Service Law – Coast Guard Officers – Superannuation Age – Rule 20(1) and (2) of 1986 Rules Struck Down – Discrimination Unjustified – Petitioners challenged constitutionality of differential retirement ages: 57 years for officers of rank of Commandant and below, and 60 for senior ranks – Held: All officers are similarly situated within the same force – No ...
Property Law – Self-Acquired Property – Female Hindu – Title Dispute – Appeal by plaintiff claiming exclusive ownership over suit land purchased in 1963 – Plaintiff contended that sons (Defendants No.2 and 3) fraudulently mutated their names in revenue records and sold the property to Defendant No.1 – Trial Court and First Appellate Court dismissed the suit &nda...
Writ Petition – Suppression of Material Facts – Abuse of Process – Clean Hands Doctrine – Petitioners challenged 33KV transmission line being laid through residential area citing safety concerns and violations of Indian Electricity Rules – However, petitioners failed to disclose ongoing civil suit on identical subject matter with interim relief already granted by Tria...
Civil Law – Rejection of Plaint – Order 7 Rule 11 CPC – Non-payment of Sale Consideration – Plaintiff transferred property by registered sale deed but claimed that consideration was unpaid and sought cancellation of deed and injunction – Trial court held that non-payment does not invalidate a completed sale – Appellate Court affirmed rejection of plaint – ...
Rent Law – Fair Rent Fixation – Retrospective Operation – Equitable Relief – Arrears – Tenant Surrender – Delay in Proceedings – Tenant cannot be burdened with arrears at newly fixed fair rent retrospectively from 2013 when rent control proceedings prolonged for over a decade – Appellate Court had fixed Rs.32,000/month with 5% annual increase from 20...
Civil Procedure – Partition Suit – Lis Pendens – Second Appeal filed by the 12th defendant, a lis pendens purchaser of item No.6 of suit property – Trial court excluded purchased portion from partition – Lower appellate court reversed the finding, holding that lis pendens purchaser’s rights are subject to outcome of suit – Held: Lis pendens purchaser canno...
Matrimonial Law – Divorce on Ground of Cruelty – Remand – Respondent-husband’s divorce petition was initially dismissed by the trial court – High Court reversed the finding and granted divorce on ground of cruelty based solely on oral testimony of the husband – Supreme Court found that the High Court failed to consider key questions including whether the appella...
Arbitration – Section 8 Referral – Prima Facie Standard – Alleged Forgery of Arbitration Agreement – Commercial Court exceeded jurisdiction by undertaking detailed evidence review – Allegations of fraud/forgery in contracts between parties do not bar arbitration – Formal validity under Section 7 satisfied – Substantive validity to be examined by Arbitral T...
Slum Areas – De-notification of Acquired Land – Legality – Petitioner’s land declared as slum in 1976 and later acquired under Section 17 of the Karnataka Slum Areas Act – Respondents issued possession certificates and began rehabilitation projects – State later de-notified the land citing financial burden and lack of finance department approval – Held: On...
Election Law – Impleadment in Interlocutory Applications – Application by respondent No.1 in election petition seeking impleadment of respondent No.2 as opposite party in three pending IAs relating to dismissal of election petition – Held: Election petitioner had not claimed any relief against respondent No.2 – Respondent No.2 neither a necessary nor proper party ...