Civil Law - Matrimonial Property - Family Courts Act 1984 - Recovery of Gold Ornaments - Petitioner-wife claimed 250 sovereigns of gold given at the time of marriage - Produced bills for only 90 sovereigns - Photographs from the wedding ceremony indicated approximately 90 sovereigns - Bank passbook showed withdrawal by petitioner-father one day before marriage suggesting purchase of 25 sovereigns - High Court found total possession of 115 sovereigns probable - Petitioner admitted 20 sovereigns remained in her possession - Evidence established entrustment of remaining 95 sovereigns to husband and mother-in-law for safe keeping in a locker - Family Court originally allowed 250 sovereigns but High Court found the claim exaggerated and unsupported by documents - Held - Appellants directed to return 95 sovereigns of gold or its market value within one month - [Paras 8-16].

Civil Law - Matrimonial Property - Family Courts Act 1984 - Recovery of Money - Petitioner claimed entrustment of 5 lakhs cash to first respondent-husband - Father of petitioner (PW4) failed to prove source of funds or provide independent witnesses - Trial court relied on a bank withdrawal dated 12.01.2010 to find the claim probable - High Court observed that said withdrawal was specifically used for the purchase of a Ford Fiesta car as evidenced by Ext.A2 bill - No other evidence to support separate cash entrustment - Held - Finding of trial court regarding recovery of cash set aside - [Paras 13-18].

Civil Law - Matrimonial Property - Family Courts Act 1984 - Recovery of Child's Ornaments - Petitioner sought recovery of 10.5 sovereigns gifted to her minor child - Evidence confirmed child was in the custody of the first respondent-husband - High Court held that a mother cannot claim a superior right over a child's property when the child is in the legal custody of the father - No reliable evidence provided for the quantity of ornaments gifted to the child - Held - Claim for recovery of child's ornaments rejected - [Para 17].

Civil Law - Matrimonial Property - Family Courts Act 1984 - Recovery of Movables - Claim for value of Ford Fiesta car and washing machine - Respondents admitted possession and use of the car but claimed part-contribution toward purchase - No evidence of contribution produced by respondents - High Court found respondents had benefit of using the car for a considerable period - Held - Award of compensation for the value of the car and washing machine upheld - [Paras 18-19].

Decision: Appeal allowed in part – Decree for recovery of 95 sovereigns of gold or its market value confirmed – Decree for recovery of Rs. 7,70,000 (including cash and child's gold value) set aside – Rest of the trial court decree regarding car and washing machine value upheld.

Civil Law - Property Dispute - Registration Act 1908 - Sections 17 and 49 - Transfer of Property Act 1882 - Section 48 - Code of Civil Procedure 1908 - Section 100 - Appellant original defendant No 1 challenged concurrent judgments cancelling his sale deed - Suit property originally owned by Damji Harshi - Following his death a family partition was reduced to writing on 15-09-1997 where the suit land fell to the share of defendant No 3 - Mutation entry was effected in revenue records based on this partition - Defendant No 2 widow of original owner sold part of the land to defendant No 1 via registered deed on 05-02-1998 - Defendant No 3 later sold the entire land to the plaintiff on 20-04-1998 - Trial Court and First Appellate Court held that defendant No 2 had no title to convey after the family partition - High Court noted that the partition was acted upon in revenue records and not challenged by defendant No 1 in his previous dismissed suit - Held - An unregistered memorandum of a past completed partition does not require registration and can be used for collateral purposes - Concurrent findings of fact regarding lack of title in the vendor of the appellant do not warrant interference - Appeal dismissed - [Paras 1-20].

Evidence Law - Family Arrangement - Registration Act 1908 - Sections 17 and 49 - Admissibility of unregistered partition deed - The Court examined whether a partition deed required compulsory registration - It distinguished between a document that itself effects a division of property and one that merely records a past completed transaction - Held - If a document is a memorandum of what had already been agreed upon orally it does not require registration - Such unregistered documents are admissible for collateral purposes to prove the fact of partition and severance of status - [Paras 11-17].

