Taxation Law - Wealth Tax – Urban Land – Building Under Construction – Taxability Upheld - ITAT excluded respondent’s land under construction from wealth tax by relying on Rohini Hotels case – High Court held this reliance misplaced in light of Supreme Court’s later decision in Giridhar G. Yadalam v. CWT which reversed Rohini Hotels – Held: Land with parti...
Arbitration – Commencement of Proceedings – Interpretation of Section 21 of Arbitration Act vis-à-vis Rule 9(4) of Karnataka Rules – Appeal Allowed - Appellants challenged Commercial Court’s order vacating interim injunction for non-initiation of arbitral proceedings within three months under Rule 9(4) – Court held that issuance of notice under Section 21 dated...
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...