Taxation Law - Municipal Property Tax – Mandatory Compliance with Procedural Safeguards – Sections 233 and 539 of the Kerala Municipality Act, 1994 read with the Kerala Municipality (Property Tax, Service Cess and Surcharge) Rules, 2011 – Demand Notices Quashed – The Court held that the demand notices issued by the Municipality for property tax arrears were vitiated for non...
Civil Law – Section 55 of the T.P. Act - Recovery of Sale Consideration – Sale Agreement vs. Sale Deeds – Appeal Dismissed – Plaintiff filed suit claiming balance consideration of ₹1.16 crores alleging that only ₹16 lakhs was paid under a sale agreement – Held: Plaintiff cannot rely on earlier agreement to contradict terms of registered sale deeds; as per Section ...
Taxation Law – Income Tax Act - Reassessment Proceedings – Faceless Assessment – Finance Act, 2021 – Notices Quashed - The petitioners challenged the reassessment notices issued by Jurisdictional Assessing Officers post-01.04.2021 in cases categorized under ‘central charges,’ arguing the illegality of non-faceless proceedings under amended law – The Court ...
Civil Law – Property Purchased After Attachment – Sale Held Void – The appellant challenged the concurrent findings of the Trial Court and First Appellate Court which dismissed his claim to exclude a property purchased after attachment from court auction – The appellant purchased Item No.2 of the schedule property under a registered sale deed after attachment was effected i...
Service Law – Regularization of Casual Workers – Doctrine of Legitimate Expectation – Petition Allowed – Petitioners engaged under Raiganj Municipality on fixed remuneration since 2006 pursuant to formal municipal resolutions—appointments made during absence of recruitment rules—petitioners rendered uninterrupted service for nearly two decades—Court held a...
Civil Law - Title and Recovery of Possession – Section 34 of the Specific Relief Act - Dar Raiyati Interest – Right Not Heritable – Adverse Possession Plea Rejected – The plaintiffs filed suit for declaration of right, title and possession over raiyati land, claiming defendants, recorded as sikmi dakhaldars, had no inheritable rights – Trial Court dismissed the suit r...
Tenancy Law - Eviction Proceedings – Non-payment of Rent – Tenant’s Defence Struck Off – Persistent Default – The petitioners, landlords of a commercial property, sought to strike off the defence of the tenant who defaulted in rent payment from June 2020 onwards – The Trial Court ordered deposit of rent arrears under Order 16 Rule 10 CPC, which was upheld by the...
Civil Writs – Ragging Law - University Discipline – Death of Student Due to Ragging – Disciplinary Action Against Dean and Assistant Warden – Petitions Dismissed – The petitioners, Dean and Assistant Warden of Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, challenged the disciplinary proceedings initiated against them after the death of a student due to ragging &nd...
Civil Law - Dynamic Injunction - Order 39 Rules 1 and 2 and Section 151 of the CPC - Copyright Infringement – Cinematographic Film – Prima Facie Case Established – Plaintiff, a film production house, alleged large-scale online piracy of its film “Kannappa” on platforms including Instagram, Facebook, and X (formerly Twitter) – Allegations supported by over 1776 i...
Civil Law – Fresh Suit – Res Judicata – Section 11 CPC – Relief Barred – Earlier findings upheld - The plaintiff’s challenge based on coercion and misrepresentation regarding the execution of Power of Attorney and subsequent sale deeds was earlier rejected by three courts – The issue now raised was identical and held barred by res judicata under Sect...