Mines and Minerals – Scope of Coal Bearing Areas Act – Applicability to Worked or Dormant Mines – Notification under Section 4 – Whether Limited to Virgin Land – Held: Act applies not only to virgin land but also to dormant collieries and previously worked mines not actively operated at the time of notification – Notification under Section 4 is not ultra vires m...
Constitutional Law – Article 14 – Equality before Law – Discretion under Section 19 of Slum Areas Act – Challenge on ground of unguided and arbitrary power – Held: Though Section 19(3) does not expressly lay down guidelines, its operation is controlled by the object and purpose of the Act as reflected in the Preamble and operative provisions – Sufficient legisla...
Motor Accident Claim – Minor Claimant – Contributory Negligence – Driving Without Licence – Tribunal reduced compensation from ₹30,000 to ₹12,000 on ground that appellant (aged 17½ years) was not holding a driving licence and thus guilty of contributory negligence – High Court upheld the decision – Held: Mere absence of licence does not automatically ...
Negotiable Instruments – Presumption of Consideration – Burden of Proof – Section 118 of the Negotiable Instruments Act – Rebuttal by Circumstantial Evidence – Held: The statutory presumption under Section 118 that every negotiable instrument or endorsement is made for consideration is rebuttable – The burden initially rests on the plaintiff to prove execution, ...
Arbitration – Applicability of Section 8 – Plaintiffs Not Signatories to Arbitration Agreement – Held: Civil Suit Not Referable to Arbitration – Arbitration Clause Cannot Bind Non-Parties – Plaintiffs, heirs of a deceased partner, challenged validity of reconstituted partnership deed dated 17.2.1992 on ground of fraud and lack of consent by predecessor – Neither...
Arbitration – Decree on Modified Award – Scope under Arbitration Act, 1940 – After an award was filed in court under Section 14(2) of the Arbitration Act, the parties entered into a compromise modifying the award's terms – Court passed a decree incorporating the modified terms – Held: Even though the Arbitration Act limits the court’s power to modify an awar...
Civil Procedure Code – Order 6 Rule 17 – Amendment of pleadings – Defendant sought amendment of written statement in 2004 to introduce agreement of 1982, nearly 18 years after suit filed and at stage when trial had concluded – Trial Court allowed application – High Court reversed – Held: “Due diligence” under proviso requires prompt and reasonable st...
Taxation – Classification – Article 14 – Validity of taxing only Virginia Tobacco – Andhra Act XIV of 1955 amended Section 5 of Madras General Sales Tax Act to impose tax on Virginia tobacco while exempting country tobacco (Nattu tobacco) – Held: Classification based on clear and intelligible differentia such as taste, texture, cultivation, usage, and marketability &n...
Civil Procedure Code, 1908 – Section 11 – Res Judicata – Four partition suits decided by common judgment in 1944 on issue whether sale deed of 1885 by widow Sirtaji in favour of Mata Badal was for legal necessity – In Suit No. 98 (Kurthuwa lands), sale held invalid; appeal dismissed as time-barred in 1945, decree attained finality – In other suits (Nos. 99, 100), appe...
Hindu Marriage Act – Divorce – Grounds of Cruelty and Desertion – Marriage solemnized in 1974, wife allegedly insisted husband live separately from parents, frequently quarrelled, and ultimately deserted matrimonial home in 1984 leaving minor daughter – Husband filed divorce petition in 1992 – Family Court, after detailed evaluation of oral and documentary evidence, g...