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Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 — Compensation for Death of a Child — Calculation of Compensation — Deceased 14-year-old schoolboy — Principles adopted for calculating compensation for death of child — Notional monthly income adopted based on Minimum Wages Act, 1948 for a Class B city (Rs. 5400/- per month) — Addition of 40% for future prospects — Multiplier of 15 adopted based on Reshma Kumari v. Madan Mohan — Deduction of one-half for personal expenses — Statutory heads of compensation (loss of estate, funeral expenses) awarded at Rs. 15,000/- each — Loss of filial consortium awarded at Rs. 40,000/- per parent — Compensation for pain and suffering of the deceased child, who died a day after the accident, awarded at Rs. 25,000/- to inure to the benefit of legal heirs — Total compensation enhanced to Rs. 8,65,400/- with interest at 7.5% per annum. (Paras 7, 8, 9) Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 — Compensation — Assessment of income of deceased — Standard of proof — Where claimants assert a high monthly income (Rs. 95,000/-) for the deceased (a transport contractor owning two trucks), which exceeds the taxable limit, failure to produce Income Tax Returns (ITR) is highly relevant and undermines the claim — The contention that high EMI payments (approx. Rs. 42,500/-) imply double the income is an unfounded assumption, amounting to mere surmises and conjectures. (Paras 3, 6) Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 — Sections 13(1)(i-a) and 13(1)(i-b) — Divorce — Desertion and Cruelty — Irretrievable Breakdown of Marriage — Where parties have been living separately for a long period (24 years in this case) without any prospect of reconciliation, this long period of separation amounts to mental cruelty to both parties, justifying dissolution of marriage — The marriage is deemed to have broken down irretrievably — Fact that spouses hold strongly views and refuse to accommodate each other also constitutes cruelty. (Paras 20, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 33, 34) Income Tax Act, 1961 — Sections 37(1), 44C — Deduction of Head Office Expenditure in case of Non-Residents — Interpretation of Section 44C and ‘Head Office Expenditure’ — Distinction between ‘Common’ and ‘Exclusive’ Expenditure — Section 44C, being a special provision with a non-obstante clause, governs the quantum of allowable deduction for any expenditure incurred by a non-resident assessee that qualifies as ‘head office expenditure’ — The definition of ‘head office expenditure’ in the Explanation to Section 44C does not distinguish between common expenditure (shared among branches) and exclusive expenditure (incurred solely for Indian branches) — The term ‘attributable to’ in Section 44C(c) is broad enough to include both common and exclusive head office expenditure; exclusivity is a form of strong attribution — Therefore, Section 44C applies to head office expenditure regardless of whether it is common or exclusive, subjecting the deduction to the statutory ceiling. (Paras 2, 26, 43-45, 47-49, 59-63, 71, 86, 88)

(CrPC) – Section 167 – Default bail – 60/90 day remand period under Section 167 CrPC ought to be computed from the date when a Magistrate authorizes remand HELD the very moment the stipulated 60/90 day remand period expires, an indefeasible right to default bail accrues to the accused.

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA FULL BENCH ENFORCEMENT DIRECTORATE, GOVERNMENT OF INDIA — Appellant Vs. KAPIL WADHAWAN AND ANOTHER ETC. — Respondent ( Before : K.M. Joseph, Hrishikesh Roy and B.V.…

Section 125 of the Electricity Act, 2003 – Appellate Tribunal for Electricity – As a judicial tribunal, dealing with contracts and bargains, which are entered into by parties with equal bargaining power, APTEL is not expected to casually render findings of coercion, or fraud, without proper pleadings or proof, or without probing into evidence. The findings of coercion are therefore, set aside.

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA FULL BENCH GUJARAT URJA VIKAS NIGAM LIMITED AND OTHERS — Appellant Vs. RENEW WIND ENERGY (RAJKOT) PRIVATE LIMITED AND OTHERS — Respondent ( Before : Sanjay…

“Consumer” – Commercial purpose – whether the insurance service has a close and direct nexus with the profit generating activity and whether the dominant intention or dominant purpose for the transaction was to facilitate some kind of profit generation for the purchaser and/or their beneficiary – Insured is a commercial enterprise is unrelated to the determination of whether the insurance policy shall be counted as a commercial purpose

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH NATIONAL INSURANCE CO. LTD. — Appellant Vs. HARSOLIA MOTORS AND OTHERS — Respondent ( Before : Ajay Rastogi and C.T. Ravikumar, JJ. ) Civil…

Constitution of India, 1950 – Article 14 – Penalty imposed must be commensurate with the gravity of the misconduct, and that any penalty disproportionate to the gravity of the misconduct would be violative of Article 14 of the Constitution – In the armed forces of the Union, including the paramilitary forces, utmost discipline, unity of command et al are the sine qua non – That said, the doctrine of proportionality still holds the field.

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH B. S. HARI COMMANDANT — Appellant Vs. UNION OF INDIA & ORS. R1: UNION OF INDIA, MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS R2: DIRECTOR GENERAL, BORDER…

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