Hyderabad: Supreme Court judge Justice Mohan M Shantanagoudar died at a private hospital in Gurugram at the age of 62 on April 24. Justice Shantanagoudar was admitted to the Medanta hospital due to a lung infection and was in the ICU.
The Supreme Court on April 26 suspended its judicial work for the day after paying homage.
On his first working day, newly-appointed Chief Justice N V Ramana led the condolence meet in the apex court premises and was joined by seven other judges, who were to hold court on Monday.
Elevated to the Supreme Court in February 2017, he had a tenure till May 5, 2023. Before his elevation to the Supreme Court, he was the Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court. His parent High Court was Karnataka High Court.
Read:SC suspends day's judicial work after paying homage to Justice Shantanagoudar
Justice Shantanagoudar has left his mark through several notable judgments delivered during his term at the Supreme Court.
Within one year of becoming a Supreme Court judge, Justice Shantanagoudar made his presence felt with his dissent in the Indore Development Authority case, which dealt with Section 24 of the new land acquisition law.
Justice Shantanagoudar was prolific in authoring judgments and has settled several substantial questions of law.
Noteworthy Judgements of Justice Shantanagouda
Guidelines issued for safe custody in bank lockers
In a recently delivered judgment, Justice Shantanagoudar-led bench issued a slew of guidelines for ensuring safe custody of valuables in bank lockers in the case of Amitabha Dasgupta vs. United Bank of India.
In a judgment having the effect of encouraging private settlement of disputes, Justice Shantanagoudar-led bench recently held that parties who settle their cases through private mediation, outside the modes contemplated under Section 89 of the Civil Procedure Code, are also entitled to get refund of court fees
Court should inform accused of right to default bail when it accrues
The judgment authored by Justice Shantanagoudar (while being part of a bench led by Justice UU Lalit and including Justice Vineet Saran) which held that the magistrates have the obligation to inform an accused of his right to avail default bail when it accrues is significant for its concern shown for personal liberty.
Farmer entitled to file consumer complaint against seed company
Justice Shantanagoudar had authored the landmark judgment which held that a farmer was entitled to file a consumer complaint against a seed company for deficiency of service in the case M/s Nandan Biomatrix Ltd v S Ambika Devi.
The judgment held that farmer's buying of seed cannot be held as a commercial purpose. He also made certain pertinent remarks regarding the hardships faced by farmers and the tendency of big corporates to exploit them.
Personal Liberty
In yet another judgment evoking concerns for personal liberty, Justice Shantanagoudar-led bench ruled that courts must not punish an accused if he has no legal representation.The judgment held that when an accused is unrepresented before a Court, it has to either appoint an Amicus curiae or to refer the matter to the Legal Services Committee requesting it to appoint an advocate(Case : Shaik Mukhtar v State of Andhra Pradesh).
Hotels cannot rely on 'owners' risk' clause to escape from liability for theft of vehicle given for valet parking
Justice Shantanagoudar's judgment in Taj Mahal Hotel vs. United India Insurance Company Ltd, shows his propensity to adopt that statutory interpretation which will favour an individual who is pitted against a big and powerful institution. Similar approach was evident in the case of farmer against the seed company.
Hospitals have duty to provide hostel facilities to nurses
Another judgment of Justice Shantanagoudar safeguarding an individual's rights in an establishment is Lilavati Kirtilal Mehta Medical Trust vs. M/S Unique Shanti Developers, which held that the provision of hostel facilities to nurses so as to facilitate better medical care is a positive duty enjoined upon the hospital.
Read:SC judge Justice Mohan M Shantanagoudar dies at Gurugram hospital
A bench headed by Justice Shantanagoudar allowed a habeas corpus petition filed by a man seeking the release of his lover who was detained in a Nari Niketan in Uttar Pradesh against her wishes.
References made to larger bench
Justice Shantanagoudar was part of benches which referred to larger bench important legal issues such as :
Whether reservation claims for public post can be considered after the cut-off date for submission of community certificates
Whether Section 340 of the Code of Criminal Procedure mandates a preliminary inquiry and an opportunity of hearing to the would-be accused before a complaint is made under Section 195 of the Code by a Court?
Can death of complainant without giving evidence can be fatal to the prosecution under Prevention of Corruption Act?
Rooted for diversity, inclusivity; called for fight against bigotry; encouraged rationality and critical thinking.
Justice Mohan Shantanagoudar strongly advocated for preserving the rich diversity of our country, and underlined the need to promote inclusivity and empathy and to fight bigotry and hatred. He was a proponent of rationality and critical thinking.
