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Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 — Sections 5, 34, and 37 — Scope of Judicial Intervention — Minimum intervention of judicial authority in domestic arbitration matters is required under Section 5 — Challenge to an arbitral award under Section 34 is limited to specific grounds, including patent illegality or conflict with the public policy of India — Scope of interference by the Appellate Court under Section 37 is akin to and cannot travel beyond the restrictions laid down under Section 34 — Appellate Court cannot undertake an independent assessment of the merits of the award or re-interpret contractual clauses if the interpretation by the Arbitral Tribunal was a plausible view and upheld under Section 34 — Setting aside an arbitral award under Section 37, which was upheld under Section 34, based on providing a different interpretation of contractual clauses is unsustainable in law. (Paras 24, 25, 30, 31, 36, 37, 39, 50, 51) Limitation Act, 1963 — Article 54 — Suit for specific performance — Commencement of limitation period — Where the defendant subsequently executed an affidavit ratifying the agreement to sell and conveying no-objection to the transfer, the period of limitation commences from the date of the admitted affidavit, as this is the stage at which the executant finally refused to execute the sale deed to the extent of her share — Trial court and High Court erred in dismissing the suit on the ground of limitation calculated from an earlier disputed date. (Paras 13, 35, 36, 37) Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 — Section 9(2) read with Rule 9(4) of 2001 Rules — Setting aside High Court judgment — High Court erroneously treated the date of filing of the Section 11 petition (28.06.2024) as the commencement date, leading to the conclusion that proceedings commenced beyond the statutory period — Where the arbitration notice was served (on 11.04.2024) well within the 90-day period from the ad-interim injunction order (17.02.2024), proceedings commenced in time as per Section 21 — High Court’s finding unsustainable, resulting in the restoration of the Trial Court’s initial ad-interim injunction order. (Paras 28, 31, 32) E. Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 — Section 9 — Interim injunction — Dispute regarding existence Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 — Section 2(28) — Definition of “motor vehicle” — Components — Definition has two parts: an inclusive part (mechanically propelled vehicle adapted for use upon roads) and an exclusive part — The second part expressly excludes “a vehicle of a special type adapted for use only in a factory or in any other enclosed premises” — Although Dumpers, Loaders, etc., may fall under the first part of the definition, they are excluded if their nature of use is confined to factory or enclosed premises, being special type vehicles/Construction Equipment Vehicles. (Paras 36, 37, 38, 39) Telangana Prevention of Dangerous Activities of BootLeggers, Dacoits, Drug-Offenders, Goondas, Immoral Traffic Offenders etc. Act, 1986 — Section 3(2) — Preventive Detention — Grounds for Detention — Requirement of finding ‘prejudicial to the maintenance of public order’ — Detenu, a ‘drug offender’, was detained based on three criminal cases involving Ganja, with an apprehension that if released on bail, she would engage in similar activities — Held, mere apprehension that the detenu, if released on bail, would be likely to indulge in similar crimes would not be a sufficient ground for ordering preventive detention — Order of detention failed to indicate how the detenu’s activities were prejudicial to ‘public order’ as opposed to ‘law and order’ and was therefore unsustainable. (Paras 3, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11)

Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 — Sections 5, 34, and 37 — Scope of Judicial Intervention — Minimum intervention of judicial authority in domestic arbitration matters is required under Section 5 — Challenge to an arbitral award under Section 34 is limited to specific grounds, including patent illegality or conflict with the public policy of India — Scope of interference by the Appellate Court under Section 37 is akin to and cannot travel beyond the restrictions laid down under Section 34 — Appellate Court cannot undertake an independent assessment of the merits of the award or re-interpret contractual clauses if the interpretation by the Arbitral Tribunal was a plausible view and upheld under Section 34 — Setting aside an arbitral award under Section 37, which was upheld under Section 34, based on providing a different interpretation of contractual clauses is unsustainable in law. (Paras 24, 25, 30, 31, 36, 37, 39, 50, 51)

Limitation Act, 1963 — Article 54 — Suit for specific performance — Commencement of limitation period — Where the defendant subsequently executed an affidavit ratifying the agreement to sell and conveying no-objection to the transfer, the period of limitation commences from the date of the admitted affidavit, as this is the stage at which the executant finally refused to execute the sale deed to the extent of her share — Trial court and High Court erred in dismissing the suit on the ground of limitation calculated from an earlier disputed date. (Paras 13, 35, 36, 37)

Service Matters

HELD reinstatement of an employee who was dismissed as a result of disciplinary proceedings, and was only reinstated in service because of his acquittal in criminal proceedings, but again the reasons which weighed with the Court in such cases were that in almost in all such cases, the acquittal was an honourable acquittal and not an acquittal on a technicality, or on acquittal given because of “benefit of doubt”.

