Overview

• The Supreme Court set aside the Allahabad High Court’s May 5 order in a ₹7.23 lakh debt case and remanded it for fresh consideration by a different judge
• Justices Pardiwala and Mahadevan directed the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court to withdraw Justice Prashant Kumar’s criminal roster and assign him to a division bench with a senior judge until retirement
• The apex court branded the High Court’s reasoning as “shocking” and a “travesty of justice” for treating a routine sales transaction under Section 406 IPC as criminal breach of trust
• The judgment reaffirmed the 1968 State of Gujarat vs Jaswantlal Nathalal principle that mere sale transactions do not amount to criminal breach of trust
• The relisting for August 8 has prompted discussion on the Supreme Court’s direct intervention in high court administrative powers under India’s constitutional framework