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National Highways Act, 1956 — Amendments and compensation provisions — Section 3-J introduced in 1997 removed applicability of Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (1894 Act) provisions for solatium and interest — Overturned by various High Courts, including reading down Sections 3-G and 3-J to grant solatium and interest — Subsequently, Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 (2013 Act) and its amended provisions extended to NH Act — Court clarified that landowners acquired lands under NH Act between 1997 and 2015 are entitled to solatium and interest — Review Petition filed by NHAI arguing financial burden was underestimated rejected, but clarification on delayed claims issued. Civil Procedure Code, 1908 (CPC) — Order 21 Rule 102 — Applicability — Provision contemplates a situation where a judgment debtor transfers property after institution of suit to a person who then obstructs execution — Not applicable where respondents derived title from independent registered sale deeds, not from the judgment debtor. Land Acquisition Act, 1894 — Section 28-A — Re-determination of compensation — Second application for re-determination based on High Court award maintainable even after accepting compensation based on Reference Court award — Principle of merger means appellate court’s award supersedes earlier award, entitling landowners to benefit from higher compensation — Object of Section 28-A is to ensure equality in compensation among similarly placed landowners. Electricity Act, 2003 — Section 61, 86 — Tariff determination and Generation Based Incentive (GBI) — State Electricity Regulatory Commission (SERC) has exclusive power to determine tariff — Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) introduced GBI to incentivise renewable energy generation — GBI is intended to be over and above the tariff fixed by SERC — SERC must consider GBI while determining tariff, but not necessarily deduct it — SERC’s power to determine tariff includes considering incentives — Parliament’s allocation of funds for GBI does not prevent SERC from considering it in tariff — SERC must exercise its power harmoniously with other stakeholders to achieve policy objectives. Contract Law — Award of Tender — Judicial Review — High Court should exercise restraint when reviewing tender evaluation processes, especially in technical matters, unless there is clear evidence of mala fide, arbitrariness, or irrationality — A marginal difference in scores, as seen in this case, does not automatically warrant interference, especially when the owner has the right to accept or reject bids and the contract is already underway.

Merely because the wife was suffering from the disease AIDS and/or divorce petition was pending, it cannot be said that the allegations of demand of dowry were highly/inherently improbable and the said proceedings can be said to be bogus proceedings — High Court while quashing the criminal proceedings has seriously erred

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA Before: M.R. Shah & C.T. Ravikumar, JJ. Criminal Appeal No. 25 of 2023 (@ Special Leave Petition (Crl.) No.9899 of 2019) Decided on: 04.01.2023 Sunita Kumari…

Chandigarh Administration shall not sanction any plan of a building which ex facie appears to be a modus operandi to convert a single dwelling unit into three different apartments occupied by three strangers; and no Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) or agreement or settlement amongst co­owners of a residential unit shall be registered nor shall it be enforceable in law for the purpose of bifurcation or division of a single residential unit into floor­ wise apartments –

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH RESIDENT’S WELFARE ASSOCIATION AND ANOTHER — Appellant Vs. THE UNION TERRITORY OF CHANDIGARH AND OTHERS — Respondent ( Before : B.R. Gavai and B.V.…

Uttar Pradesh Trade Tax Act, 1948 – Section 4-A(5) – Exemption – the goods manufactured on use of advance and/or modern technology, cannot be said to be a different commercial activity at all – High Court has not committed any error in refusing to grant exemption to the appellant – Appeal dismissed.

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH AMD INDUSTRIES LIMITED (EARLIER KNOWN AS M/S. ASHOKA METAL DÉCOR PRIVATE LIMITED) — Appellant Vs. COMMISSIONER OF TRADE TAX, LUCKNOW AND ANOTHER — Respondent…

Service Matters

State Bank of India Officers Service Rules, 1992 – Rule 19(3) – Order of Appointing Authority dismissing the respondent from service after granting opportunity of hearing to the respondent was in consonance with the direction given by this Court and could not be said to be arbitrary illegal or in violation of Rule 19(3) of the Rules

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH STATE BANK OF INDIA AND OTHERS — Appellant Vs. KAMAL KISHORE PRASAD — Respondent ( Before : Krishna Murari and Bela M. Trivedi, JJ.…

(SARFAESI) – Section 31(i) – Possession and Auction – – once the secured property is put as a security by way of mortgage etc. meaning thereby the same was not treated as agricultural land, such properties cannot be said to be exempted from the provisions of the SARFAESI Act under Section 31(i) of the SARFAESI Act – the borrower to prove that the secured properties were agricultural lands and actually being used as agricultural lands

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH K. SREEDHAR — Appellant Vs. M/S RAUS CONSTRUCTIONS PVT. LTD. AND OTHERS — Respondent ( Before : M.R. Shah and M.M. Sundresh, JJ. )…

Evidence Act, 1872 – Ss 101 & 102 – Suit for Possession – Declaration of Title – A person in possession of land in the assumed character as the owner, and exercising peaceably the ordinary rights of ownership, has a legal right against the entire world except the rightful owner – the burden of proof lies on the plaintiff and can be discharged only when he is able to prove title – Weakness of the defence cannot be a justification to decree the suit.

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH SMRITI DEBBARMA (DEAD) THROUGH LEGAL REPRESENTATIVE — Appellant Vs. PRABHA RANJAN DEBBARMA AND OTHERS — Respondent ( Before : Sanjiv Khanna and J.K. Maheshwari,…

HELD the borrower can take the benefit of the amount received by the creditor in an auction sale only if he unequivocally accepts the sale. In a case where the borrower also challenges the auction sale and does not accept the same and also challenges the steps taken under Section 13(2)/13(4) of the SARFAESI Act with respect to secured assets, the borrower has to deposit 50% of the amount claimed by the secured creditor along with interest as per section 2(g) of the Act 1993 and as per section 2(g), “debt” means any liability inclusive of interest which is claimed as due from any person.

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH M/S SIDHA NEELKANTH PAPER INDUSTRIES PRIVATE LIMITED AND ANOTHER — Appellant Vs. PRUDENT ARC LIMITED AND OTHERS — Respondent ( Before : M.R. Shah…

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