PANKAJ MITHAL, J.

1. Heard Mr. Siddharth Aggarwal, learned senior counsel appearing for the petitioner and Mr. S. V. Raju, learned Additional Solicitor General appearing for the respondent-State.

2. The petitioner is in custody in connection with FIR No. 65 of 2020 dated 26.02.2020 registered at Police Station Dayalpur, District North East, Delhi in connection with rioting and murder of one Ankit Sharma, an official of the Intelligence Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. Apart from the aforesaid case, several other cases relating to riots in Delhi which took place in the month of February, 2020 and one under PMLA are pending consideration and the petitioner is allegedly involved in all of them.

Digitally signed by

3. SNEHA DAS Date: 2025.01.23 The petitioner so far has not been successful in 11:46:12 IST Reason:

4. The interim bail application moved by the petitioner was considered by the High Court and was ultimately disallowed by the order impugned dated 14.01.2025 but he was granted conditional custody parole for subscribing oath and to complete formalities in respect of filing his nomination papers to contest the Assembly Elections. In this way, though the petitioner has no fundamental right to contest the elections but his statutory right to that effect was duly protected.

5. The petitioner is not satisfied by the grant of custody parole for filing his nomination enabling 2 him to participate in the election and has thus preferred this Special Leave Petition contending inter alia that permitting filing of nomination is meaningless if he is not allowed to campaign and canvass.

6. It is important to note here that right to campaign or canvass is neither a fundamental right nor a constitutional or a human right. It is not even a right recognized under any statute. However, the petitioner is an Indian citizen and we are conscious that his rights as a citizen are to be protected. Nonetheless, the involvement of the petitioner in as many as eleven cases including the present one, one pertaining to PMLA and nine in relation to Delhi riots of 2020, dilutes and erodes his position as a law-abiding citizen.

7. The allegations against the petitioner in the present case are not only in connection with the rioting but also of the murder of the official of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. The allegations made against the petitioner, if considered cumulatively along with the chargesheet which has been submitted on 02.06.2020 reveals the seriousness of the charges levelled against the petitioner. The allegations against the petitioner are also to the effect that his house/office was 3 being used as the epicenter for the commission of the aforesaid offences in which murder of one Ankit Sharma is a sequel. On the rooftop of petitioner’s house/building objects like stones, bricks, petrol bombs, acid drums etc. were recovered which were used during the riots, as per material on record. It has come on record in the order impugned that many material witnesses, especially in connection with the present FIR No. 65 of 2020 are yet to be examined.

8. In the aforesaid facts and circumstances and keeping in mind the submissions of Sh. Siddharth Aggarwal, learned senior counsel for the petitioner, who has limited/confined his arguments to the grant of interim bail only, as the regular bail remains pending for consideration before the High Court, the limited issue before this Court is whether a purpose based interim bail can be granted to contest the election or for canvassing as the petitioner himself is one of the candidates.

9. There is no provision for interim bail under the law but lately it has become an acceptable mode of grant of bail in certain special contingencies.

10. In Arvind Kejriwal vs. Directorate of Enforcement1 this Court quoted with approval from Athar Pervez2 1 (2024) 9 SCC 577 2 2016 SCC OnLine Del 6662 4 case which reads as under:

bail/"interim" suspension of sentence, have been used and accepted as part of legal vocabulary and are well- known expressions. The said terms are used in contradistinction and to distinguish release on regular bail during pendency of trial or appeal till final adjudication. Applications for "interim" suspension or bail are primarily moved and prayed for, when the accused or convict is not entitled to or cannot be granted regular bail or suspension of sentence, or the application for grant of regular bail is pending consideration and is yet to be decided. "Interim" bail entailing temporary release can be granted under compelling circumstances and grounds, even when regular bail would not be justified. Intolerable grief and suffering in the given facts, may justify temporary release, even when regular bail is not warranted. Such situations are not difficult to recount, though making a catalogue would be an unnecessary exercise."

11. The reasons and factors whereunder interim bail may be permitted may include cases where there is death in the family of the accused and the cremation has to take place; to attend the wedding of son/daughter or of any close relative of the accused but such a right has not been recognized on the plea of contesting or canvassing for the election.

