Civil Law - Partition and Benami Transaction - Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act 1988 - Section 4 - Bar on defence of Benami transaction - Suit property purchased jointly by plaintiff and defendant in 1984 - Plaintiff filed suit for partition in 2009 - Defendant claimed entire sale consideration was paid by her and plaintiff was merely a Benami owner - Trial court dismissed the suit accepting the defence of Benami and relinquishment by conduct - High Court observed that Section 4(2) of the 1988 Act strictly bars the defence of Benami property if raised after the cut off date of 19.05.1988 - Since the suit was filed in 2009 the defence was legally barred in view of the Supreme Court judgment in R. Rajagopal Reddy - Registered sale deed Ex.P-1 lacked any specific apportionment showing both parties as equal co-owners - Held - Trial court erred in allowing the Benami defence and dismissing the partition suit - Judgment of the trial court set aside - Plaintiff entitled to half share of the property - [Paras 7-12].

Evidence Law - Exclusion of oral evidence by documentary evidence - Indian Evidence Act 1872 - Sections 91 and 92 - Evidentiary value of registered sale deed - Trial court held that plaintiff had relinquished her rights through conduct based on oral evidence - High Court held that registered sale deed carries a formidable presumption of validity and genuineness - Oral evidence of the defendant to demonstrate lack of interest by the plaintiff cannot be pitted against a written registered instrument in view of Sections 91 and 92 of the Evidence Act - Moreover the oral evidence was neutralised by prosecution witness PW-3 - Trial court misapplied precedents regarding waiver of rights - Held - Registered documents cannot be brushed aside in a casual manner - Plaintiff declared entitled to partition by metes and bounds and possession - [Paras 13-17].

Decision: Appeal allowed – The impugned judgment and decree dated 13.09.2014 passed by the trial court is set aside – Suit of the plaintiff is allowed and plaintiff is declared entitled to half share of the suit property, partition by metes and bounds, and possession – Claim for mesne profit denied.

Writ Law - Constitutional Protection against Demolition - Constitution of India - Article 21 - Right to Shelter - Petitioners challenged anticipated bulldozer action on their residential and commercial properties immediately after an FIR was registered against their relative - State claimed action was due to municipal violations and Forest Act breaches - High Court observed that state action targeting families of accused persons under the garb of municipal laws is a retributive exercise of executive discretion and malicious in law - Court ruled that the right to shelter is an integral part of the right to life and cannot be summarily taken away without due process - Held - Proceedings for demolishment of residence and lodge quashed - No demolition proceedings for municipal violations to be initiated for two years from the date of FIR registration unless required for proven public purpose - [Paras 4 and 6 and 40 and 41 and 74 and 79].

Constitutional Law - Preventive Justice - Constitution of India - Article 226 - Maintainability of writ petition prior to actual demolition - State argued petition was premature as only notice was issued - Court applied Supreme Court precedent holding that a citizen need not wait for actual infringement of fundamental right to life and liberty - Held - Threat of violation or imminent violation allows a citizen to seek protection under Article 226 - Apprehension of petitioners was reasonable given past state actions of selective bulldozing - [Paras 56 to 59].

Administrative Law - Demolition and Officer Accountability - Utter Pradesh Urban Planning and Development Act 1973 - Section 16 - Selective action and corruption - Court observed that illegal structures do not come up overnight and authorities often deliberately ignore them due to corruption - Held - State directed that if notices for construction norm violations are issued simultaneous disciplinary and criminal proceedings under Prevention of Corruption Act must be initiated against erring officers who allowed the construction - Such proceedings must conclude within six months - [Paras 66 and 67 and 77].

Decision: Writ petition disposed of – Proceedings for demolishment of the petitioners' residence and lodge quashed – State restrained from initiating demolition for municipal violations for a period of two years from the date of FIR – Mandatory disciplinary and corruption proceedings directed against erring officers if demolition for municipal violations is pursued.

