Self-Employment Exception Under Consumer Protection Act Does Not Extend to Business Expansion: Supreme Court Dismisses SLP in Machine Purchase Dispute Dominant Relief is Joint Possession, Not Cancellation of Sale Deeds; Plaintiffs Liable to Pay Court Fee under Section 7(iv)(c) & 7(v) of Court Fees Act — Punjab & Haryana High Court Sets Aside Trial Court's Order Ignorance of Banking Policy and Engaging Outsiders Amounts to Gross Misconduct: Orissa High Court Upholds UCO Bank Manager’s Dismissal Police Diary Cannot Be Treated as Evidence by MACT—Section 172 CrPC Bars It: Kerala High Court Enhances Compensation, Warns Against Once Prima Facie Involvement is Found, Bail Under UAPA Cannot Be Granted Casually — J&K and Ladakh High Court Dismisses Bail Plea of Accused Charged with Harbouring Terrorists of Lashkar-e-Toiba Protected Tenants’ Lands Cannot Be Alienated Without Prior Sanction; Post-Facto Regularization Is Impermissible: Bombay High Court No More Delays – Bring Your Witnesses Tomorrow or Lose the Chance Forever: Delhi High Court Warns Tenant in Eviction Case Eight Months in Custody, No Injury Attributed—Right to Speedy Trial Must Prevail: Punjab & Haryana High Court Grants Bail Habeas Corpus Jurisdiction Not for Enforcing Custody Orders: Telangana High Court Dismisses Father's Plea Seeking Return of Children from USA Employees Appointed on Fixed-Term Contract Cannot Be Terminated Without Due Process: Rajasthan High Court Upholds Tribunal’s Reinstatement Orders for D.A.V. School Staff Consent of Complainant Is Mandatory for Compounding Offence Under Section 138 NI Act: Punjab & Haryana High Court Tenant Must Plead and Prove Vacant Premises in Landlord’s Possession to Resist Eviction under Section 11(3): Kerala High Court Clarifies Burden in Rent Control Cases Mobile Charger Not Part of Cellphone but a Taxable Accessory: Himachal Pradesh High Court Upholds 13.75% VAT, Sets Aside Tribunal Order An Advocate Shall Not Consider Himself a Mere Mouthpiece of the Client: Bombay High Court Rebukes Obstructionist and Lawyer in Execution Delay Tactics Protection of Women Is Not Optional—Supreme Court Dismisses PIL Challenging 498A IPC

"CIVIL LAW" Digest

Specific Relief Act, 1963 – Section 9 – Civil suit for possession of agricultural land – Ejectment of tenant – Denial of landlord’s title – Jurisdiction of civil court – The Court held that if defendants deny the title of the plaintiffs in their written statement, it is sufficient to hold that they have denounced the title of the plaintiff, thereby giving ...

Employment Law – Back Wages – Gainful Employment Not Proved – Full Back Wages Granted – Respondent was suspended and dismissed from service on allegations of misconduct. The Co-operative Arbitration Court found the suspension and dismissal to be illegal, awarding full back wages for the period of suspension and dismissal. Appellants failed to prove that the respondent was g...

Amendment of Recruitment Rules – Validity of Preliminary Notifications – Section 35 of the Travancore-Cochin Hindu Religious Institutions Act, 1950 – Prescribed Qualifications for Appointments – Amended Rules Not Finalized – Petitioners Not Entitled to Relief – The Court held that a preliminary notification issued by the Travancore Devaswom Board in 2008 to amen...

Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Act – Registration under Section 8 – Interpretation of Section 18 – Whether an MSME must register under Section 8 of the MSMED Act before the execution of a contract to seek remedies under Section 18 – Held: Registration under Section 8 is not a precondition to invoking Section 18 – Section 18 employs the phrase "any pa...

Arbitration and Conciliation Act – Section 34(3) – Limitation and Condonation - Limitation for Challenging Arbitral Award – Filing After Court Reopening – The appellants challenged the arbitral award under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (ACA) on 04.07.2022, the date of court reopening after vacation – The 3-month limitation period expired on ...

Appointment – Essential Qualifications – Petitioner challenged the appointment of respondents 6 and 7 to the post of Tradesman – Contention that B.Tech does not qualify as a higher educational qualification for the post – Special Rules prescribe ITI or equivalent certificates – Court held B.Tech degree as a qualification in the same faculty, thus pre-supposing the low...

Trademark Infringement - Section 29 of the Trade Marks Act - Visual and Phonetic Dissimilarity - Whether the defendant's modified mark “MAHINDRA ZEO” infringes the plaintiff's registered trademark “EZIO” - Held: No - The defendant modified its mark by removing “e” and including the house mark “MAHINDRA” - The marks are visually and phonetical...

Labour Law - Maintainability of Industrial Dispute - Definition of Workman - Section 2(s) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 - Supervisory Role and Salary Ceiling - Tribunal lacked jurisdiction - The Workman, designated as Senior Charge Hand, performed supervisory and administrative duties and earned above the statutory salary ceiling - Held: Employee does not qualify as a "workman" un...

Civil Law - RERA Registration – Completion Certificate Versus Occupancy Certificate – Legal Interpretation – The appellants, legal heirs of the original promoter, contested the requirement to register a project with K-RERA, citing receipt of an Occupancy Certificate before RERA’s enactment – Held: Under Section 3 of the RERA, a real estate project must be registered i...

Criminal Procedure – Quashing of Proceedings – Petition under Section 482 Cr.P.C. for quashing of final report and proceedings in case of extortion and intimidation – Allegation that accused took illicit photographs of complainant and used them to extort money and gold – Accused contends innocence and challenges sufficiency of evidence – Prosecution relies on statemen...