Civil Writ - Judicial Review – Answer Keys in Competitive Exams – Limited Interference Permissible – The Court reaffirmed the settled legal principles from Ran Vijay Singh and Shubham Pal cases, holding that Courts should exercise restraint and interfere only when answer keys are palpably and demonstrably wrong – Judicial review is not excluded entirely, but limited to rare...
Service Law - Seniority vs. Qualification – By-Transfer Appointment – Seniority Not Decisive – Although the petitioner (Rajashree A.V) was senior in service, her B.Ed. qualification was in Natural Science, which is not in the same faculty as Sociology – Respondent (Subairabi P.) held B.Ed. in Social Science, which falls under the same faculty as Sociology – Government...
Civil Law – Will - Suspicious Circumstances – Allegations Rejected – Probate Upheld – Appellant raised doubts over timing of execution, non-production of original Will initially, use of different inks, and alleged contradictions in witnesses' evidence – Court held none of the issues raised amounted to real or germane suspicious circumstances – Execution of W...
Civil Law - Territorial Jurisdiction – Re-Presentation of Returned Plaint – Order 7 Rule 10 CPC – Suit Re-registered Without Amendments – Set Aside – A plaint once returned for lack of jurisdiction cannot be re-registered without incorporation of new facts showing jurisdiction – Held: The re-registration of the suit on identical pleadings without any amendment w...
Civil Law - Rejection of Plaint – Cause of Action – Illusory Pleading – Order VII Rule 11 CPC – The plaintiff claimed a 1/3rd share in ancestral property and challenged sale deeds of 1972 and 1975, relying on the dismissal of a prior unrelated civil suit in 2021 as cause of action – Held: The Court found that the alleged cause of action was fictitious and a result of ...
Civil Law - Commercial Suit – Amendment of Plaint – Order 6 Rule 17 CPC – Application Allowed – Amended Pleading – The plaintiff moved an amendment application which was allowed on the same day – It was not clearly recorded whether the defendants opposed or conceded to the amendment – The defendants were granted time to file a written statement to the amen...
Arbitration Law - Arbitral Jurisdiction – Group of Companies Doctrine – Applicability to Non-signatories – Tribunal Empowered – The arbitral tribunal allowed impleadment of ASF Buildtech Pvt. Ltd., a non-signatory, holding it to be a veritable party under the Group of Companies doctrine – Held: An arbitral tribunal has the jurisdiction to decide its own competence und...
Arbitral Award – Modification by Section 34 Court – Not Permissible – Section 34 Does Not Confer Power to Modify – The Court held that the statutory language of Section 34 of the A&C Act permits only “setting aside” of arbitral awards and not “modification,” distinguishing it from appellate jurisdiction under the CPC – The qualitative diffe...
Interest for Delayed Payment – Suit Maintainability – The appellant, a PWD contractor, filed a suit seeking interest for delayed payment of a bill amount for work completed. The trial court decreed interest at 18% per annum, which was reversed by the first appellate court. The High Court held that a suit for interest alone is maintainable under Section 3(1) of the Interest Act, 1978, a...
Electricity Law - Electricity Tariff – Excessive Delegation – Regulation 4.4 of WBERC Tariff Regulations Struck Down – Petition Allowed in Part – Petitioners challenged Regulation 4.4 that permitted licensees to impose “restricted drawal” limits and charge double rates for exceeding them – Held: Regulation confers uncanalised and arbitrary powers on licens...