Arbitration Law - Setting aside of arbitral award - Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996 - Sections 34 and 37 - Breach of public policy - Appellant challenged the order dismissing their application under Section 34 of the Act against an arbitral award regarding land acquisition compensation - Appellant contended that lands of seven adjacent landholders in the same village were acquired under the same notification - Coordinate benches of the District Court had allowed Section 34 applications for five other similarly situated landholders setting aside the arbitral awards - Same counsel for NHAI was present in all cases but failed to disclose the orders passed in identical cases - High Court observed that jurisdiction under Section 37 is akin to Section 34 - Public policy of India requires all persons to be treated equally - Passing contrary orders on an identical set of facts in a land acquisition proceeding is in conflict with the public policy of India - Held - Impugned order of District Judge and award of arbitrator set aside - Appellants set at liberty to re-agitate their case before the arbitrator for fresh proceedings - [Paras 2-11].

Decision: Appeals allowed – Impugned orders dated 09.05.2025 and arbitral awards dated 29.01.2014 set aside – Appellants set at liberty to re-agitate their case before the arbitrator – Arbitrator directed to complete proceedings preferably within 8 months.

Criminal Law - Fundamental Rights of Prisoners - Constitution of India - Articles 21 and 300A - Right to execute Power of Attorney while in judicial custody - Petitioner undertrial in NDPS case sought execution of General Power of Attorney in favour of brother to sell joint property for family financial needs - Special Judge NDPS cases rejected application on hypothetical assumption that property might be proceeds of crime - High Court noted absence of any evidence collected by investigating agency showing property was proceeds of crime - High Court observed mere incarceration does not result in civil death and prisoner retains fundamental right to hold and dispose of property - Procedural mechanisms exist under Registration Act and Prison Rules for attestation within jail premises - Held - Impugned order based on imagination set aside - Superintendent of Jail directed to attest and register General Power of Attorney - Petitioner directed to seek Trial Court permission before actual execution of sale deed - Petition allowed - [Paras 1-21].

Civil Law - Registration of Documents in Prison - Registration Act 1908 - Sections 31 and 38 - Rajasthan Prison Rules 2022 - Rules 202 and 526 - Mechanism for execution - Section 38 of the Registration Act exempts a person confined in jail from personal appearance at the registration office - Registering authority may depute an officer to the place of confinement - State prison rules expressly permit under trial and convicted prisoners to execute power of attorney before Jail Superintendent or Magistrate - Held - The legal capacity to contract and transfer property remains intact despite imprisonment provided procedural safeguards and statutory restrictions regarding attached properties are followed - [Paras 9-12].

Constitutional Law - Civil Rights of Prisoners - Constitution of India - Article 21 - Extent of civil rights during incarceration - Relying on Supreme Court precedents it is settled that an under trial or pre-convict prisoner continues to enjoy civil rights not inconsistent with the fact of imprisonment - Right to carry on trade and alienate property is not eclipsed by continuing incarceration - An undertrial does not forfeit the right to alienate his property unless the same is case property or specifically attached by a competent court under procedural laws - [Paras 8-17].

Decision: Petition allowed – Impugned order dated 03.06.2025 quashed and set aside – Superintendent of Central Jail Jaipur directed to forthwith attest the General Power of Attorney and facilitate its registration – Petitioner directed to submit an application before the Trial Court seeking permission before the execution of any sale deed.

Civil Law - Defamation - Code of Civil Procedure 1908 - Order XXXIX Rules 1 and 2 - Maintainability of defamation suit by public official - Plaintiff former Chief Secretary sued news portal for publishing allegedly defamatory article insinuating conflict of interest in land acquisition compensation - Defendants argued suit barred as per R Rajagopal ruling preventing public officials from suing for damages over official acts - Plaintiff contended the article omitted his proactive steps against the delinquent officer thus demonstrating reckless disregard for truth and malice - Court held the suit is maintainable as plaintiff pleaded malice and reckless disregard for truth which falls under the exception carved out in R Rajagopal - The question of whether omission of plaintiffs actions constitutes malice can only be tested during trial - Held - Suit is maintainable - [Paras 47-53].

Civil Law - Injunction - Code of Civil Procedure 1908 - Order XXXIX Rules 1 and 2 - Pre publication injunction against defamatory content - Predecessor bench had directed defendants not to post circulate or publish any similar defamatory content - Defendants sought recall of this specific direction arguing it was an over-broad gag order - Court observed that assuming future publications would be defamatory is egregiously hypothetical and presumptive - Court cannot act as a soothsayer to predict what an author may publish next - Defences of justification or fair comment arise only after publication is made - Held - Direction restraining future similar defamatory content is over-broad and untenable in law and stands deleted - [Paras 55-64].