12. In the event interim bail is made permissible on the ground of contesting elections, it will open a Pandora’s box inasmuch as in this country election in some form takes place throughout the year and the accused persons in jail may take undue benefit 5 of it and even if they are not serious in contesting elections, they would move interim bail application for the purposes of participating in the election knowing fully well they are likely to lose or are not serious contenders. This will open a flood gate of litigation which ought not to be permitted so as to widen the scope of grant of interim bail, more particularly when the regular bail application is pending consideration.

13. Secondly, if right to participate, canvassing and contesting in election is allowed to be treated as a ground for interim bail, then the necessary sequel of the same would be that the accused person ought to be allowed to vote in the election as well. Such a sequel would be in conflict with the provision Section 62(5) of the Representation of People Act, 1951 which circumscribe the right to vote by laying down that no person shall vote in any election, if he is confined in a prison or is in lawful custody of the police. The grant of interim bail for contesting elections would mean permitting the accused to cast his/her vote, which would be antithesis to the provisions of Section 62(5) of the Representation of People Act, 1951.

14. In the case of Anukul Chandra Pradhan, Advocate Supreme Court Vs. Union of India and Ors.: 1997 (6) 6 SCC 1, the three Judges Bench of this Court has observed as under:

15. One of the basic submissions of Sh. Siddharth Aggarwal is that permitting filing of nomination alone is of no use unless the person is allowed to 7 campaign and canvass. The argument appears to be attractive, but, has no force.

16. Canvassing in an election can be done in many ways such as through newspapers, social media, pamphlets, writing letters and it is not necessary that it should be in the physical form such as by holding meetings and by personal contact. Permitting the petitioner to be released on interim bail for the purpose of canvassing would amount to permitting the petitioner to hold meetings and to undertake door to door canvassing. This would necessarily involve interaction of the petitioner with the people of the locality on personal basis. Since, the incident mentioned in the FIR took place in the locality from where the petitioner is contesting, if the petitioner is permitted to move around freely, there is a very high possibility of his tampering with the witnesses who are or local people living in that locality alone.

17. The argument that the petitioner is entitled to interim bail on the ground that he has suffered long incarceration for around four years and that despite submission of chargesheet way back on 20.06.2020 itself, the trial has not progressed and very few witnesses till date have been examined, is of no assistance for the petitioner for seeking interim bail. The said argument may be appreciated better 8 while considering the regular bail, but not an interim bail which is limited only to the ground whether he should be allowed to be released temporarily for the purpose of contesting or participating in the election.

18. This apart, the thrust of the argument is that an interim bail for canvassing is necessary for effectively contesting the election. It is well known that a person contesting election has to nurture his constituency for years together and canvassing for ten or fifteen days would not suffice the purpose. If he has earned a good reputation and his services are recognized by the people, the canvassing in the last days would not be very material. It is also well accepted that a large number of people in the past have contested elections sitting behind the bars and they have won without being released for the purposes of canvassing. Therefore, there is no special circumstance in the case of the petitioner to grant him interim bail for that purpose. Most of the times, the campaigning is done by the party or its workers and if one person in the party or the leader or even the candidate is debarred from canvassing, it does not in any way affect the legal right.

19. Reliance placed upon the decision of this Court in 9 the case of Arvind Kejriwal (supra) cuts no ice inasmuch as it is distinguishable on facts. There the petitioner was holding the post of Chief Minister and was the President of a national party and therefore, the Court opined that he is one of the main campaigners, which is not the situation in the case at hand.

20. It may not be out of context to mention that the petitioner is in jail not only in connection with the case at hand i.e., FIR No. 65 of 2020 but also in two other cases, including a PMLA case, and a case arising out of FIR No. 59 of 2020. In those two cases, the petitioner has not been granted bail. His bail application/interim bail application in those cases are pending in different courts but the fact remains that he is not on bail in those two cases, meaning thereby that even if the petitioner is granted interim bail in the present case, he would not be out of prison for the purpose of canvassing and campaigning. Therefore, the entire exercise in this regard will prove to be academic and futile in nature.

21. It is high time that the citizens of India deserve a clean India, which means clean politics as well and for the said purpose, it is necessary that people with tainted image, especially those who are in custody and had not been granted bail and those who 10 are undertrial, even if out of jail, be restricted in some way or the other from participating in the election. The people of India should be given a choice to elect people with clean image and antecedents.

