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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.

Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 – Section 15 – Rajasthan Minor Mineral Concession Rules, 1986 – Rules 4(10) and 7(3) – When a decision is taken by a competent authority in public interest by evolving a better process such as auction, a right, if any, to an applicant seeking lease over a Government land evaporates on its own – An applicant cannot have an exclusive right in seeking a grant of license of a mineral unless facilitated accordingly by a statute

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH THE STATE OF RAJASTHAN AND OTHERS — Appellant Vs. SHARWAN KUMAR KUMAWAT ETC. ETC — Respondent ( Before : A.S Bopanna and M.M Sundresh,…

Weapon used in the crime is a stick which was lying in the house, and which, by no means, can be called a deadly weapon – Possibility of accused causing the death of the deceased while being deprived of the power of self-control, due to the provocation on account of the deceased not agreeing to pay Rs.500/- to daughter, cannot be ruled out – Sentence already undergone would serve the ends of justice – Appeal allowed.

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH NIRMALA DEVI — Appellant Vs. STATE OF HIMACHAL PRADESH — Respondent ( Before : B.R. Gavai and J.B. Pardiwala, JJ. ) Criminal Appeal No.…

Anticipatory bail – Cruelty to wife – Once the chargesheet was filed and there was no impediment, at least on the part of the accused, the court having regard to the nature of the offences, the allegations and the maximum sentence of the offences they were likely to carry, ought to have granted the bail as a matter of course –

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH MD. ASFAK ALAM — Appellant Vs. THE STATE OF JHARKHAND AND ANOTHER — Respondent ( Before : S. Ravindra Bhat and Aravind Kumar, JJ.…

Practice of ‘ta khubzul badlain’ in Bihar recognises that a duly executed sale deed will not operate as a transfer in praesenti but postpones the actual transfer of title, from the time of execution and registration of the deed, to the time of exchange of equivalents, that is, registration receipt and the sale consideration, if the intention of the parties was that title would pass only on payment of entire sale consideration

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH YOGENDRA PRASAD SINGH (DEAD) THROUGH LRS — Appellant Vs. RAM BACHAN DEVI AND OTHERS — Respondent ( Before : Abhay S. Oka and Rajesh…

Mere delay in intimating the insurance company about the occurrence of theft, especially when an insured has lodged the FIR immediately after the theft of a vehicle occurred and when the police after investigation have lodged a final report after the vehicle was not traced and when the surveyors/investigators appointed by the insurance company have found the claim of the theft to be genuine, should not be a sufficient ground to deny the insurance claim.

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH ASHOK KUMAR — Appellant Vs. NEW INDIA ASSURANCE CO. LTD. — Respondent ( Before : J.K. Maheshwari and K.V. Viswanathan, JJ. ) Civil Appeal…

Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) – Sections 121, 121A, 124A, 153A, 505(1)(b), 117, 120B read with Section 34 – Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 – Sections 13, 15(1)(b), 16, 17, 18, 18B, 20, 38, 39, 40 and 43D(5) – Mere holding of certain literatures through which violent acts may be propagated would not ipso facto attract the provisions of Section 15(1)(b) of the said Act – There has been no credible evidence of commission of any terrorist act or enter into conspiracy to do so to invoke the provisions of Section 43D(5) of the 1967 Act – Bail granted with conditions.

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH VERNON — Appellant Vs. THE STATE OF MAHARASHTRA AND ANOTHER — Respondent ( Before : Aniruddha Bose and Sudhanshu Dhulia, JJ. ) Criminal Appeal…

Valuation for the purpose of jurisdiction of suit – Once the plaintiff exercises his option and values his claim for the purpose of court fees, that determines the value for jurisdiction – Value for court fees and the value for jurisdiction must no doubt be the same in such cases; but it is the value for court fees stated by the plaintiff that is of primary importance.

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH B.P. NAAGAR AND OTHERS — Appellant Vs. RAJ PAL SHARMA — Respondent ( Before : C.T. Ravikumar and Sudhanshu Dhulia, JJ. ) Civil Appeal…

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