Decision: Application disposed of - The ad-interim direction issued in para 30(iii) of the previous judgment dated 22.11.2023 stands deleted and recalled - The suit is held to be maintainable.

Criminal Law - Sexual Harassment of Minor - Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act 2012 - Section 8 - Indian Penal Code 1860 - Section 354A - State appeal against acquittal of a tutor accused of grabbing the arm of an eleven year old student and seeking permission to kiss her at a coaching centre - Trial court acquitted the accused citing contradictions in the testimony of the minor victim and the defence evidence establishing the presence of the accused at a different location giving home tuitions - Minor victim gave inconsistent versions in the FIR statement under Section 164 CrPC and deposition before the trial court regarding the exact sequence of events - Defence witnesses deposed that an argument had taken place earlier between the victim and the accused regarding tests which angered the victim - High Court found no perversity in the trial court judgment noting that the defence succeeded in creating a reasonable doubt regarding the presence of the accused at the spot - Held - The prosecution failed to establish the case beyond reasonable doubt and the trial court view was reasonable and plausible - Appeal dismissed - [Paras 1-25].

Evidence Law - Sole Testimony of Prosecutrix - Indian Evidence Act 1872 - Section 3 - Evidentiary value - Conviction can be based on the sole testimony of the prosecutrix if it is found to be of sterling quality and inspires confidence - Where such testimony suffers from material contradictions inconsistencies and improvements the Court is duty bound to seek corroboration before sustaining a conviction - Minor victim had varying accounts of how and where the accused stopped her and grabbed her arm - Held - Testimony of the victim lacked consistent version requiring corroboration which was absent - [Paras 20-21].

Criminal Law - Appeal against Acquittal - Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 - Sections 378 and 386(1) - Scope of appellate power - Appellate court has extensive powers to review and reappreciate evidence but must bear in mind the double presumption of innocence in favour of the accused upon acquittal - If two reasonable conclusions are possible on the basis of the evidence on record the appellate court should not disturb the finding of acquittal recorded by the trial court - Held - Grounds on which trial court based its order of acquittal are reasonable and plausible - [Paras 19-20].

Criminal Law - Non compliance of procedural mandate - Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 - Section 232 - Failure of trial court to hear the accused as contemplated under Section 232 CrPC after questioning under Section 313 CrPC - Non compliance of the provision does not ipso facto vitiate the proceedings unless omission to comply is shown to have resulted in serious and substantial prejudice to the accused - Held - Accused raised no case that non compliance caused any prejudice - [Para 7].

Decision: Appeal dismissed – Judgment of acquittal dated 02.09.2014 passed by the trial court affirmed – Pending applications if any shall stand closed.

Family Law - Matrimonial Dispute - Misappropriation of gold and money - Appeals by wife against Family Court order dismissing claim for return of thirty five sovereigns of gold and money allegedly appropriated by husband - Wife alleged husband took gold on three occasions including before and after delivery - Family Court dismissed petition finding Ext B5 series photographs showed wife wearing gold ornaments long after birth of children indicating gold was with her - Ext A1 receipt from goldsmith found unreliable by Family Court - Wife failed to adduce evidence for payment of alleged amounts to husband - High Court upheld Family Court findings observing total lack of evidence - Held - Family Court justified in holding wife failed to prove claim for gold and money - Appeals dismissed - [Paras 1-12].

Family Law - Maintenance - Past maintenance - Claim by wife and children for past maintenance from July 2017 to January 2019 - Family Court negatived claim noticing wife was employed as Village Extension Officer since 2016 and husband was maintaining children - Wife admitted in cross examination that husband was paying Rs 1500 per month towards maintenance and producing evidence of school fee payments - Children already awarded maintenance at Rs 3000 per month in a connected petition - Held - No reason to interfere with Family Court judgment - [Paras 2-14].

Decision: Appeals dismissed – Judgment of the Family Court upheld – No order as to costs.