22. In the case at hand, as stated earlier, the Court is confined as to whether interim bail for the purposes of election ought to be allowed or not. The petitioner, on the ground of his long custody or the trial not being completed for long, may argue for regular bail but that is not the subject-matter for consideration before this Court today. We do not intend to usurp the jurisdiction of the High Court, where the regular bail of the petitioner is pending consideration.

23. In the facts and circumstances of the case, long incarceration of the petitioner or the fact that some of the other co-accused have been released on bail or that upon evidence, the entire case of prosecution will fall to the ground are not relevant, and therefore, I am of the opinion that the High Court has not committed any error of law in exercising its decision in refusing the interim bail to the petitioner and permitting him only custodial parole for the purposes of subscribing oath and filing of his nomination papers.

24. In simple words, interim bail is not permissible for 11 the purposes of contesting elections, much less for campaigning.

25. In this view of the matter no case is made out for any indulgence in exercise of discretionary power of this Court under Article 136 of the Constitution of India and the Special Leave Petition is dismissed with liberty to the petitioner to pursue his regular bail application before the High Court where he may seek an advancement of the date of hearing fixed in the matter concerned, if so advised.

26. The Special Leave Petition is dismissed as aforesaid.

…………………………………………………...J. [PANKAJ MITHAL] NEW DELHI;

JANUARY 22, 2025.

REPORTABLE IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA EXTRAORDINARY JURISDICTION SPECIAL LEAVE PETITION (CRIMINAL) NO.856 OF 2025 MOHD. TAHIR HUSSAIN …PETITIONER(S) VERSUS STATE OF NCT OF DELHI …RESPONDENT(S) JUDGMENT AHSANUDDIN AMANULLAH, J.

1. With great reverence for the erudite opinion expressed by learned Brother Pankaj Mithal, J., I express my inability to concur therewith.

2. The factual matrix has been noted by Brother Mithal. I see no need to repeat the same, except to refer thereto where required.

3. The Petitioner seeks interim bail to contest in and canvass for the upcoming General Elections to the Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. The Petitioner is an accused in cases relating to the unfortunate riots that took place in Delhi in February/March, 2020. It is averred that 2 except for three cases i.e., 2 FIR 1s (including the present one) and ECIR2 No.05/STF/2020, the Petitioner has secured bail in all the other cases, whereas one FIR has been quashed by the Delhi High Court.

4. The Petitioner approached the High Court which granted ‘Custody Parole for subscribing the Oath and to complete the formalities in respect of filing his Nomination Papers’, subject to conditions as enumerated in the Impugned Judgment 3.

5. It is clear that the Petitioner has been permitted to file his nomination and, consequent thereof, contest in the Election. Therefore, what this Court is required to consider as to whether or not, in the attendant facts and circumstances, he can be granted interim bail to campaign/canvass.

6. The contours on which to examine the grant of bail are no longer res integra. I may gainfully refer to State of Haryana v Dharamraj , 2023 SCC OnLine SC 1085, where this Court cancelled the grant of anticipatory bail to an accused by the Punjab and Haryana High Court, but revisited the precedents on grant/cancellation of bail as under:

Rajesh Ranjan, (2004) 7 SCC 528. In Prasanta Kumar Sarkar v. Ashis Chatterjee , (2010) 14 SCC 496, the relevant principles were restated thus:

More so, when an order of pre-arrest bail already stands granted by the High Court.

12. Yet, much like bail, the grant of anticipatory bail is to be exercised with judicial discretion. The factors illustrated by this Court through its pronouncements are illustrative, and not exhaustive. Undoubtedly, the fate of each case turns on its own facts and merits. In Vipan Kumar Dhir v. State of Punjab , (2021) 15 SCC 518, taking note of Dolat Ram (supra) and X v. State of 4 Telangana (supra), the Court cancelled the anticipatory bail granted to the accused therein. Keeping all the aforesaid in mind, we turn our attention to the facts in praesenti.’ (emphasis supplied)

7. I consciously refrain from discussing in detail the evidence or my view thereon, following, inter alia, Niranjan Singh v Prabhakar Rajaram Kharote , (1980) 2 SCC 559; Vilas Pandurang Pawar v State of Maharashtra , (2012) 8 SCC 795, and; Manik Madhukar Sarve v Vitthal Damuji Meher, (2024) 10 SCC 753. However, in view of the elaborate submissions advanced at the Bar, reference somewhat to the materials on record is necessitated.