Civil Law - Scope of Second Appeal - Code of Civil Procedure 1908 - Section 100 - Re-appreciation of evidence - The appellant contended the courts below erred in law by relying on an unregistered document and ignoring Section 48 of the TPA - High Court observed that findings of fact by the First Appellate Court are final unless found to be contrary to mandatory legal provisions or based on no evidence - Both lower courts found the plaintiff proved ancestral nature of property and valid title through a share acquired in partition - Held - The High Court in Second Appeal cannot substitute its opinion for the first appellate court to reach another possible view - No substantial question of law arose - [Paras 18-20].

Decision: Appeal dismissed – Concurrent findings of the lower courts affirmed – Interim relief vacated.

Civil Law - Arbitration - Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996 - Section 34 - Challenge to arbitral award - Petitioner Public Works Department challenged award on quantum of damages and interest - Clause 4.1.5 of the Agreement limited aggregate damages to 1 percent of contract price - Respondent KTIPL faced 45-month delay for project intended for 18 months due to failure of PWD to provide 90 percent Right of Way within 15 days - Arbitral Tribunal ignored the 1 percent cap holding it inapplicable to facts of abject default - Court analyzed impact of 2015 amendment to Section 28(3) which shifted obligation from deciding in accordance with to taking into account the terms of contract - Held - Arbitrator entitled to reconcile conflicting clauses using business efficacy test - interpretative choice to prevent a party from profiting from its own breach is plausible - award of damages sustained - [Paras 1-42].

Civil Law - Interest - Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996 - Section 31(7) - Award of 18 percent per annum compounded quarterly - PWD contended interest rate conflicted with Clauses 19.9.2 and 19.2.7 of Agreement - Tribunal applied interest rate from a clause regarding contractor's failure to repay advances and added compounding - Court found such extrapolation perverse and contrary to the calibrated bargain of the parties - Held - Arbitrator cannot rewrite interest terms to match the lender's rates borne by a party - award of interest quashed - element of interest remains arbitrable - [Paras 43-57].

Civil Law - Interpretation of Contract - Indian Contract Act 1872 - Section 73 - Business Efficacy Test - Reconciliation of damages cap with foundational obligations - PWD sought to apply 1 percent damage limit despite total failure to provide work site - Court held that exclusionary clauses cannot be applied blindly where such application results in absurdity or allows a party to maintain a contractor on-site indefinitely with nominal liability - Held - Interpretation giving commercial sense to the contract as a whole is valid - [Paras 34-41].

Decision: Petitions partly allowed – Arbitral award upheld regarding the grant of damages – Award of interest at 18 percent compounded quarterly set aside as perverse – Dispute over interest rate remains arbitrable for fresh resolution.

Criminal Law - Sexual Offences - Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act 2012 - Section 5(f) - Aggravated penetrative sexual assault by teacher - Appellant Madrassa teacher (Usthad) convicted for committing oral sex and inappropriate touching on 9-year-old male student - Trial Court sentenced accused to 20 years rigorous imprisonment - Appellant challenged verdict claiming testimony of child witness was insufficient and case was fabricated due to sectarian rivalry within the community - High Court reappreciated evidence of survivor PW1 finding it wholly reliable and consistent with medical reports - Observed that sectarianism defense lacked evidence - Held - Solitary testimony of child survivor if found credible can be the sole basis for conviction - Minimum sentence of 20 years for aggravated penetrative sexual assault affirmed - Appeal dismissed - [Paras 1-24].

Evidence Law - Child Witness - Evidence Act 1872 - Section 118 - Reliability of solitary testimony - Defense contended child evidence must be evaluated with greater circumspection per Pancchi v State of UP - Claimed PW1 was not a sterling witness - High Court noted absence of material contradictions in cross-examination - Found survivor version to be natural and prompt disclosure to mother established credibility - Held - Testimony of minor survivor found trustworthy does not require further corroboration - [Paras 6-10 23].

