State Can’t Block SARFAESI Sale by Late Revenue Entries: Secured Creditor’s Charge Prevails Over Tax Dues: Punjab & Haryana High Court Slams Sub-Registrar’s Refusal Providing SIM Card Without Knowledge of Its Criminal Use Does Not Imply Criminal Conspiracy: P&H High Court Grants Bail in UAPA & Murder Case Importer Who Accepts Enhanced Valuation Cannot Later Contest Confiscation and Penalty for Undervaluation: Madras High Court Upholds Strict Liability under Customs Act Marriage Cannot Be Perpetuated on Paper When Cohabitation Has Ceased for Decades: Supreme Court Invokes Article 142 to Grant Divorce Despite Wife’s Opposition Ownership of Trucks Does Not Mean Windfall Compensation: Supreme Court Slashes Inflated Motor Accident Award in Absence of Documentary Proof Concealment of Mortgage Is Fraud, Not a Technical Omission: Supreme Court Restores Refund Decree, Slams High Court’s Remand State Reorganization Does Not Automatically Convert Cooperative Societies into Multi-State Entities: Supreme Court Rejects Blanket Interpretation of Section 103 Indian Courts Cannot Invalidate Foreign Arbitral Awards Passed Under Foreign Law: Madhya Pradesh High Court Enforces Texas-Based Award Despite Commercial Court’s Contrary Decree Sudden Quarrel over Mound of Earth — Not Murder but Culpable Homicide: Allahabad High Court Eligibility Flows from Birth, Not a Certificate Date: Delhi High Court Strikes Down Rule Fixing Arbitrary Cut-Off for OBC-NCL Certificates in CAPF (AC) Recruitment Bar Under Order II Rule 2 CPC Cannot Be Invoked Where Specific Performance Was Legally Premature Due To Statutory Impediments: P&H High Court Once a Court Declares a Department an Industry Under Section 2(j), State Cannot Raise the Same Objection Again: Gujarat High Court Slams Repetitive Litigation by Irrigation Department “How Could Cheques Issued in 2020 Be Mentioned in a 2019 Contract?”: Delhi High Court Grants Injunction in Forged MOA Case, Slams Prima Facie Fabrication

"SERVICE LABOUR LAW" Digest

Service Law – Dismissal for Unauthorized Absence – Appellant, a police constable, dismissed for absence from duty without leave from 25.12.1989 to 28.12.1989 and from 22.01.1990 to 27.03.1991 – Appeal contends dismissal was illegal and not in compliance with principles of natural justice and Punjab Police Rules – Lower courts upheld dismissal based on misconduct – Hig...

Employment Law - Cancellation of Recruitment Process – Right to Appointment – No Indefeasible Right – Cancellation Justified – The mere inclusion of candidates in a selection list does not confer an indefeasible right to appointment – The government retains the discretion to cancel the recruitment process if found irregular, provided the decision is bona fide – ...

Factories Act – Definition of Manufacturing Process – Laundry Services Covered – High Court’s Order Set Aside - The respondent was prosecuted for operating a laundry service without a factory license – The High Court quashed the complaint, holding that dry cleaning does not constitute a "manufacturing process" since it does not result in the creation of a ne...

Service Law – Pension Entitlement – Interpretation of Retirement Benefit Schemes – University Employees’ Rights – The appellant was appointed as a Junior Scientist cum Assistant Professor in 1987 and, as per the Rajendra Agricultural University Statutes, 1976, was required to opt for the Contributory Provident Fund (CPF) scheme if he did not wish to be covered under t...

Service Law – Termination of contractual employees -  Initial Constitution – Absorption of Ad-hoc Employees – Interpretation of Rules – SAI’s Recruitment Process – Legality of Termination – The respondents, appointed on a contractual basis as physiotherapists, challenged their termination and claimed absorption under the "initial constitution&quo...

Service Law – Temporary Employees – Right to Continue Till Work Exists – The petitioners, engaged as temporary employees in various judicial districts of Punjab, sought regularization of their services – The Court noted that while regularization had been rejected in similar cases (Bikramjit Singh v. State of Punjab, 2019), the petitioners had been continuously working witho...

Service Law - Juvenile Justice Act – Conviction as a Juvenile Cannot Disqualify from Public Employment – Termination Quashed – The petitioner, convicted as a juvenile under Sections 436, 457 & 380 IPC, was released on admonition without a sentence – The High Court ruled that under Section 19(1) of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2000, no disqualification can attach to such a ...

Judicial Service Law - Disciplinary Proceedings Against Judicial Officer – Judicial Immunity – Scope of Article 226 – Petitioner, a judicial officer, challenged disciplinary action initiated against him for awarding excessive compensation in motor accident claims cases – Petitioner contended that judicial decisions are immune from disciplinary scrutiny unless malice or extr...

Service Law - Government Service – Unauthorized Absence – Denial of Pension – Absence Regularized as Extraordinary Leave – Tribunal’s Direction for Inquiry Ignored – The appellant, a government employee, remained absent from service from 1987 to 2007 – The Tribunal directed the authorities to conduct an inquiry into her claim that she was wrongfully preven...

Service Law - Termination of Service – Reliance on Police Verification Report Despite Acquittal – Order Set Aside – The petitioner was appointed as a Shikshan Sevak in a municipal school but was terminated based on a pending criminal case, despite being acquitted before the termination order was issued – The Court held that once the petitioner was acquitted, reliance on a p...