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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.

Odisha Lokayukta Act, 2014 – Section 20(1) – Provisions relating to complaints and preliminary inquiry and investigation – there was no element of bias in conducting a preliminary inquiry in the instant case and the objection raised by the respondents stands overruled – Appeal Allowed.

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH OFFICE OF THE ODISHA LOKAYUKTA — Appellant Vs. DR. PRADEEP KUMAR PANIGRAHI AND OTHERS — Respondent ( Before : Ajay Rastogi and Bela M.…

Penal Code, 1860 – S 302 – Evidence Act, 1872 – Section 106 – Murder of her five-year-old child – If the accused does not offer an explanation under Section 106 and there is corroborative evidence establishing a chain of circumstances leading to the conclusion of guilt, the accused could be convicted on that basis

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH VAHITHA — Appellant Vs. STATE OF TAMIL NADU — Respondent ( Before : Dinesh Maheshwari and Bela M. Trivedi, JJ. ) Criminal Appeal No.…

Service Matters

Service Law – Equal Pay for Equal Work – Though the doctrine “equal pay for equal work” is not an abstract doctrine and is capable of being enforced in a Court of Law, the equal pay must be for equal work of equal value – Equation of posts and determination of pay scales is the primary function of the Executive and not of the Judiciary

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH UNION OF INDIA — Appellant Vs. INDIAN NAVY CIVILIAN DESIGN OFFICERS ASSOCIATION AND ANOTHER — Respondent ( Before : Ajay Rastogi and Bela M.…

Dishonour of cheque – Transfer of case from one state to another state – Power of SCOI Court to transfer pending criminal proceedings under Section 406 Cr.P.C. does not stand abrogated thereby in respect of offences under Section 138 of the Act of 1881 – Appeal allowed.

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH YOGESH UPADHYAY AND ANOTHER — Appellant Vs. ATLANTA LIMITED — Respondent ( Before : Dinesh Maheshwari and Sanjay Kumar, JJ. ) Transfer Petition (Criminal)…

Constitution of India, 1950 – Article 30 – management of any registered minority Secondary School receiving Grant-in-Aid from the State-Government, then such school would not be entitled to receive any grant in respect of the expenditure incurred for continuing such employee or teacher beyond the age of 58 or 60 years

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH THE STATE OF GUJARAT AND OTHERS — Appellant Vs. H.B. KAPADIA EDUCATION TRUST AND ANOTHER — Respondent ( Before : Dinesh Maheshwari and Bela…

Chhattisgarh Land Revenue Code, 1959 – Section 257 – Jurisdiction of civil court – Bar of jurisdiction – Question whether the purchase by a tribal was a sham and nominal transaction for the benefit of a non-tribal, may not fall exclusively within the jurisdiction of the Revenue Authorities.

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH KHORA (DEAD) THROUGH LEGAL HEIRS AND OTHERS — Appellant Vs. MOHAR SAI AND OTHERS — Respondent ( Before : V. Ramasubramanian and Pankaj Mithal,…

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