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 - Jurisdiction of Tribunal - Determination of Age - Judicial Review – The petitioner challenged the order of the College Tribunal which established the date of birth of Bachan Singh as 1943 instead of 1935 as recorded in the service records. The court held that the College Tribunal, established under the 1974 Act, did not have the jurisdiction to determine the date of birt...
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 ...
Family Law - Hindu Marriage Act - Validity of Marriage – Marriage during the subsistence of the first wife is void – Second wife not entitled to maintenance – However, child born from such a void marriage is legitimate and entitled to inherit the self-acquired property of the deceased father. [Paras 12-13, 20]
Family Law - Legitimacy and Inheritance – Children ...
Civil Procedure - Striking Off Defense - Extension of Time for Filing Written Statement – Petitioner's defense was struck off for failure to file the written statement within the statutory period of 90 days – Held, the power to extend the time beyond 30 days is not automatic and must be exercised with caution and adequate reasons – Extension beyond 90 days should be granted o...
Constitutional Law - Articles 226 and 227 - Frivolous Petitions by the State – State filed a petition against the Labour Court’s award of ₹50,000 as compensation in lieu of reinstatement for the respondent – Court held the petition frivolous and exhibiting heartlessness and apathy towards the respondent – Labour Court had refused reinstatement and granted compensation aft...
Industrial Law - Definition of Workman - Managerial and Supervisory Roles – Respondent-workman reinstated with full back wages after Industrial Tribunal found she was not performing managerial or supervisory duties – Designation as 'Senior Executive Customer Support and Training' not indicative of managerial role – High Court held, respondent fell within the definition of...
Service Law - Withdrawal of Benefits Post-Retirement - Proficiency Step-Ups and ACP – Petitioner, a retired Superintendent, contested the withdrawal of proficiency step-ups granted in 1993 and 1999 and subsequent recoveries from her gratuity and leave encashment – Held, as per Rule 9.4(b)(iii) read with Rule 6.19(c) of the Punjab Civil Services Rules, for reckoning pension, only the co...
SARFAESI Act - Jurisdiction of DRT vs. Civil Court – Respondent No. 2, a partnership firm, defaulted on a loan, and respondent No. 4, a partner, mortgaged a house – Petitioner-bank initiated recovery under SARFAESI Act – District Magistrate ordered symbolic possession, relegating tenancy disputes to Civil Court – Held, the DRT has exclusive jurisdiction to decide tenancy is...
Civil Procedure - Temporary Injunction - Co-Sharers – The petitioner filed for permanent injunction and sought ad-interim injunction under Order 39 Rules 1 & 2 CPC – Trial Court granted ad-interim injunction directing status quo regarding the suit property – ADJ vacated the injunction citing reliance on an unproven Will – High Court held that declining the injunction ba...