Power of Attorney – Authorization to Sell – Supreme Court held that a power of attorney must explicitly confer the power to sell property for the agent to have such authority – The document in question only contained provisions for leasing and executing necessary documents if a security had to be offered for borrowal – No express power to sell the property was included, ren...
Public Interest Litigation – Gandhi Ashram Redevelopment – Appellant challenged a Government Resolution for redevelopment of the Gandhi Ashram Memorial – Supreme Court held that the High Court erred in disposing of the writ petition without calling for a reply from the State of Gujarat – The High Court should have allowed the pleadings to be completed and afforded the State...
Constitutional Law – Special Reservation – Tamil Nadu Special Reservation Act, 2021 providing 10.5% internal reservation for Vanniakula Kshatriyas within the MBCs and DNCs declared unconstitutional – No substantial basis for classifying Vanniakula Kshatriyas into a separate group from the remaining 115 communities within the MBCs and DNCs – Violation of Articles 14, 15, and...
Remanding of Case: An order of remand should not be passed merely to send the proceedings back to the lower court or Tribunal. The Appellate Court must decide the appeal on its merits, especially when both sides have presented oral and documentary evidence. Remanding is only justified if the lower court failed to consider crucial evidence or made significant legal errors [Paras 1-88].
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Revision of Pay Scale – Pension Entitlement: The appellants, retired Assistant Professors and a College Librarian, were entitled to revised pension benefits as per the Manipur Services (Revised Pay) Rules 2010. The Office Memorandum dated December 24, 2011, which purported to clarify a subsisting anomaly, was deemed to encroach upon the acquired or vested rights of the retirees. Such clarifi...
Suspension and Departmental Proceedings – Authority of Commissioner: The Supreme Court held that the Commissioner of the KDM Corporation had the power to suspend or initiate departmental proceedings against an AMC, an officer superior in rank to the Assistant Commissioner. This authority is derived from a harmonious construction of subsection (9) of Section 2, Sections 39A, and 56 of the Mah...
Service Law - Dismissal of Teacher - Allegations of Sexual Harassment – Writ Petition – Lecturer dismissed on charges of sexually exploiting female students – Regular departmental inquiry conducted by a retired Judicial Officer – No violation of natural justice found – Court upholds findings of disciplinary authorities – Sexual harassment by teacher condemned &n...
Genuineness of Execution of Will: Under Section 68 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, the genuineness of a Will's execution must be established without considering whether the distribution by the testator was fair and equitable among all children. The Court should not apply Article 14 to dispositions under a Will.
Suspicious Circumstances – High Court's Findings: Th...
Revisional Jurisdiction under Waqf Act – Section 83(9): Subsection (9) of Section 83 of the Waqf Act confers a narrower revisional jurisdiction on the High Court compared to the jurisdiction of an appellate court. The High Court, in exercising this revisional jurisdiction, must not re-appreciate evidence or decide issues beyond the scope of revision.
High Court’s Fin...
Administrative Law – Fairness in Administrative Actions: The Supreme Court emphasized that even if the High Court found the actions of the authorities to be irregular, illegal, or perverse, such findings alone do not imply deliberate action or bad faith on the part of the Assessing Authority. It is necessary to have concrete evidence to impute motives or bad faith .
Servic...