Retrenchment Compensation – Violation of Section 25F – The appellant, a daily wager, worked for 240 days and his service was terminated without complying with Section 25F of the Industrial Disputes Act, which mandates retrenchment compensation. The Labour Court found non-compliance and ordered reinstatement with 25% back wages. However, the High Court modified this to a lump sum compen...
Income Tax - Assessment Year 1995-1996 - Appellants were engaged in the transportation business and were found to be in possession of bitumen without proper documentation - Assessing Officer treated the value of the bitumen as unexplained money and made additions to the appellant's income under Section 69A of the Income Tax Act - Commissioner of Appeals deleted the addition - High Court revers...
Alternative Remedy – Writ Jurisdiction – The Supreme Court emphasized that while the existence of an alternative remedy under the statute is not an absolute bar to the maintainability of a writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution, a writ petition should be entertained only in exceptional circumstances where there is a breach of fundamental rights, a violation of the principl...
Execution of decree – Objections raised by third parties – Exclusive jurisdiction of executing court – Section 47 of the Civil Procedure Code (CPC) mandates that the court executing the decree shall determine all questions arising between the parties to the suit or their representatives in relation to the execution, discharge, or satisfaction of the decree – Rules 97 to 106...
Abetment of Suicide – Presumption under Section 113-A Evidence Act – The case involved the suicide of the wife within eight months of marriage due to alleged cruelty by the husband and mother-in-law. Section 113-A of the Evidence Act provides for a presumption of abetment if a married woman commits suicide within seven years of marriage and is subjected to cruelty by her husband or his...
Terms and Conditions of Employment – Dominance of Employer – The submissions made by the University's counsel that the teachers accepted the terms and conditions in their appointment letters were rejected. It was noted that employees in public employment cannot choose the terms of employment, as the employer is in a dominant position. Employees are often left with no option but to ...
Government Order - Modification - Clarificatory or substantive amendment - Retrospective application - Whether subsequent Government Order dated 29th March, 2001, which modified the Government Order dated 21st December, 1999, can be considered a clarification and applied retrospectively - Held, the subsequent Government Order is a substantial amendment that withdraws the benefit of two advance inc...
Lease Agreements – Government Property – The leased land, belonging to the government and located in a reserve forest, was subject to strict conditions. The lessee, M/s. Joseph & Company, breached the lease agreement by subletting and selling portions of the leased land without prior permission from the government, justifying lease termination. The Supreme Court held that the lesse...
Insurance - Fire insurance claim - Assessment of loss by surveyor - Scope and relevance of surveyor's report - Surveyor's report not binding or conclusive - Other evidence and reports can be considered - Proximate cause of damage to be determined based on chain of events. (para 14)
Coverage under insurance policy - Standard Fire and Special Perils Policy - Fire accident during policy va...
Temple Lands – Ownership and Management – The presiding deity of a temple is recognized as the owner of land attached to the temple. The Pujari, tasked with performing puja and managing the deity's properties, does not hold ownership but serves in a managerial capacity. The Supreme Court upheld the Madhya Pradesh Government’s circulars directing the deletion of Pujari names f...