Calcutta High Court Acquits Accused Due to ‘Golden Thread’ Principle: Gaps in Medical Evidence and Unexplained Time Frame Prove Decisive Statutory Rules Supersede Old Practices: Kerala High Court Rejects Direct Appointments in Devaswom Board Arbitration Award Challenge Beyond Limitation Period Is Time-Barred: Supreme Court Supreme Court Holds Registration Under Section 8 of MSMED Act Not Mandatory for Referring Disputes to Facilitation Council Post-Qualification Experience Not Mandatory for Teaching Cadre Promotions Under Kerala Medical Education Service Rules: Supreme Court Non-Compliance of Restitution Decree Does Not Bar Maintenance Under Section 125 Cr.P.C.: Supreme Court NDPS | Compliance with Section 50 of NDPS Act is mandatory and non-negotiable: Punjab and Haryana High Court Rajasthan High Court: 'Criminal Action Cannot Be Used to Settle Civil Disputes,' Quashes FIR Against Simara Foods Pvt. Ltd." "Criminal Law Cannot Settle Civil Disputes" — Quashes FIR in Family Property Feud: Rajasthan High Court Higher Qualification Presupposes Lower Qualification’ in Tradesman Appointment Case: Kerala High Court Upheld B.Tech degree holder’s appointment as Tradesman Punjab and Haryana High Court Grants Custody of Minor Child to Biological Father, Sets Visitation Rights for Maternal Grandparents Employee Earning Above Salary Ceiling and Performing Supervisory Duties Not a ‘Workman’ Under Industrial Disputes Act: AP High Court Use of Modified Trademark 'MAHINDRA ZEO' Does Not Infringe Plaintiff’s 'EZIO': Delhi High Court

"CIVIL" Digest

Contract Law – Recovery of Debt – Hypothecation Agreement – Appellant challenged the trial court’s decree for recovery of Rs. 2,88,667.50 with interest at 15.5% p.a. The High Court upheld the decree with modifications to the interest rate. It ruled that while the plaintiff bank (SBI) is entitled to recover the principal amount and simple interest, the contractual rate of in...

Land Law - Common Lands - Shamlat Deh and Jumla Malkan – The Court held that there are two primary types of lands for common purposes: 'Shamlat Deh' lands vest with the Panchayat under Section 4 of the Punjab Village Common Lands (Regulation) Act, 1961, while 'Jumla Malkan' lands, reserved under Section 18 of the East Punjab Holdings (Consolidation and Prevention of Fragmenta...

Motor Vehicles Act – Compensation – Determination and Enhancement – High Court modified the award granted by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) in a case involving death due to a road accident caused by rash and negligent driving – The High Court increased the compensation amount from Rs. 12,75,108/- to Rs. 26,16,366/- by considering factors such as the deceased&rsqu...

Constitutional Law - Gram Panchayat Autonomy - Utilization of Funds – Petitioners, Gram Panchayats, challenged State instructions dated 05.02.2015 directing transfer of grants to the Executive Engineer for executing development works – Court held that Gram Panchayats are bodies corporate and institutions of self-government as per Articles 243, 243-G, and 243-H of the Constitution &ndas...

Constitutional Law - Transfer Policy - Medical Grounds – Petitioner's transfer orders dated 17.09.2016 and 01.12.2016 were challenged based on the medical condition of her daughter, who suffers from "Epilepsy Severe Mental Retardation" – Transfer policy dated 29.06.2016 did not include this condition in the notified list of diseases – Court directed the respondents ...

Medical Education - Incentives for In-Service Candidates - NEET and PG Admissions – The petitioner challenged Clause 2 of the State government notification dated 21.04.2017, which provided a maximum incentive of 20% of marks obtained in NEET to in-service candidates and Clause 7 of the Prospectus giving additional weightage to candidates passing MBBS/BDS from recognized colleges in Haryana &...

Tax Law - Right to Appeal Under Section 39 - State's Right to Appeal – The petitioner challenged the Tribunal's decision dismissing their appeal under Section 39(2) of the Haryana General Sales Tax Act, 1973, as not maintainable and the subsequent review application – Court held that Section 39(2) does not limit the right of appeal to any particular person or party and includes...

Stamp Act – Applicability of Sections 33, 34, 37, and 39 of the Karnataka Stamp Act, 1957 – Agreement of sale with possession considered as conveyance – Insufficiently stamped instrument – Jurisdiction of trial court under Section 34 to impose ten times penalty questioned – High Court upheld penalty but Supreme Court found it premature – Direction for instrument...

RTI Act - Confidentiality of In-House Judicial Probes – Petitioner, Punjab and Haryana High Court, contested an order by the State Information Commission directing inspection of records and complaints related to an in-house probe of judges – Court held in-house probes are confidential for maintaining institutional credibility and should not be disclosed to third parties – The RTI...

Constitutional Law - Requirement for Hard Copy Submission Post Online Application – Petitioner contended that submitting hard copies after an nline application is irrational – Last date for receipt of hard copies was 06.04.2016; petitioner sent documents on 15.03.2016 but they did not reach the office – Court held that requiring hard copies along with certificates is not illegal ...