8. Yet, before forming an opinion as to whether the prayer for grant of interim bail, for the purpose presently sought for i.e., to campaign for the Election for which his Nomination Papers stand submitted, can be granted, this Court would have to go into the broader merits of the case, subject to the caveat afore- recorded.

THE PETITIONER’S SUBMISSIONS:

9. Mr. Siddharth Aggarwal, learned senior counsel appearing for the Petitioner has submitted that he would be confining himself, at this stage, to attempting to persuade the Court as to whether in the particular facts and circumstances, the Petitioner would, due to the non-grant of interim bail, be seriously prejudiced and his Fundamental Rights as a citizen under the Constitution of India would also be compromised if 5 he only takes part in the Election as a formality, inasmuch as even after filing his Nomination Papers and being declared fit to contest, he would not be allowed to connect with the people of the constituency concerned, and to satisfy the electorate as to why he should be elected.

10. The thrust of Mr. Aggarwal’s argument was that the Petitioner has been in custody for almost 5 years now (reckoned from March, 2020) which is a long period and the democratic process requires that a candidate should go before the electorate from whom he seeks votes to represent them in the body for which elections are going to be held.

11. It was submitted that the Petitioner had an unblemished record as a Ward Councillor and only because of the unfortunate incidents which took place in February/March, 2020, the Petitioner due to certain circumstances was named as an accused in as many as 11 FIRs, out of which in 8, he has been granted bail. What remains are the instant case and two other cases, including one under the Prevention of Money- Laundering Act, 2002 (hereinafter referred to as ‘PMLA’). It was submitted that in all the cases, the basic allegation is that the Petitioner was chiefly an instigator and that he may be the person who was also instrumental in logistics for the rioters. However, on identical facts, in the 8 other cases, the Petitioner has been granted bail and in the remaining cases, his applications for interim bail as well as regular bail are still pending, without having been finally considered on merits.

12. Learned senior counsel submitted that under law, the right of 6 an accused to bail is almost crystallized, in the event that the prosecution fails to discharge its onus of facilitating a fair and speedy trial, which is glaring in the present case. He submitted that in the present case, there are five named Chargesheet prosecution eye-witnesses, out of which four have already been examined but the fifth witness is yet to be examined and the ground is that the said witness has been out of Delhi on the various dates fixed in the trial. It was next submitted that the Chargesheet was filed/submitted on 02.07.2020 and now, almost five years have passed. Mr. Aggarwal’s submission was that without blaming anybody for such situation, including a systemic failure, there is no real probability of the trial being concluded in the near future. Asserting that the Petitioner’s rights cannot be curtailed in this way, he urged the Court to consider as to whether the Petitioner deserves to be enlarged on bail even otherwise, albeit without fully going into the merits.

13. It was submitted even under specific laws, where there are prohibitions for grant of bail, unless the Court is satisfied that there is no chance of the petitioner being convicted and/or it would not otherwise be against public interest, the Courts have held that the same would not apply in case of granting provisional bail. It was submitted that such proposition has been dealt with at Paragraphs 12 and 13 in Arvind Kejriwal v Directorate of Enforcement , 2024 (9) SCC 5774. Further, it 4 ‘12.Athar Pervez v. State (NCT of Delhi) [Athar Pervez v. State (NCT of Delhi), 2016 SCC OnLine Del 6662] , a judgment of the Delhi High Court authored by one of us (Sanjiv Khanna, J.), on the power to grant interim bail in cases registered under the NDPS Act , in addition to the judgments noted, refers to Siddharam Satlingappa Mhetre v. State of Maharashtra [Siddharam Satlingappa Mhetre v. State of Maharashtra, (2011) 1 SCC 694 : (2011) 1 SCC (Cri) 514] , which decision leans on the Constitution Bench judgment in Gurbaksh Singh Sibbia v. State of Punjab [Gurbaksh Singh Sibbia v. State of Punjab, (1980) 2 SCC 565 : 1980 SCC (Cri) 465] , and Central Inland Water Transport Corpn. v. Brojo Nath Ganguly [Central Inland Water Transport Corpn. v. Brojo Nath Ganguly, (1986) 3 SCC 156 : 7

