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Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 — Section 166 — Claim Petition for death of bachelor — Selection of Multiplier — Multiplier to be determined based on age of deceased and not age of dependents/parents — Deceased was 33 years old at the time of accident — Correct multiplier applicable according to standardized matrix in Sarla Verma and Pranay Sethi is 16 — Argument of insurer that multiplier should correspond to age of parents rejected — MACT and High Court rightly applied multiplier of 16. Legal Representatives Can Claim Motor Accident Compensation Even Without Financial Dependency On Deceased Execution Of Unregistered Agreement To Sell Does Not Terminate Subsisting Landlord-Tenant Relationship Nor Entitle Tenant To Section 53A TP Act Protection A. Transfer of Property Act, 1882 — Section 111(e) & (f) — Landlord and Tenant — Determination of lease by express or implied surrender — Execution of agreement to sell by landlord in favour of tenant — Effect on jural relationship — Held, mere execution of an agreement to sell between landlord and tenant does not ipso facto determine the subsisting tenancy — Tenancy is determined only when terms of agreement or unequivocal conduct of parties disclose express or implied surrender — Where agreement to sell contained clause for cancellation and restoration of possession in case loan was not sanctioned, existing possession was referable to tenancy and not to agreement to sell — Landlord-tenant relationship continued to subsist. Appellate Courts Should Not Remand Cases Under Order 41 Rule 23 CPC As A Matter Of Course When Sufficient Evidence Is Available On Record. A. Civil Procedure Code, 1908 (CPC) — Order 41 Rules 23 and 24 — Power of Appellate Court to remand — Remand of case to Trial Court for framing of additional issues and fresh evidence — Permissibility — High Court remitted suit regarding one item of property for framing issues on whether sale deed was sham, limitation, and possession — Held, remand is not to be adopted as a matter of ordinary course and reflects incorrect exercise of discretion when sufficient evidence is available on record — Issues already framed by Trial Court were comprehensive enough to cover core disputes — Appellate Court is fully empowered to decide issues on merits or admit additional evidence if warranted, rather than remitting matter to cause unnecessary delay — Remand set aside and appeals restored to High Court for fresh disposal on merits. Extended Period Of Limitation Under Proviso To Section 11A, Central Excise Act Cannot Be Invoked When Facts Are Known To Department Without Wilful Suppression A. Central Excise Act, 1944 — Section 35L — Maintainability of appeal before Supreme Court — Preliminary objection raised by Department that appeal does not come under Section 35L as issue had no relation to rate of duty or valuation — Held, issue raised regarding extended period of limitation on ground of non-inclusion of certain costs in assessable value has an inextricable link with valuation of goods for purposes of assessment — Issue raised in show cause notice fundamentally dealt with valuation of goods — Supreme Court declined to relegate matter to High Court after almost a decade of pendency — Preliminary objection rejected.

Held, the appellant may have accidentally caused the death of the deceased while intoxicated, there is no evidence to prove that the appellant, due to intoxication – The absence of such evidence, combined with the appellant not claiming to have been intoxicated against his will, leads to the conclusion that Section 86 of the (IPC) does not apply – Therefore, the appellant is not entitled to a reduction of the sentence from Section 302 IPC (murder) to a charge falling under Part II of Section 304 IPC (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) – Appeal Dismissed.

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH NANHE — Appellant Vs. STATE OF U.P. — Respondent ( Before : Abhay S. Oka and Pankaj Mithal, JJ. ) Criminal Appeal No. 2791…

IBC, 2016 – Adjudicating Authority has jurisdiction only under Section 31(2) of the Code, which gives power not to approve only when the Resolution Plan does not meet the requirement laid down under Section 31(1) of the Code, for which a reasoned order is required to be passed – NCLT’s jurisdiction and powers as the Adjudicating Authority under the Code, flow only from the Code and the Regulations thereunder.

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH RAMKRISHNA FORGINGS LIMITED — Appellant Vs. RAVINDRA LOONKAR, RESOLUTION PROFESSIONAL OF ACIL LIMITED AND ANOTHER — Respondent ( Before : Vikram Nath and Ahsanuddin…

Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956 – Section 16 – Adoption Deed – Mere fact that a deed of adoption has been registered cannot be taken as evidence of proof of adoption, as an adoption deed never proves an adoption – Factum of adoption has to be proved by oral evidence of giving or taking of the child and that the necessary ceremonies, where they are necessary to be performed, were carried out in accordance with shastras.

