Constitutional Law – Legislative Competence and Repugnancy – Challenge to the constitutional validity of Sections 4(7) and 4(8) of the Kerala Motor Vehicles Taxation Act, 1976, and Section 8A of the Kerala Motor Transport Workers Welfare Fund Act, 1985 – Appellant contended that the amendments were repugnant to the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, a Central legislation, and thus invalid...
Taxation Law – Service Tax – Exemption Notification – Mega Exemption Notification:Service tax exemption under the Mega Exemption Notification applies to services provided by way of conduct of any religious ceremony. The Supreme Court held that this exemption is specific to services directly involving the conduct of religious ceremonies and does not extend to auxiliary services fa...
Arbitration Agreement – Absence – Section 11(6) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996: The Supreme Court held that there was no valid arbitration agreement between the parties. Clause 15 of the Contract Agreement, titled "Settlement of Disputes/Arbitration," did not constitute an arbitration agreement as it lacked the essential attributes of such an agreement as ...
Consumer Protection – Insurance Claim – IMT 47 – Exclusion Clause: The Supreme Court held that the exclusion clause under IMT 47 of the insurance policy did not apply as the loss was due to a landslide causing the vehicle to fall into a deep ditch, and not due to the overturning of the vehicle while being used as a tool. The insurer was directed to pay the compensation as th...
Service Law – Rejection of Candidature – Use of Different Languages in Application and OMR Sheet: The Supreme Court upheld the rejection of the respondent’s candidature for using different languages in the application form (English) and the OMR answer sheet (Hindi), which violated the advertisement instructions. This was deemed a significant procedural requirement intended t...
Arbitration Law – Appointment of Arbitrator – Territorial Jurisdiction – Section 11(6) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996: The Supreme Court held that the High Court of Orissa at Cuttack lacked jurisdiction to entertain the application under Section 11(6) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, for the appointment of an arbitrator since the respondent-claim...
Public Trusts – Misappropriation of Government Properties – Inquiry through Economic Offences Wing: The Supreme Court held that there was no warrant to direct an inquiry through the Economic Offences Wing of the State Government as there was no finding of mens rea on the part of the trustees. The High Court did not record any finding based on material that the alienation made by t...
Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 – Definition of Forest Land – Section 2: The Supreme Court held that land covered by a special order issued under Section 4 of the PLPA can be classified as forest land within the meaning of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980. The object of the Forest Act is to provide for the conservation of forests and matters connected therewith. The Act applies...
Medical Termination of Pregnancy – Unmarried Women – Legal Interpretation – Section 3(2)(b) of the MTP Act: The Supreme Court held that the exclusion of unmarried women from the ambit of Rule 3B of the MTP Rules is violative of Article 14 of the Constitution. The Court emphasized a purposive interpretation of the term "change of marital status" under Rule 3B to inc...
Land Acquisition – Fraud on Power – Section 4 Notification: The Supreme Court held that the decision of the State of Haryana to withdraw from the land acquisition after the notification under Section 4 was a fraud on power. The judgment invalidated all transfers effected from the date of publication of the notification under Section 4 to the date of the State's decision to rev...