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISON BENCH THE STATE OF RAJASTHAN AND OTHERS — Appellant Vs. PHOOL SINGH — Respondent ( Before : S. Ravindra Bhat and Sudhanshu Dhulia, JJ. )…

Service Matters

Payment of Gratuity (Amendment) Act, 2009 – The amendment with retrospective effect is to make the benevolent provisions equally applicable to teachers – The amendment seeks to bring equality and give fair treatment to the teachers – It can hardly be categorised as an arbitrary and high-handed exercise – Appeal Dismissed.

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISON BENCH INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS FEDERATION OF INDIA (REGD.) — Appellant Vs. UNION OF INDIA AND ANOTHER — Respondent ( Before : Sanjiv Khanna and Bela M.…

Service Matters

HJS – HELD board which conducted the viva­voce of the candidates who qualified in the written examination was different, there are hardly candidates who had qualified against the number of vacancies and it would be advisable that there should be one common board to evaluate the performance of all the candidates who may now qualify in the revised declaration of the result of written examination and that, would do justice to the candidates – Appeal Allowed.

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISON BENCH HARKIRAT SINGH GHUMAN — Appellant Vs. PUNJAB & HARYANA HIGH COURT AND OTHERS — Respondent ( Before : Ajay Rastogi and C.T. Ravikumar, JJ.…

Service Matters

Inter-departmental communication cannot be treated to be a letter of allotment – Even if it is considered to be a letter of allotment, the writ petitioner-wife of the ex-serviceman, who died in July 1998 could not claim possession on the basis of such communication after more than 30 years in terms of the Rules applicable for allotment of land to the disabled ex-servicemen.

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISON BENCH MAHADEO AND OTHERS — Appellant SMT. SOVAN DEVI AND OTHERS — Respondent ( Before : Hemant Gupta and Vikram Nath, JJ. ) Civil Appeal…

(NDPS) – Section 54 of the Act raises a presumption and the burden shifts on the accused to explain as to how he came into possession of the contraband – But to raise the presumption under Section 54 of the Act, it must first be established that a recovery was made from the accused.

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISON BENCH SANJEET KUMAR SINGH @ MUNNA KUMAR SINGH — Appellant Vs. STATE OF CHHATTISGARH — Respondent ( Before : Indira Banerjee and V. Ramasubramanian, JJ.…

Service Matters

Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 – Section 5(1) – Sub-section (1) of Section 5 confers an entitlement on a woman to the payment of maternity benefits at a stipulated rate for the period of her actual absence beginning from the period immediately preceding the day of her delivery, the actual day of her delivery and any period immediately following that day.

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISON BENCH DEEPIKA SINGH — Appellant Vs. CENTRAL ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL AND OTHERS — Respondent ( Before : Dr. Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud and A S Bopanna, JJ.…

(IPC) – Ss 405, 415 and 420 – The offence of criminal breach of trust contains two ingredients: (i) entrusting any person with property, or with any dominion over property; and (ii) the person entrusted dishonestly misappropriates or converts to his own use that property to the detriment of the person who entrusted it.

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISON BENCH M N G BHARATEESH REDDY — Appellant Vs. RAMESH RANGANATHAN AND ANOTHER — Respondent ( Before : Dr. Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud and A S…

A judgment can be open to review if there is a mistake or an error apparent on the face of the record, but an error that has to be detected by a process of reasoning, cannot be described as an error apparent on the face of the record for the Court to exercise its powers of review under Order XLVII Rule 1 CPC

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA FULL BENCH S. MADHUSUDHAN REDDY — Appellant Vs. V. NARAYANA REDDY AND OTHERS — Respondent ( Before : N.V. Ramana, CJI., Krishna Murari and Hima Kohli,…

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