Civil Law - Cancellation of a Conditional Gift – Violation of Conditions – Reversion to Donor – The donor gifted land to the Gram Panchayat for construction of a bus stand—Condition stipulated that if not used for the specified purpose, the property would revert—Panchayat attempted to construct a school—Held: Condition violated—Gift stands cancelled—...
Maintainability of Writ – Article 226 – Guild Not Amenable to Writ Jurisdiction – The Court held that the Publishers and Booksellers Guild, being a private society registered under the Societies Registration Act, is not a "State" under Article 12 of the Constitution. The Guild's actions do not qualify as discharging public functions akin to State functions. The even...
Will – Proof and Validity – Dispute over property between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law – Appellant claimed exclusive ownership based on a Will executed by the deceased son – Respondent contested the Will as forged – Trial Court and First Appellate Court found the Will shrouded in suspicious circumstances – Scribe of the Will was a milkman with minimal educa...
Consumer Law - Forfeiture of Earnest Money – Validity of Contractual Clause – Consumer Protection – Earnest Money Deposit Justified – The appellant argued that NCDRC erred in interfering with a contractually agreed forfeiture clause allowing 20% of the Basic Sale Price (BSP) to be forfeited – The Court examined whether the forfeiture clause was reasonable or constitut...
Right to Scribe and Compensatory Time – Extension of Benefits to Persons with Disabilities – Article 14 & RPwD Act, 2016 – The petitioner, diagnosed with Focal Hand Dystonia, sought facilities of a scribe and compensatory time in competitive examinations – The respondents restricted these benefits to only persons with benchmark disabilities (PwBD) – Held: Discrimi...
Arbitration – Limitation of Liability Clause – Clause 49.5 of GCC – Bar on Claim for Damages – Enforceability Upheld – The contract contained a limitation of liability clause (Clause 49.5) that explicitly barred the contractor from claiming damages for employer-caused delays – Held: The appellant had repeatedly invoked Clause 49.5 to seek extensions of time with...
Labour Law – Right to Legal Representation in Domestic Enquiry – Permissibility under Standing Orders – Clause 25(4) of the Model Standing Orders does not provide for engagement of an Advocate as a defence representative – Held: Legal representation is permissible only if the employer is represented by a legally trained mind – Industrial Court’s order allowing a...
Negotiable Instruments – Liability of Drawer – Notice of Dishonour – Recovery of Dues – Plaintiff bank sought recovery of dues from the defendant based on the dishonor of bills and Hundis – Both lower courts dismissed the suit, finding that the bank failed to issue a dishonor notice as required under Section 30 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, and failed to pr...
Limitation – Delay in Filing Appeal – Section 24 of the Abolition of Inams Act, 1955 – Appeals filed after 33 years – Barred by limitation – Appeals against ORCs issued in 1981 and 1991 were filed in 2013 after an abnormal delay of 22 and 33 years – The appellate authority has discretionary power to condone the delay, but the respondents neither filed an applica...
Service Law - Promotion to Sub-Inspector (Civil) – Seniority Determination – Feeder Category Principle – Petitioners contended that their seniority should be reckoned from their initial enlistment as Police Constables in 1989, rather than their promotion as Head Constables—Held: The relevant Rules provide that seniority must be determined within the class or category of ser...