Criminal Law - False Implication - Defense of Sectarianism - Appellant alleged implication due to rivalry between Sunni and other Muslim sects - Contended that mosque committee leaders fabricated charges - High Court found no evidence supporting theory of sectarian conspiracy - Prosecution witnesses including mosque secretary denied such rivalry - Held - Vague allegations of sectarianism cannot upset the consistent testimony of a minor survivor - [Paras 6 12 13 23].

Criminal Law - Sentencing - Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act 2012 - Section 6(1) - Minimum mandatory sentence - Special Court imposed statutory minimum of 20 years rigorous imprisonment - Appellant sought reduction in sentence - High Court observed Section 6(1) mandates imprisonment for a term not less than 20 years which may extend to life - Held - No reduction in sentence is possible below the statutory minimum - Sentence confirmed - [Para 24].

Decision: Appeal dismissed – Conviction and sentence for offences under Section 377 IPC and Sections 5(f) 5(m) 9(m) 9(o) of the POCSO Act and Section 75 JJ Act affirmed – Appellant to undergo remaining sentence.

Civil Law - Property Title - Transfer of Property Act 1882 - Section 7 - Competency of vendor - Nemo dat quod non habet - Property originally purchased by Mallige Byrappa in 1944 - His son Ramaiah executed a sale deed in favor of Respondent 1 in 1979 during the father's lifetime - Ramaiah manipulated RTC records (Ex.P24) to insert his name prior to sale - Father challenged the sale in O.S. 81/1980 which was dismissed and confirmed up to Second Appeal - Father subsequently executed a registered Will in favor of his daughters - Daughters sold property to Appellants in 2006 - Appellants filed for declaration of title - Trial Court and First Appellate Court dismissed Appellants' suits on grounds of res judicata citing the earlier round of litigation - High Court reversed findings holding that Ramaiah had no title or authorization to sell under Section 7 of TP Act - Documentary evidence Ex.D3 showed son sold property in individual capacity and not as kartha - Manipulation of revenue records proved fraud - Held - Son could not convey better title than he possessed - Findings of lower courts on title and res judicata erroneous - Suits of appellants allowed - [Paras 1-93].

Civil Law - Fraud - Vitiation of Judicial Proceedings - Fraud and justice never dwell together - Finding of manipulation in RTC records (Ex.P24) to facilitate sale by son during father's lifetime - High Court noted that fraud unravels everything and avoids all judicial acts - Evidence showed conflict of interest where the advocate for the father's legal representatives in earlier proceedings identified the adversary and attested his power of attorney - Held - A judgment or decree obtained by playing fraud on the Court is a nullity and non est in the eyes of law - Principle of finality of litigation cannot be pressed to become an engine of fraud - [Paras 60-70, 80-87].

Civil Law - Res Judicata - Code of Civil Procedure 1908 - Section 11 - Exceptions - Erroneous decision on question of law and fraud - Respondents contended that earlier dismissal of father's suit operates as res judicata against subsequent purchasers - High Court held that an erroneous judgment on a question of law which sanctions an illegal act cannot operate as res judicata - Lack of competency of the son to sell father's property was a statutory prohibition under Section 7 of TP Act not given effect to in earlier proceedings - Held - Doctrine of res judicata not applicable where the previous decree is established to be a result of fraud or is per se illegal - [Paras 75-77, 85-88].

Civil Law - Succession - Registered Will - Indian Succession Act 1925 - Section 63 - Proof of Will - Father executed registered Will (Ex.P11) in favor of daughters during pendency of earlier suit - Will proved in inquiry under Order 22 Rule 5 CPC and by examining attesting witnesses - Lower courts erroneously held father had no title to bequeath due to the prior illegal sale by son - Held - Since son's sale was void father remained the owner until death - Will validly conveyed title to daughters who then sold to appellants - [Paras 71-74, 109-110].