Property Law - Tenancy Rights - Bombay Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act 1948 - Section 88 - Deemed Purchaser - Dispute over agricultural land where petitioners claimed their ancestor became a deemed purchaser before 1957 - Land was subsequently brought within Pune municipal limits in 1962 causing the Agricultural Lands Tribunal to drop tenancy proceedings in 1964 and remove the tenants heirs from revenue records - Petitioners challenged this 1964 order decades later in 2007 claiming it was a nullity and passed against a dead person - Appellate and revisional authorities dismissed the challenge citing massive unexplained delay and holding the 1964 order binding - High Court examined statutory provisions and precedents observing that the purchase under Section 32 is conditional and subject to subsequent provisions like Section 88 - High Court found the 1964 order was passed by a competent authority and mere possibility of erroneous interpretation does not render it a nullity - Petitioners entirely failed to explain the enormous delay in challenging the mutation and original order - Held - Revisional authority correctly refused to condone the delay - The 1964 order is not a nullity and continues to bind the parties until legally set aside - Writ petitions dismissed - [Paras 1-70].

Property Law - Statutory Exclusion - Bombay Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act 1948 - Section 88 - Retrospective effect of exemption - Petitioners argued that rights acquired as a deemed purchaser on Tillers Day could not be divested by subsequent inclusion of land within municipal limits - High Court relied on Supreme Court judgments clarifying that Section 88 operates as an overriding provision - Held - Once a valid notification reserving an area for non agricultural or industrial development becomes applicable the rights claimed under Chapter III cannot continue - Statutory purchase is not absolute but subject to subsequent provisions of the Act - [Paras 37-58].

Civil Law - Nullity of Order - Bombay Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act 1948 - Section 74 - Validity of 1964 order - Petitioners contended the 1964 order was a nullity as it was allegedly passed against a deceased tenant without jurisdiction - High Court noted petitioners failed to produce the complete original order and cause title to prove this assertion - An order passed by a competent authority does not become a nullity merely because another legal interpretation is possible or it is alleged to be incorrect - Held - Burden to establish nullity rests on petitioners who failed to discharge it - Order binds parties unless set aside by a competent forum - [Paras 50-63].

Decision: Writ petitions dismissed – No order as to costs – Pending interim applications disposed of.

Civil Law - Agency - Indian Contract Act 1872 - Section 230 - Agent liability for undisclosed foreign principal - Appellants acted as agents for an overseas employment consultancy and collected service charges while directing plaintiffs to transfer remaining funds to the foreign principal - Employment visas were not provided and appellants issued refund cheques which subsequently dishonoured - Trial court decreed the suits against the appellants rejecting the defence that only the foreign principal was liable - Appellants contended that there was no privity of contract between them and plaintiffs for the transferred amounts - High Court found that the foreign principal was undisclosed not properly identified and incapable of being sued - Held - where the principal is undisclosed or incapable of being sued the agent incurs personal liability - appellants cannot claim protection under Section 230 - appeals dismissed - [Paras 20-21].

Civil Law - Negotiable Instruments - Negotiable Instruments Act 1881 - Section 28 - Personal liability of agent signing cheque - Appellants issued cheques towards refund of amounts after failing to secure overseas employment for plaintiffs - Appellants contended they acted merely as agents of a foreign principal - Held - liability under Section 28 must be determined from the instrument itself - an agent who signs a cheque without indicating therein that he signs as an agent or that he does not intend to incur personal responsibility is personally liable - disputed cheques did not indicate they were signed merely as agents or intended to exclude personal liability - appellants held personally liable - [Para 22].

Evidence Law - Presumption of execution - Negotiable Instruments Act 1881 - Sections 118(a) and 139 - Cheques allegedly issued under police threat - Appellants admitted signature and delivery of cheques but claimed they were forced by police coercion while in custody - Held - once execution and delivery are admitted the statutory presumptions come into operation - burden to rebut presumptions rested on appellants who failed to produce any contemporaneous complaint or reliable material establishing coercion - mere fact of subsequent judicial custody does not probabilise the defence - execution and delivery of cheques stand duly proved - [Paras 23-24].

Decision: Appeals dismissed - Common judgment and decrees passed by the trial court affirmed.