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...
Civil Law - Assigned Land – Applicability of A.P. Assigned Lands Act, 1977 – Distinction Based on Date of Assignment – Land assigned before 18.06.1954 not governed by the Act – Held: Land admeasuring Ac.2.48 cents assigned in 1946 falls outside the ambit of the Act, while Ac.0.29 cents assigned in 1955 is covered – Resumption by authorities held without jurisdiction f...
Service Law – Departmental Appeal – Punishment Enhanced Without Notice – Order Set Aside – Petitioner, a police officer, was initially punished with forfeiture of two increments after an incident involving a minor—Home Secretary enhanced punishment to reduction in rank without issuing notice – Held: Enhancement of penalty without show cause notice violates Rule ...
Civil Law – Tenancy Law - Summary Judgment – Admitted Tenancy and Arrears – Partial Decree Upheld – The appellant, a tenant under a registered lease, admitted the landlord-tenant relationship and rent arrears since 01.03.2018 – The Commercial Court granted partial decree for possession and rent recovery without trial, applying Order XIIIA CPC – Held: Summary jud...
Contract Law – Forfeiture of Advance Money – Advance Deemed Earnest – Valid Forfeiture – Despite being labelled as "advance money", the Rs. 20 lakh paid at the time of execution of the sale agreement functioned as earnest money—It served as a guarantee for performance, was paid upfront, and explicitly liable for forfeiture in case of purchaser’s defaul...
Service Law - Promotion – Disqualification Due to Expunged Punishment – Consideration Mandated – The appellant, a police constable, was denied consideration for promotion to Sub-Inspector in 2019 under the departmental quota on the ground of a past punishment imposed in 2005 – However, the punishment was set aside in 2009 and the criminal case also ended in acquittal &ndash...
Civil Law - Will – Proof of Execution – Attestation Requirements – Will Upheld – Plaintiffs, daughters of Sadhu Singh, challenged a registered Will dated 17.11.1976 executed by Chanan Singh in favour of his nephews Kashmir Singh and Sukhdev Singh – Trial Court and Appellate Court discarded the Will on grounds of suspicious circumstances – Held: Defendants proved...
Civil Law - Specific Performance – Readiness and Willingness – Section 16(c) of Specific Relief Act – Specific Performance Denied - Trial Court dismissed relief of specific performance granting alternate relief of refund of earnest money – Lower Appellate Court reversed Trial Court, decreeing specific performance in favour of plaintiff – High Court held that the plain...
Partition Suit – Unregistered Partition Deed – Held Inadmissible – Plaintiffs relied on Ex.P1 alleged to be a memorandum of oral partition – Trial and Appellate Courts held Ex.P1 to be a partition deed in presenti requiring compulsory registration under Section 17 of the Registration Act – Ex.P1 being unregistered was rightly held inadmissible – Courts below cor...
Civil Law - Partition Suit – Rejection of Plaint under Order VII Rule 11 – Set Aside – Trial Court dismissed suit as barred by limitation due to 1978 relinquishment entry – High Court held that the plaint disclosed triable issues regarding forgery and lack of notice under Section 135(d) Gujarat Land Revenue Code – Rejection of plaint held improper as limitation was a ...