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Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 — Section 168 — Notional income of skilled worker — Carpenter — Assessment — The appellant, a carpenter aged 38 years, suffered amputation of his right leg below the knee in a road accident in November 2004 — The Claims Tribunal assessed his monthly income at Rs. 3,000/- and the High Court enhanced it to Rs. 5,000/- relying on minimum wages. Held — A carpenter is a skilled artisan who works with precision and manual dexterity — His income cannot be equated with that of an unskilled worker — Where the appellant’s unrefuted evidence showed earnings of Rs. 8,000/- to Rs. 10,000/- per month, and a skilled job always has the potentiality to fetch higher income, the High Court erred in restricting the figure to Rs. 5,000/- — Considering the date of accident, decisions in comparable cases and the fact of the appellant being a skilled worker, his notional monthly income is assessed at Rs. 9,000/- per month. Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC) — Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) — Section 304 Part II — Culpable Homicide not Amounting to Murder — Conviction and sentence — Appeal against — Abatement of appeal due to death of co-accused — Death of two appellants during pendency of appeal — Appeal survives only for the third appellant. Uttar Pradesh Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act, 1950 — Section 154 — Transfer of land in contravention of ceiling limit — Not void ipso facto — Capable of ratification — Legality of transfer to be judged by law on date of execution — Sale deed executed on 04.06.1957 — Ceiling limit then was 30 acres, subsequently amended to 12.5 acres retrospectively from 01.07.1952 — Transfer in contravention of Section 154 not void but voidable at instance of Gaon Sabha coupled with liability for ejectment of transferee under Section 163 — No suit filed for ejectment within limitation period. Specific Relief Act, 1963 — Section 16(c) — “Readiness and Willingness” — Relief of specific performance is equitable and discretionary — Plaintiff must specifically aver and prove continuous readiness and willingness to perform obligations — Failure to do so disentitles plaintiff to relief — “Readiness” refers to financial capacity, “Willingness” to conduct and intention — Both cumulatively must be seen — Conduct of plaintiff prior and subsequent to suit, along with attending circumstances, must be considered — Availability of funds must be proved with reference to relevant time, not by documents created much later. Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 — Section 166 and 140 — Compensation for death in motor vehicular accident — Negligence — Truck stationed on road at night without warning lights or indicators — Wagon-R car collided from behind — Held, truck driver was negligent in leaving the vehicle unattended on the road without adequate precautionary measures, which was the proximate cause of the accident.

The court dismissed the appeal and held that the filing of the suit for asserting the rights of the plaintiffs/respondents did not amount to contempt of court – The court distinguished the case of Skipper Construction and observed that the facts were totally different – The court also stated that its observations were only restricted to the maintainability of the contempt proceedings and would have no bearing on the merits of the suit.

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA FULL BENCH M/S SHAH ENTERPRISES THR. PADMABEN MANSUKHBHAI MODI — Appellant Vs. VAIJAYANTIBEN RANJITSINGH SAWANT AND OTHERS — Respondent ( Before : B.R. Gavai, Rajesh Bindal…

The main legal issues are whether the dying declaration is reliable, voluntary and free from tutoring, and whether it can be the sole basis of conviction without any corroboration – The Supreme Court upheld the conviction of Pappi @ Mashkoor based on the dying declaration, which was found to be cogent, trustworthy and consistent – However, the Court acquitted ‘N1’ and ‘N2 as the dying declaration did not attribute any specific role to them.

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH NAEEM — Appellant Vs. STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH — Respondent ( Before : B.R. Gavai and Sandeep Mehta, JJ. ) Criminal Appeal No. 1978…

Andhra Pradesh (Agricultural Produce and Livestock) Markets Act, 1966 – Section 2(v), 3 and 4 – Whether “ghee” is a “product of livestock” under the Act and if the government notification regarding “ghee” followed proper procedure – The court upheld that “ghee” is indeed a “product of livestock” and the 1994 government notification was valid – The court ruled that market fees must be paid for “ghee” from 1994 to 2009, with provisions for installment payments.

