest
Trending Judiciary
SC Quashes UAPA Arrests, Holds Remand Court’s Explanation Cannot Replace Written Grounds Of Arrest [Read Order]

Supreme Court quashes UAPA arrests, ruling that remand court’s explanation cannot substitute the mandatory written grounds of arrest.

25 October, 2025 11:10 AM
ngt-orders-probe-into-illegal-tree-felling-in-delhis-civil-lines-directs-action-within-three-months
Trending Environment
NGT Orders Probe into Illegal Tree Felling in Delhi’s Civil Lines, Directs Action Within Three Months [Read Order]

NGT directs Tree Officer to probe illegal tree felling in Delhi’s Civil Lines and take action under the Delhi Preservation of Trees Act, 1994.

25 October, 2025 11:28 AM
gauhati-hc-quashes-fir-against-cnn-news18-anchor-akansha-swarup-over-kamakhya-temple-remarks
Trending CelebStreet
Gauhati HC Quashes FIR Against CNN-News18 Anchor Akansha Swarup Over Kamakhya Temple Remarks [Read Order]

Gauhati HC quashes FIR against CNN-News18 anchor Akansha Swarup, ruling her Kamakhya Temple remarks were careless but lacked malicious intent.

25 October, 2025 11:43 AM
delhi-hc-upholds-divorce-on-cruelty-grounds-denies-alimony-to-financially-independent-wife
Trending Judiciary
Delhi HC Upholds Divorce On Cruelty Grounds, Denies Alimony To Financially Independent Wife [Read Judgment]

Delhi HC upholds divorce on cruelty grounds, denies alimony to IRTS officer wife, ruling that alimony is for need-based justice, not enrichment.

25 October, 2025 12:10 PM

ADVERTISEMENT


Join Group

Signup for Our Newsletter

Get Exclusive access to members only content by email