Decision: All regular second appeals allowed - Judgments and decrees of the Trial Court and First Appellate Court in O.S.No.416/2007, 11/2015, 12/2015, 13/2015 and O.S.No.10/2015 set aside - Appellants in O.S.No.416/2007 declared owners of suit property - Relief of permanent injunction granted in favor of appellants.

Writ Law - Habeas Corpus - Constitution of India - Article 21 - Illegal Detention - Personal Liberty - Violation of Fundamental Rights - Accountability of Public Functionaries - Petitioner husband Shri Ghamandnath was sentenced to three months civil imprisonment by Naib Tehsildar Deh on 05.03.2026 under Section 91 of the Rajasthan Land Revenue Act 1956 for alleged encroachment - Sentence was suspended by the Additional Divisional Commissioner Ajmer vide order dated 15.04.2026 during pendency of appeal - Despite the suspension order and repeated personal representations by the petitioner wife with a certified copy of the order the respondent No. 4 Tehsildar failed to release the detenue - Detenue was a person living with HIV requiring continuous medical care and the petitioner wife was a cancer patient - Detenue remained in illegal confinement for 53 days until released on 08.06.2026 following the High Court interim order - Respondent No. 4 admitted knowledge of the suspension order from 01.06.2026 but took no steps to release the detenue for another seven days - Court observed that while initial detention was lawful the transition to unlawful confinement occurred the moment the suspension order ought to have been acted upon - Held - Continued detention in the face of a subsisting judicial order constitutes a gross violation of Article 21 and an assault on the rule of law - Conduct of respondent No. 4 described as wilful and contumacious defiance of a superior authority - Compensation of Rs. 2,00,000 awarded to be paid personally by the erring Tehsildar - [Paras 1-51].

Writ Law - Public Law Remedy - Compensation - Constitution of India - Article 21 - Violation of Personal Liberty - Measure of Relief - Award of compensation for violation of fundamental rights is a constitutional mandate and not an act of charity - Mere declaration of detention as illegal is insufficient to alleviate the actual injury suffered by the victim - Court relied on precedents like Rudul Shah and Nilabati Behera to establish the principle of compensatory public law remedy - Held - Compensation serves as a tangible acknowledgment of the grave wrong and a means of restorative justice - Rs. 2,00,000 determined as appropriate compensation considering the 53-day duration of illegal detention and the medical vulnerability of the detenue - [Paras 38-45].

Writ Law - Accountability and Deterrence - Personal Liability of Officers - Rule of Law - Executive Impunity - Court emphasized the principle that judicial orders must be obeyed and implemented without reservation - Liability for unlawful actions leading to violation of Article 21 is personal in nature - Held - Erring official directed to pay compensation from his own income or property without reimbursement from the State - Additional Chief Secretary Revenue directed to initiate a time-bound departmental inquiry - Respondent No. 4 relieved of field posting and attached to headquarters pending inquiry to ensure fairness and prevent interference with revenue records - [Paras 46-51].

Decision: Petition disposed of – Continued detention after 01.06.2026 declared illegal and unconstitutional – Respondent No. 4 Tehsildar directed to personally pay Rs. 2,00,000 as compensation to the detenue within 45 days – Departmental inquiry ordered against erring official – Respondent No. 4 forthwith relieved of field posting.