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH MOTURU NALINI KANTH — Appellant Vs. GAINEDI KALIPRASAD (DEAD, THROUGH LRS.) — Respondent ( Before : C.T. Ravikumar and Sanjay Kumar, JJ. ) Civil…

Insurance Claim – Replacement of Car – On account of damage caused to BMW Car due to accident – In case of total loss/constructive total loss, instead of paying the amount, the insurer has an option available to replace the vehicle with a new one – Thus, it is not the right of the insured under the policy conditions to always claim replacement of the car – It is at the option of the insurer

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH BAJAJ ALLIANZ GENERAL INSURANCE CO. LTD. — Appellant Vs. MUKUL AGGARWAL AND OTHERS — Respondent ( Before : Abhay S. Oka and Rajesh Bindal,…

Mineral (Auction) Rules, 2015 (as amended by Mineral (Auction) Amendment Rules, 2017) – Rule 9(10), Rule 9(11) and Rule 9(12) – The State Government is expected to be aware of the commercial worth of the natural resources being tendered or auctioned, as well as their potential future earning capacity – Consequently, the statutory regulations outline a bid cum e-auction process that involves not only shortlisting technically qualified bidders but also evaluating specific bids to ensure they meet eligibility criteria for participation in the e-auction – The rules incorporate various safeguards to guarantee transparency and objectivity throughout the bidding process.

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH STATE OF JHARKHAND — Appellant Vs. SOCIEDADE DE FOMENTO INDUSTRIAL PVT. LTD. AND OTHERS — Respondent ( Before : S.V.N. Bhatti and Sanjiv Khanna,…

Civil Law – It is settled law that a vendor cannot transfer a title to the vendee better than he himself possesses, the principle arising from the maxim nemo dat quod non habet, i.e., “no one can confer a better title than what he himself has”. In the present case, the plaintiff’s vendor having been denied the right of title in the land by the Commissioner’s order, could not have conveyed the same to her vendee.

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH P. KISHORE KUMAR — Appellant Vs. VITTAL K. PATKAR — Respondent ( Before : Bela M. Trivedi and Dipankar Datta, JJ. ) Civil Appeal…

Criminal Law – Transit anticipatory bail – In situations where an accused is a resident in a state different from where the FIR is registered, full-fledged anticipatory bail cannot be sought in the resident state – However, the individual is entitled to apply for transit anticipatory bail from the Court of Session or High Court in their resident state

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH PRIYA INDORIA — Appellant Vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA AND OTHERS ETC. — Respondent ( Before : B.V. Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan, JJ. ) Criminal…

Service Matters

Service Law – Appointment – “anticipated vacancies” – To sum up the position of law as it stands, once clear and anticipated vacancies have been advertised, appointments can only be made on these vacancies – Vacancies which could not be anticipated before the date of advertisement, or the vacancies which did not exist at the time of advertisement, are the vacancies for the future i.e., next selection process.

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH VIVEK KAISTH AND ANOTHER — Appellant Vs. THE STATE OF HIMACHAL PRADESH AND OTHERS — Respondent ( Before : C.T. Ravikumar and Sudhanshu Dhulia,…

Economic Offences – Economic offences are distinct and warrant a unique approach when considering bail – Due to their inherent complexity, deep-rooted conspiracies, and substantial loss of public funds, these offences should be treated seriously – They pose a significant threat to the country’s financial well-being and can have severe repercussions on its overall development – As a result, economic offences are deemed grave and necessitate special consideration in legal matters.

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH TARUN KUMAR — Appellant Vs. ASSISTANT DIRECTOR DIRECTORATE OF ENFORCEMENT — Respondent ( Before : Aniruddha Bose and Bela M. Trivedi, JJ. ) Criminal…

Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 – Sections 25 and 26 – Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 – Section 21 – Grant of Consent to Establish (CTE) – An appeal could have been preferred by the appellant for challenging condition no. 4 by taking recourse to Section 28 of the Water Act and Section 31 of the Air Act – In fact, the judgment of the Appellate Authority shows that the attention of the Appellate Authority was invited to the aforesaid condition no.4 – After having acted upon the ex-post facto CTE dated 18th October 2017, the appellant cannot be allowed to approbate and reprobate.

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH M/S SWETA ESTATE PVT. LTD. GURGAON — Appellant Vs. HARYANA STATE POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD AND ANOTHER — Respondent ( Before : Abhay S. Oka…

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