Arbitration – Delay Attributable to Claimant – Section 14 of the Limitation Act – Interest Granted from Specific Date – Arbitral Tribunal directed interest @ 12% per annum for the delay, which was upheld by the High Court – Held: In peculiar facts, interest allowed only from 06/03/2010, the date on which the Arbitral Tribunal condoned the delay and deemed claims withi...
Accident Claim - Golden Hour – Definition and Significance – Section 162 of Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 – Golden hour defined under Section 2(12-A) as the one hour following a traumatic injury – Critical for saving lives through prompt medical treatment – Held: Cashless treatment during the golden hour is a statutory obligation to uphold the right to life under Article 2...
Civil – MACT - Accident Claim - Reliance on Police Records – FIR and Chargesheet – Validity in Accident Claims – Tribunal and High Court relied on police records, including FIR and final report, to establish negligence of the driver of the offending vehicle – Held: Use of police records for determining negligence in motor accident claims is permissible, provided they ...
Civil Law - Specific Performance – Readiness and Willingness – Burden of Proof – Section 16(c), Specific Relief Act – Relief Granted – The plaintiff must establish both readiness (financial capacity) and willingness (conduct) to perform obligations under the contract – In this case, evidence in the form of fixed deposits and legal notices proved the plaintiff...
Motor Accident Claims – Compensation Calculation – Victim Souman Mondal was killed in a motor vehicle accident caused by a lorry driven recklessly. The tribunal awarded compensation, holding the owner of the vehicle liable and exonerating the insurance company. On appeal, the High Court recalculated the compensation considering the victim’s age, income, and future prospects, dire...
Civil Law - Hindu Widow’s Remarriage Act – Termination of Limited Rights Upon Remarriage – Misconceived Plea - The appellants claimed that the defendant, having remarried before 1956, ceased to hold limited rights in her deceased husband’s property under Section 2 of the Hindu Widows’ Remarriage Act, 1856. Held: The plea was neither raised in the pleadings nor support...
Service Law - Leave Encashment – Pre-existing Right Established – Claim Upheld - The Labour Court rightly held that the respondent was entitled to leave encashment based on the certificate issued by the petitioner Corporation (mark 15/1), which confirmed accumulated leave credits. The Court ruled that leave encashment constitutes a property right, and its deprivation without statutory ...
Partition Law – Fraudulent Suppression of Necessary Parties – Defendant filed a partition suit (O.S. No.213/2002) against only one co-owner, omitting other necessary co-owners – Courts below erroneously upheld the decree despite evidence of suppression and fraud – Held: Decree in O.S. No.213/2002 is null and void for fraudulently excluding necessary parties [Paras 15.3-15.4...
Service Law – Recovery Orders – Quashing Sought – Petitioner, a retired Sub Divisional Officer, challenged recovery orders of ₹3,174/- and ₹25,850/-, imposed via departmental inquiries for alleged omissions and negligence – Petitioner contended that inquiries were conducted improperly, and the punishment orders were non-speaking – Held: Departmental inquiries were...
Procedural Law – Application and Transition – Savings Clause – FIR registered before the enactment of BNSS, 2023, must be dealt with under the provisions of the Cr.P.C., 1973, as per Section 531(2)(a) of BNSS – Petition initially filed under Section 482 Cr.P.C. was converted to Section 528 BNSS due to a registry objection – High Court clarified that ongoing investigat...
