Constitutional Law - Powers of Registrar - Judicial Review – Petitioners sought quashing of the order dated 22.01.2014 by the Registrar cancelling the registration of the society. The court held that the Registrar has ample powers under Section 5 of the Punjab Self Supporting Cooperative Societies Act, 2006, to refuse and cancel registration if material discrepancies, misfeasance, and misman...
Constitution of India, 1950 - Article 226 - Customs Act, 1962 - Section 18 - Major Ports Trusts Act, 1963 - Handling of Cargo in Customs Area Regulations, 2009 - Illegal detention of imported goods - Petitioner imported defective/secondary cold rolled coils - Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) directed to put the consignment on hold - Despite reminders, no action taken for provisional asses...
VAT Law - Applicability to Non-Goods Vehicle Transport - Judicial Review – Gold ornaments found in the appellant's possession while traveling by train were penalized for lack of proper documentation under Section 51(2) of the VAT Act. The Tribunal held that the term ‘person’ in the proviso to Section 51(2) included any person selling goods within or outside the State, regardl...
Tax Law - Rectification of Mistakes - Jurisdiction - The petitioner challenged the rectification order of the Tribunal which reversed its previous decision that had allowed a tax refund. The court held that the power to rectify a mistake must be exercised only when the mistake is patent and obvious, not one that requires extensive reasoning or debate. The question of whether an amendment to Rule 2...
Rent Law - Bona Fide Requirement of Landlord - Judicial Review – The petitioner contested the eviction order on the basis that the landlord, who is 74 years old with health issues, lacked bona fide intent to start a business. The court held that the landlord's advanced age and health conditions cannot be grounds to question his bona fide needs. The landlord is the best judge of his needs...
Family Law - Divorce - Grounds of Cruelty and Irretrievable Breakdown - Judicial Review – The husband filed for divorce alleging cruelty and desertion. The trial court granted divorce based on irretrievable breakdown of the marriage. The appellate court held that 'irretrievable breakdown of marriage' is not a statutory ground for divorce under Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 19...
Service Law - Selection Criteria - Validity of Appointment - Judicial Review – The appellant's appointment as Assistant Engineer (Electrical) was challenged on the ground that he did not possess the required 60% marks as per the initial advertisement's qualification criteria. The Board's resolution to keep the existing rules in abeyance did not result in the approval of new rules...
Seniority - Rules and Executive Instructions - Judicial Review – The case involved a seniority dispute among Lecturers appointed through different selection processes. The 2001 Rules and the 1994 Rules were silent on the determination of inter-se seniority between different batches. The court held that in the absence of specific rules, executive instructions dated 24.11.1962, which determine...
Constitutional Law - Compassionate Appointment – Writ Petition – Challenge to criteria for compassionate appointment in bank's scheme – Criteria: Employee dying within five years of first appointment or before reaching age 30 – Held that such criteria are arbitrary and contrary to the object of compassionate appointment – Objective is to relieve family from econom...
Recovery of Debts Due to Banks and Financial Institutions Act, 1993 - Definition of Debt – Civil Revision – Whether the amount due to a party who made payment under a forged instrument constitutes a debt within the meaning of Section 2(g) of the Act – Held that such liability falls within the ambit of the term "debt" as defined in Section 2(g) – Liability arising ...