14. However, learned Senior Counsel took the Court through the Chargesheet, the reading whereof would indicate that (i) the Petitioner made repeated calls to the Police Control Room, (ii) the police arrived late at the spot, and; (iii) the Petitioner’s house was the sole house which was not vandalised. He submitted that even as per the materials, some incriminating articles have been recovered from the Petitioner’s house but that would not prove that the Petitioner was the mastermind of the entire plot, as was the version of the prosecution. Otherwise, advanced the learned senior counsel, in a regular case, the Courts have always granted bail to the accused within a few months of incarceration. It was contended that the materials which have been recovered would not disentitle the Petitioner from favourable consideration for release on bail. 1986 SCC (L&S) 429] , and observes : (Athar Pervez case [ Athar Pervez v. State (NCT of Delhi ), 2016 SCC OnLine Del 6662] , SCC OnLine Del para 20) “20. The expression “interim” bail is not defined in the Code. It is an innovation by legal neologism which has gained acceptance and recognition. The terms, “interim” bail/“interim” suspension of sentence, have been used and accepted as part of legal vocabulary and are well-known expressions. The said terms are used in contradistinction and to distinguish release on regular bail during pendency of trial or appeal till final adjudication. Applications for “interim” suspension or bail are primarily moved and prayed for, when the accused or convict is not entitled to or cannot be granted regular bail or suspension of sentence, or the application for grant of regular bail is pending consideration and is yet to be decided. “Interim” bail entailing temporary release can be granted under compelling circumstances and grounds, even when regular bail would not be justified. Intolerable grief and suffering in the given facts, may justify temporary release, even when regular bail is not warranted. Such situations are not difficult to recount, though making a catalogue would be an unnecessary exercise.”

13. Power to grant interim bail is commonly exercised in a number of cases. Interim bail is granted in the facts of each case. This case is not an exception.’ 8

15. It was submitted that almost five years of incarceration have rendered the Petitioner out of society and there has been no contact with the electorate and thus, it is all the more reasonable and fair that the Petitioner should get a chance for whatever few days remain for the Election, such that he can attempt to convince the electorate to exercise their franchise in his favour. Moreover, it was submitted that the Petitioner’s conduct otherwise, prior to the date of the FIRs has remained unquestioned. There are no indications that he is a hardened criminal, for within a few days of the unfortunate incident(s), he was incarcerated. Learned senior counsel stated that prior in time to the riots, there is no allegation of the Petitioner being a member of or otherwise being involved with any organized gang. Attention was also drawn to the observations made on the Petitioner’s role by the High Court/Trial Court in the orders which granted him bail.

16. Learned senior counsel submitted that he is tempted, in the above backdrop, to also go into the main merits, but being conscious that the present petition is only for an interim bail, that too, for a specific purpose, he refrains from the same. He submits that his case for regular bail is pending before the High Court, wherein the next date for hearing fixed is 20.02.2025. It was informed in the pending two cases also, the bail applications are next fixed on dates after conclusion of the elections.

THE RESPONDENT’S REPLY:

‘62. Right to vote.—(1) No person who is not, and except as expressly provided by this Act, every person who is, for the time being entered in the electoral roll of any constituency shall be entitled to vote in that constituency. (2) No person shall vote at an election in any constituency if he is subject to any of the disqualifications referred to in Section 16 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 (43 of 1950). (3) No person shall vote at a general election in more than one constituency of the same class, and if a person votes in more than one such constituency, his votes in all such constituencies shall be void. (4) No person shall at any election vote in the same constituency more than once, notwithstanding that his name may have been registered in the electoral roll for that constituency more than once, and if he does so vote, all his votes in that constituency shall be void.

(5) No person shall vote at any election if he is confined in a prison, whether under a sentence of imprisonment or transportation or otherwise, or is in the lawful custody of the police: 10

Moreover, it was submitted that in the larger picture, the Court would also consider as to whether inference in the present case would lead to a precedent where similarly-situated convicts/undertrial prisoners, just to get out of jail, may stand in any election. Learned ASG expressed an apprehension that given the position in our country, where elections are held at regular intervals somewhere or the other, chances of misuse of an order of interim bail in the present case, are real and not imaginary. It was submitted that if the Petitioner is so confident of his work and position in society, he would not be required to physically canvass and if at all, he is the choice of the electorate, the electorate would be wise enough and vote for him, and then the consequences may follow. Learned ASG has also taken us through various judgments in support of the proposition that the statute prohibits the grant of bail in like cases. Additionally, it was submitted that the present petition Provided that nothing in this sub-section shall apply to a person subjected to preventive detention under any law for the time being in force:

Recognised as a State Party in Telangana by the ECI. 12

Kejriwal (supra) ‘was passed, as the matter was sub judice and for the reasons set out in paragraphs 7, 8 and 15 of the said order.’ It was advanced that, in essence, the appellant therein occupied the positions of President of a National Party and Chief Minister.

