orders cannot be explained or supplemented by affidavit

 In Commsr of Police v. Gordhandas Bhanji , AIR 1952 SC 16, the Hon'ble Supreme Court has held

9. An attempt was made by referring to the Commissioner's affidavit to show that this was really an order of cancellation made by him and that the order was his order and not that of the Government. We are clear that public orders, publicly made, in exercise of a statutory authority cannot be construed in the light of explanations subsequently given by the officer making the order of what he meant, or of what was in his mind, or what he intended to do. Public orders made by public authorities are meant to have public effect and are intended to affect the actings and conduct of those to whom they are addressed and must be construed objectively with reference to the language used in the order itself.

 

 In OPTO Circuits (India) Ltd. v. Axis Bank, (2021) 6 SCC 707 , the Hon'ble Supreme Court has reiterated the said law:

12. The action sought to be sustained should be with reference to the ontents of the impugned order/communication and the same cannot be justified by improving the same through the contention raised in the objection statement or affidavit filed before the Court. This has been succinctly laid down by this Court in Mohinder Singh Gill v. Chief Election Commr. [Mohinder Singh Gill v. Chief Election Commr., (1978) 1 SCC 405] as follows : (SCC p. 417, para 8)

"8. The second equally relevant matter is that when a statutory functionary makes an order based on certain grounds, its validity must be judged by the reasons so mentioned and cannot be supplemented by fresh reasons in the shape of affidavit or otherwise. Otherwise, an order bad in the beginning may, by the time it comes to court on account of a challenge, gets validated by additional grounds later brought out. We may here draw attention to the observations of Bose, J. in Gordhandas Bhanji [Commr. of Police v. Gordhandas Bhanji, 1951 SCC 1088] : (SCC p. 1095, para 9)

'9. … public orders, publicly made, in exercise of a statutory authority cannot be construed in the light of explanations subsequently given by the officer making the order of what he meant, or of what was in his mind, or what he intended to do. Public orders made by public authorities are meant to have public effect and are intended to affect the actings and conduct of those to whom they are addressed and must be construed objectively with reference to the language used in the order itself.'

Orders are not like old wine becoming better as they grow older."

  Further, it has been held that "…When an order is passed by a statutory authority, the same must be supported either on the reasons stated therein or on the grounds available therefor in the record. A statutory authority cannot be permitted to support its order relying on or on the basis of the statements made in the affidavit dehors the order or for that matter dehors the records. [Paragraph 24, Hindustan Petroleum Corpn. Ltd. v. Darius Shapur Chenai, (2005) 7 SCC 627]

Abandonment of Plea of abatement

When does an insurance policy become 'effective'

RELIANCE LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY LTD. & ANR. VERSUS JAYA WADHWANI 2024 INSC 10   

Issue: What would be the date from which the policy becomes effective; whether it would be the date on which the policy is issued or the date of the commencement mentioned in the policy or it would be the date of the issuance of the deposit receipt or cover note?

Judgment: Date of issuance of the policy would be the relevant date for all the purposes and not the date of proposal or the date of issuance of the receipt.  

The date of proposal cannot be treated to be the date of policy until and unless on the date of proposal, initial deposit as also the issuance of policy happens on the same date where, for example, the premium is paid in cash then, immediately, the policy could be issued. Merely, tendering a cheque may not be enough as till such time the cheque is encashed, the contract would not become effective. The drawer of the cheque may, at any time, after issuing, stop its payment or there may not be enough funds in the account of which the cheque is issued and there could be many other reasons for which the cheque could be returned without being encashed.

 

Meaning of "Set off"

 BHARTI AIRTEL LIMITED AND ANOTHER VERSUS VIJAYKUMAR V. IYER AND OTHERS,  CIVIL APPEAL NOS. 3088-3089 OF 2020  

4. Set-off is given legal preference for three reasons. First, in economic terms, set-off is a form of security recognised in law. It is, however, not a security in a strict sense, but a right that enhances provision of credit and acts as a stimulus to trade and commerce by giving a degree of confidence to parties dealing with each other. Secondly, it helps reduce litigation, promotes economy of time and is an efficient method in resolving debt between parties. Thirdly, natural equity requires that cross-demands should compensate each other by deducting the lesser sum from the greater  

HC cannot take away discretion of sanctioning authority by directing to grant sanction

Mansukhlal Vithaldas Chauhan v. State of Gujarat, (1997) 7 SCC 622

Cannot supplement or explain or make submissions contrary to what is recorded in judicial order

In State of Maharashtra v. Ramdas Shrinivas Nayak [(1982) 2 SCC 463 : 1982 SCC (Cri) 478 : AIR 1982 SC 1249] this Court observed: (SCC p. 467, para 4)

"4. When we drew the attention of the learned Attorney-General to the concession made before the High Court, Shri A.K. Sen, who appeared for the State of Maharashtra before the High Court and led the arguments for the respondents there and who appeared for Shri Antulay before us intervened and protested that he never made any such concession and invited us to peruse the written submissions made by him in the High Court. We are afraid that we cannot launch into an inquiry as to what transpired in the High Court. It is simply not done. Public policy bars us. Judicial decorum restrains us. Matters of judicial record are unquestionable. They are not open to doubt. Judges cannot be dragged into the arena. 'Judgments cannot be treated as mere counters in the game of litigation.' (Per Lord Atkinson in Somasundaram Chetty v. Subramanian Chetty [AIR 1926 PC 136] .) We are bound to accept the statement of the Judges recorded in their judgment, as to what transpired in court. We cannot allow the statement of the Judges to be contradicted by statements at the Bar or by affidavit and other evidence. If the Judges say in their judgment that something was done, said or admitted before them, that has to be the last word on the subject. The principle is well settled that statements of fact as to what transpired at the hearing, recorded in the judgment of the court, are conclusive of the facts so stated and no one can contradict such statements by affidavit or other evidence. If a party thinks that the happenings in court have been wrongly recorded in a judgment, it is incumbent upon the party, while the matter is still fresh in the minds of the Judges, to call the attention of the very Judges who have made the record to the fact that the statement made with regard to his conduct was a statement that had been made in error (Per Lord Buckmaster in Madhu Sudan Chowdhri v. Chandrabati Chowdhrain [AIR 1917 PC 30 : 21 CWN 897] .) That is the only way to have the record corrected. If no such step is taken, the matter must necessarily end there. Of course a party may resile and an appellate court may permit him in rare and appropriate cases to resile from a concession on the ground that the concession was made on a wrong appreciation of the law and had led to gross injustice; but, he may not call in question the very fact of making the concession as recorded in the judgment."

 

Letter and Spirit both relevant in contempt cases

In Lakshman Prasad Agarwal v. Syed Mohd. Karim, (2020) 17 SCC 826, this Hon'ble Court has held that "The High Court also rejected and, in our view, very correctly the said contention. It is relevant to state here that in a proceeding when an order is passed by the court where the question of compliance or non-compliance of the same arises, not merely the letter of the order but also its spirit is to be understood and the plea of bona fide or genuine belief taken on the part of the contemnor is to be adjudicated on that basis."