Writ Law - Judicial Review - Foreign Exchange Management Act 1999 - Section 10 - Constitution of India - Articles 12 and 226 - Maintainability of writ against private bank acting as Authorised Dealer - Petitioner firm Bitumix India LLP engaged in merchant trade challenged the decision of ICICI Bank in declining to process foreign exchange transactions for shipments to Bangladesh - Bank suspected an Iranian nexus violating international sanctions based on a report from the International Maritime Bureau revealing that goods originated from Iran rather than the United Arab Emirates as declared by the petitioner - Bank raised a preliminary objection that as a private scheduled commercial bank it is not an authority under Article 12 and is not amenable to writ jurisdiction - Held - While a private bank is not State under Article 12 its functions as an Authorised Dealer under FEMA involve statutory obligations and a public law element - the existence of contractual relations does not exclude judicial review where allegations of arbitrariness relate to actions having a public law element - writ petitions held maintainable but dismissed on merits as the bank action was contractually and regulatorily justified - [Paras 32-49 - 173-177].

Writ Law - Foreign Exchange Management - Foreign Exchange Management Act 1999 - Section 10 - Duties of Authorised Dealer - Bank refused processing after a specialized report revealed goods originated from Iran and were shipped on vessels listed on OFAC sanctions - Petitioner claimed no knowledge of nexus and argued foreign sanctions are not municipal law in India - Held - Section 10(5) FEMA requires Authorised Dealers to satisfy themselves that transactions neither involve nor are designed for contravention or evasion of law - Dealers are not mere conduits but must perform independent assessments and enhanced due diligence when information casting doubt on customer declarations surfaces - bank was fully justified in treating the Iranian nexus as a matter requiring reassessment - [Paras 59-73 - 105-110].

Writ Law - Banking and Contract - Facility Agreement - Sanctions Compliance - Clauses 6.1(xiii) and 6.1(xiv) - Petitioner undertook to ensure that transactions did not violate any applicable sanctions including those of the UN and OFAC - Agreement reserved an unconditional right for the bank to refuse processing of any transaction violating sanctions - Held - Parties are bound by terms of facility agreement voluntarily executed - bank action was traceable to rights expressly reserved under the agreement - refusal was contractually justified as information regarding the Iranian nexus fell within the sanctions-review framework contemplated by the parties - petitioner plea of ignorance regarding the nexus did not dilute the bank entitlement to act upon information subsequently received - [Paras 74-92 - 124-134].

Writ Law - Scope of Review - Article 226 - Commercial Wisdom - Fact-finding - Petitioner disputed the veracity of the Iranian nexus and validity of OFAC sanctions in India - Held - Writ Court does not sit in appeal over commercial wisdom or resolve disputed questions of fact requiring detailed examination of commercial records - the relevant question is whether material existed before the bank which reasonably triggered its contractual and regulatory obligations - since material from the International Maritime Bureau existed the bank cannot be faulted for its decision-making process - no ground for interference under Article 226 is made out - [Paras 135-150 - 161-172].

Decision: Writ petitions dismissed - Interim orders vacated - Petitioner permitted to pursue other available civil or contractual remedies if any.

Taxation  Law - Tax Collected at Source - Income Tax Act 1961 - Section 206C - Classification of Beer as IMFL - Revenue treated the respondent-State undertaking as an assessee-in-default for failing to collect TCS on Beer sales to retail licensees between assessment years 1999-2000 and 2004-2005 - Assessing Officer raised demands under Section 206C(6) and interest under Section 206C(7) - Revenue contended that Beer is distinct from IMFL and falls under the taxable category of alcoholic liquor for human consumption - Respondent argued that Beer is manufactured in India using foreign brewing standards and fits the description of IMFL which was expressly excluded from TCS prior to the 2003 amendment - ITAT set aside the demands for the pre-amendment period holding that Beer was covered under the umbrella of IMFL - High Court examined the statutory entry prior to 01.06.2003 which applied to alcoholic liquor for human consumption other than IMFL - Found that the Income Tax Act does not define IMFL and its meaning must be derived from trade usage and excise laws where Beer is consistently treated as a subset of IMFL - Held - Beer fell within the parenthetical exclusion of IMFL prior to 01.06.2003 - statutory trigger for TCS did not operate - no perversity in ITAT findings - appeals dismissed - [Paras 1-45].