REJOINDER BY THE PETITIONER:

accused are already on bail, including two of the main assailants, who as per two eye-witnesses, were the persons who had actually killed the deceased. On the aspect of recovery of articles, the submission was that they relate to other cases, where the Petitioner is already on bail. Qua the PMLA case, it was submitted that out of the prescribed maximum sentence of 7 years, the Petitioner has undergone approximately 4 years and 5 months behind bars, and as such, would be entitled to the benefit of Section 436-A 9 of the Code 9 ‘436-A. Maximum period for which an undertrial prisoner can be detained.—Where a person has, during the period of investigation, inquiry or trial under this Code of an offence under any law (not being an offence for which the punishment of death has been specified as one of the punishments under that law) undergone detention for a period extending up to one-half of the maximum period of imprisonment specified for that offence under that law, he shall be released by the Court on his personal bond with or without sureties: 13

Pertinently, Najeeb (supra), rendered by a Bench of 3-Judges, was distinguished by a 2-Judge Bench in Gurwinder Singh v Provided that the Court may, after hearing the Public Prosecutor and for reasons to be recorded by it in writing, order the continued detention of such person for a period longer than one-half of the said period or release him on bail instead of the personal bond with or without sureties:

undertrial under Article 21of the Constitution of India has been infringed. In that event, such statutory restrictions would not come in the way. Even in the case of interpretation of a penal statute, howsoever stringent it may be, a constitutional court has to lean in favour of constitutionalism and the rule of law of which liberty is an intrinsic part. In the given facts of a particular case, a constitutional court may decline to grant bail. But it would be very wrong to say that under a particular statute, bail cannot be granted. It would run counter to the very grain of our constitutional jurisprudence. In any view of the matter, K.A. Najeeb [Union of India v. K.A. Najeeb, (2021) 3 SCC 713] being rendered by a three-Judge Bench is binding on a Bench of two Judges like us.’ (emphasis supplied) 12 ‘18. Adverting to the case at hand, we are conscious of the fact that the charges levelled against the respondent are grave and a serious threat to societal harmony. Had it been a case at the threshold, we would have outrightly turned down the respondent's prayer. However, keeping in mind the length of the period spent by him in custody and the unlikelihood of the trial being completed anytime soon, the High Court appears to have been left with no other option except to grant bail. An attempt has been made to strike a balance between the appellant's right to lead evidence of its choice and establish the charges beyond any doubt and simultaneously the respondent's rights guaranteed under Part III of our Constitution have been well protected.’ (emphasis supplied) 13 ‘14. Equality before law.—The State shall not deny to any person equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws within the territory of India.’ 14 ‘21. Protection of life and personal liberty.—No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law.’ 15 Constitution of India cannot be lost sight of. As on date, no Court of Law has convicted the Petitioner. The following passage from Javed Gulam Nabi Shaikh (supra) is attracted squarely:

Needless to state, observations made are only on the issue which arose for determination.

situated or not, may seek to (mis)use this Judgment, is not unjustified.

35. I would therefore, necessarily, insert the caveat that this Judgment has been passed in facts and circumstances specific to this case. Were any litigant, in futuro, to cite this in a later case, I am sure the Court concerned would examine such case on its merits and on its own factual prism. When any court is called upon to apply and/or follow precedent, it is for that court to examine whether or not the precedent is attracted in that particular case. It would not be out of place to recall the 18 following passage from Sanjay Dubey v State of Madhya Pradesh , 2023 SCC OnLine SC 610:

…………………………………………………...J. [PANKAJ MITHAL] …………………………………………………...J. [AHSANUDDIN AMANULLAH] NEW DELHI;

JANUARY 22, 2025.