J.J.Merchant vs S.N.Chaturvedi & Anr

The Supreme Court held that the requirement of hearing the accused before granting leave to appeal under Section 378(4) IPC is not mandatory, as the law only necessitates their hearing at the final hearing stage. The Court found that the High Court had not properly served the respondents before granting leave, which raised procedural concerns. However, the Court ultimately decided to dispose of the appeals based on the facts without delving into the legal question of the necessity of hearing at the leave stage.