Tax Law - Statutory Interpretation - Income Tax Act 1961 - Section 206C - Impact of amendment - Deletion of parenthetical exclusion - Parliament deleted the words other than IMFL from the table to Section 206C effective from 01.06.2003 - Revenue argued Beer was never IMFL and always subject to TCS - Court held that parenthetical words operate as an inbuilt limitation on a taxable category - removal of these words indicates a prospective expansion of the tax net to include IMFL - any other interpretation would render the 2003 amendment redundant - Held - Revenue cannot resurrect a presumptive approach after the omission of Section 44AC - amendment serves to expand the class of goods only from the date of its enforcement - [Paras 36-44].

Decision: Appeals dismissed – No substantial question of law arises – Order of the ITAT confirmed.

Civil Law - Specific Performance - Specific Relief Act 1963 - Section 16 - Agreement for sale of agricultural land measuring 35 guntas - Plaintiff entered into agreement with Defendant 1 and his mother for Rs 122500 - Paid initial earnest money and subsequent installments via endorsements on the agreement - Defendants denied the agreement claiming signatures were taken on blank papers as security for water supply charges - Trial Court decreed the suit - First Appellate Court reversed the decree ordering only a refund of Rs 77500 citing lack of proof of a specific payment of Rs 45000 and existence of a prior agreement with Defendant 3 - High Court found that the First Appellate Court ignored the admission of multiple signatures and endorsements by the vendors - High Court held that the subsequent sale deed in favor of Defendant 3 was a sham and collusive document created to defeat the plaintiff's rights after katha was transferred - Held - High Court set aside the First Appellate Court judgment and restored the decree for specific performance - [Paras 1-60].

Evidence Law - Admission of Signatures - Indian Evidence Act 1872 - Section 17 - Defendant 1 admitted signatures on the sale agreement and multiple endorsements for receiving additional payments - High Court held that once the signatures on the document are admitted and the document contains specific recitals of a sale agreement the burden shifts to the defendants to prove that the document was created or signatures were obtained on blank papers - Held - Defense of blank paper signatures was found unsubstantiated and inconsistent with the voluminous signatures admitted - [Paras 33-40].

Civil Law - Specific Performance - Specific Relief Act 1963 - Section 16(c) - Readiness and willingness - Payment of Rs 45000 was made through a cheque belonging to the plaintiff to clear a prior debt of the vendors to one Dayananda Reddy - Lower Courts rejected this as a payment made by the vendors - High Court held that since the cheque belonged to the plaintiff and was handed over in his presence with the consent of the vendors it constitutes a valid part of the sale consideration - Held - Finding of the lower courts on this issue was perverse and the plaintiff established readiness and willingness to perform his part of the contract - [Paras 42-46].

Evidence Law - Adverse Inference - Indian Evidence Act 1872 - Section 114 - Failure of party to testify - Defendant 2 filed a written statement denying the agreement but did not enter the witness box or subject herself to cross-examination - High Court held that the lower courts were not justified in eschewing the conduct of the second defendant - Held - Adverse inference must be drawn against the conduct of a party who fails to subject themselves to cross-examination regarding their pleadings - [Paras 30-33 and 56].

Civil Law - Second Appeal - Code of Civil Procedure 1908 - Section 100 - Scope of interference - Respondents contended that High Court cannot interfere with concurrent findings of fact - High Court held that when findings of the lower courts are perverse or not based on documentary and oral evidence on record or when material evidence is ignored the High Court can exercise powers under Section 100 CPC - Held - Findings of the First Appellate Court were perverse and contrary to the material on record - [Paras 47-53].

Decision: Second appeals allowed – Judgment and decree of the First Appellate Court in R.A. No. 199/2008 and R.A. No. 188/2008 set aside – Suit for specific performance based on Ex.P1 decreed – Defendants 1 and 2 directed to execute the sale deed in favor of the plaintiff.