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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 found the prosecution’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt for kidnapping, attempted murder, and robbery, but had doubts about the evidence’s sufficiency to prove the intention of demanding ransom. The court acquitted the appellants of the charge under Section 364A of the IPC while upholding their convictions for other offences.

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH NEERAJ SHARMA AND OTHERS — Appellant Vs. STATE OF CHHATTISGARH AND OTHERS — Respondent ( Before : Sudhanshu Dhulia and Satish Chandra Sharma, JJ.…

Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) – Sections 376 and 506 – Rape – Quashing of FIR – The appellant’s main argument was that the prosecution against him was an abuse of process of law – consensual relationship – the Supreme Court set aside the High Court’s judgment and quashed the FIR against the appellant – Appeal Allowed

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH AJEET SINGH — Appellant Vs. STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH AND OTHERS — Respondent ( Before : Abhay S. Oka and Pankaj Mithal, JJ. )…

Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 – Section 138 – Cheque Bounce – Default in payment of agreed amount – Violation of undertaking given before the High Court and further violated the condition contained in the order granting extension of time to comply – Order cancelling the order of suspension of sentence and bail is upheld.

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH SATISH P. BHATT — Appellant Vs. THE STATE OF MAHARASHTRA AND ANOTHER — Respondent ( Before : Vikram Nath and Rajesh Bindal, JJ. )…

Registration Act, 1908 – Section 47 – Time from which registered document operates – Sale operated from the date of execution of the original sale deed, despite the alteration made before registration without the buyer’s consent – This was because the full consideration was paid on the date of execution, and Section 47 of the Registration Act applies to make the sale deed operate from that date.

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH KANWAR RAJ SINGH (D) TH. LRS. — Appellant Vs. GEJO. (D) TH.LRS AND OTHERS — Respondent ( Before : Abhay S. Oka and Pankaj…

Article 229 of the Constitution does not grant the Chief Justice the power to make rules regarding the post-retiral benefits of former judges – The State Government has the legislative power to make laws regarding the post-retiral benefits of its employees, including former High Court judges.

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA FULL BENCH THE STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH AND OTHERS — Appellant Vs. ASSOCIATION OF RETIRED SUPREME COURT AND HIGH COURT JUDGES AT ALLAHABAD AND OTHERS —…

“The SEBI, and the investigative agencies of the Union government, shall probe into whether the loss suffered by Indian investors due to the conduct of the Hindenburg research and any other entities in taking short position involved any infraction of law, and if so, suitable action shall be taken.”

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA FULL BENCH VISHAL TIWARI — Appellant Vs. UNION OF INDIA AND OTHERS — Respondent ( Before : Dr. Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud, CJI., J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj…

Service Matters

The appellant had filled in 08.12.1997 as his date of birth, while his actual date of birth is 18.12.1997 – SCOI allowed the appeal, holding that the error in the application form was a trivial error and did not justify the cancellation of the appellant’s candidature: – The Supreme Court’s reasoning is based on the following principles: a. De minimis non curat lex – The law does not concern itself with trifles. b. Candidacy cancellation for trivial errors is not justified. c. No prejudice caused to the state due to the error.

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH VASHIST NARAYAN KUMAR — Appellant Vs. THE STATE OF BIHAR AND OTHERS — Respondent ( Before : J.K. Maheshwari and K.V. Viswanathan, JJ. )…

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