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH SANGAM MILK PRODUCER COMPANY LTD. — Appellant Vs. THE AGRICULTURAL MARKET COMMITTEE AND OTHERS — Respondent ( Before : Sudhanshu Dhulia and S.V.N. Bhatti,…

Service Matters

Service Law – Recruitment Process – Public Employment – Merely because a recruitment agency is not in a position to satisfy the Court, a relief cannot be extended to a candidate deprived as it will have a cascading effect not only on the said recruitment, but also to numerous others as well.

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH THE TELANGANA RESIDENTIAL EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS RECRUITMENT BOARD — Appellant Vs. SALUVADI SUMALATHA AND ANOTHER — Respondent ( Before : A. S. Bopanna and M.…

Special Court (Trial of Offences relating to transactions in Securities) Act, 1992 – Sections 3(2) and 3(3) – Attachment of Property – Properties of the person notified under Section 3(2) would stand attached automatically with effect from the date of notification by virtue of Section 3(3).

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH SUMAN L. SHAH — Appellant Vs. THE CUSTODIAN AND OTHERS — Respondent ( Before : Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha and Sandeep Mehta, JJ. ) Civil…

Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 – Section 94 – Juvenile – Determination of Age – In the order of priorities, the date of birth certificate from the school stands at the highest pedestal whereas ossification test has been kept at the last rung to be considered, only in the absence of the criteria Nos. 1 and 2, i.e. in absence of both certificate from school and birth certificate issued by a Corporation/Municipal Authority/Panchayat.

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH VINOD KATARA — Appellant Vs. STATE OF U.P. — Respondent ( Before : B.R. Gavai and Sandeep Mehta, JJ. ) Writ Petition (Criminal) No(s).…

Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) – Section 306 – Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 – Section 3(2)(v) – Abetment of suicide – Necessary ingredients – This court ruled that the charge under the SC/ST Act was unwarranted because the prosecution did not allege that the offence under the IPC was committed based on the deceased’s caste – The court also found that the allegations in the suicide note were not sufficient to establish abetment of suicide under Section 306 of the IPC – Appeal Allowed.

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH PRABHAT KUMAR MISHRA @ PRABHAT MISHRA — Appellant Vs. THE STATE OF U.P. AND OTHER — Respondent ( Before : B.R. Gavai and Sandeep…

Consumer Protection Act, 2019 – Sections 47, 49(2) and 59 – Court observed that the appellant was not an illiterate person and had signed the agreement after being aware of the adjustable interest rate option – The Court also noted that the appellant had not produced any evidence to show that he had a better option of securing loan from another institution – The Court held that the email could not override the policy decisions of HDFC and that the appellant could not seek refund of the interest paid after having received the loan amount and repaid it as per the agreement.

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH RAJESH MONGA — Appellant Vs. HOUSING DEVELOPMENT FINANCE CORPORATION LIMITED AND OTHERS — Respondent ( Before : A.S. Bopanna and M.M. Sundresh, JJ. )…

Bribery: Not protected by parliamentary privilege, as it is not in respect of anything said or any vote given by a member, and it is a criminal offence that does not arise out of the exercise of legislative functions Courts and House: Exercise parallel jurisdiction over allegations of bribery, as the House can take disciplinary action to restore its dignity, while the courts can prosecute the offenders under the criminal law The majority judgment in PV Narasimha Rao v. State (CBI/SPE) did not consider the evolution of law in the US and relied solely on the dissenting opinion in United States v. Brewster to conclude that members of Parliament in India are immune from prosecution for bribery under Article 105(2) of the Constitution

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA 7 JUDGE BENCH SITA SOREN — Appellant Vs. UNION OF INDIA — Respondent ( Before : Dr Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, CJI, A.S. Bopanna, M.M. Sundresh, Pamidighantam…

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