Motor Vehicle Accident Claim – Contributory Negligence – Equal Apportionment – Modified – The High Court had found 70% negligence on the deceased car driver based on FIR and sketch evidence – The Supreme Court found FIR unreliable as it was based solely on the lorry driver’s version and no further investigation was conducted – Statement of PW-1 under Secti...
Civil Law - Competing Wills – Registered vs. Unregistered – Suspicious Circumstances – Registered Will Upheld – Plaintiffs relied on registered Will dated 09.06.2000, proved through attesting witness and scribe's record – Defendant relied on unregistered Will dated 07.08.2004 – High Court held that propounder failed to explain suspicious circumstances includ...
Waqf Law – Jurisdiction Over Waqf Property – Commission of Inquiry Lacks Authority – Writ Petitions Allowed – Petitioners challenged the Kerala Government’s order appointing a Commission of Inquiry under the Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1952, to investigate ownership claims over a property declared as waqf – Held: Waqf Board has exclusive jurisdiction to determin...
Railway Accident Claims – Burden to Prove Bona Fide Travel – Claim Rejected – Appeal Dismissed - The appellant claimed compensation for death of his son allegedly caused by falling from Train No. 12506 (North East Express) near Banhai Station – Tribunal found no eyewitnesses or evidence of ticket purchase or boarding – Held: Without proof of bona fide travel or untowa...
Civil Writ - Service Law - Retiral Benefits – Withholding Due to Pending Criminal Proceedings – Criminal Case Abated – No Disciplinary Action Initiated – Held Arbitrary - The deceased teacher was accused of misappropriating ₹4,00,000 but no disciplinary proceeding was initiated and the criminal case abated due to his death – Held: Retiral benefits cannot be withheld...
Income Tax Law - Business Loss and Commercial Expediency – Deduction for Expenditure on Group Company – Permitted – Appellant incurred Rs.200.47 lakh in deposits and interest and Rs.49.18 lakh as expenses in connection with its group company MMC – Court held that these were for commercial expediency to protect reputation and business continuity – Following earlier dec...
Civil Law - Minor’s Property – Sale Without Court Permission – Sale Partly Void – Plaintiffs, minors at the time of the sale, challenged the sale deed executed by their father without court permission for their undivided 2/3rd share in inherited property – Held: As per Section 8 of the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, such alienation without court sanction is void...
Civil Law - Specific Relief – Restoration of Possession – Possession Proven – Ownership Irrelevant – Trial Court rightly decreed suit under Section 6 where plaintiffs (widow and children of deceased son) proved possession and illegal dispossession – Held: Title is immaterial under Section 6 – Possession alone suffices, and oral family settlement defence lacked c...
Election Law – Defective Copy of Petition – No Fatal Defect – Application Rejected – Respondent claimed that absence of Oath Commissioner’s signatures on each page of Election Petition violated Section 81(3) – Court held: substantial compliance suffices; no prejudice shown; petition not liable to be dismissed on this ground [Paras 5–6].
Material Facts &...
Guardianship – Custody of Minor – Welfare of Child Paramount – Declaration of Guardian – The Court held that despite the natural guardianship rights of grandparents, the welfare of the minor remains paramount – The Court found that Master Yohan had developed a strong emotional bond with Respondent, his deceased father’s fiancée, who had cared for him sinc...