Service Law – Compulsory Retirement – Judicial Officer – Validity of Adverse Material Considered – Challenge Rejected - Petitioner, a judicial officer compulsorily retired based on adverse remarks and a censure entry – Contentions regarding uncommunicated vigilance reports and pending representations rejected – Court held that adverse entries and censure, having...
Civil Law - Specific Performance – Absence of Declaratory Relief Challenging Termination – Suit Not Maintainable – Agreement Cancelled - Plaintiff failed to seek a declaration that termination of agreement of sale was illegal – Supreme Court rulings in I.S. Sikandar and Mohinder Kaur applied – Held: In absence of such relief, decree for specific performance not mainta...
Custom Taxation Law - Customs Valuation – Charges to Indian Agent – Part of Assessable Value – Appellant imported shovel spare parts from a foreign supplier through its Indian distributor, Voltas Ltd. – An additional 8% of FOB value was payable to Voltas as engineering and technical service charges – Supreme Court held that these charges were a condition of sale and f...
Service Law - Seniority – Surplus Railway Employees – Fixation at Recruitment Grade – Upheld – Appellants, railway guards transferred from Bhavnagar Division to newly formed Ahmedabad Division due to surplus posts, challenged fixation of their seniority at the bottom of the recruitment grade – Supreme Court upheld Tribunal and High Court rulings applying Paragraph 313...
Child Custody - Facts – Appellant-mother and respondent-father, both professionals, were estranged since 2017—disputes arose over custody of two children aged 8 and 3—mother filed for permanent custody and father sought visitation—Family Court allowed limited access—High Court modified arrangement granting 15 days' interim custody monthly to father with directions...
Motor Accident Compensation – Child Victim – Permanent Disability – Enhancement Denied – The minor victim, aged 4, suffered 55% disability due to below-knee amputation in a bus accident – Tribunal awarded Rs. 20,03,328/- including compensation for loss of future earnings, marriage prospects, pain and suffering – High Court enhanced compensation by Rs. 7 lakhs co...
Civil Writ - Digital Inclusion – Accessibility in Digital KYC – Petition Allowed in Part – Petitioners, including acid attack survivors and a blind individual, challenged the inaccessibility of digital KYC systems requiring blinking or facial recognition, which they could not comply with – Supreme Court emphasized the need for reasonable accommodations under the RPwD Act, a...
Civil Law - Specific Performance – Oral and Written Agreement – Burden of Proof – Dismissal of Suit – The appellant sought specific performance based on an oral agreement and a subsequent written agreement dated 30.08.2000 – The Trial Court found that the oral agreement was not proved due to lack of corroborative evidence and the diary produced (Ex.P/1) lacked evident...
Civil Law – Electronic Evidence – Section 65B Certificate – Admissibility Denied – Court held that electronic evidence, such as a video clip stored on a pen drive, cannot be relied upon unless accompanied by a certificate under Section 65B of the Indian Evidence Act – It rejected the argument that such certificate could be submitted later without leave of the Court &n...
Insurance Claim – Non-Disclosure of Previous Policy – Proposal Form Left Blank – Claim Allowed - Petitioner’s wife died of heart attack; LIC repudiated death claim citing non-disclosure of earlier policy taken three months prior – Proposal form had column for previous policies left blank, allegedly under LIC agent’s advice – Court held: Mere omission in co...