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Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 — Section 11(6) and 11(6-A) — Appointment of Arbitral Tribunal (AT) — Scope of Judicial Scrutiny — The enquiry under Section 11 is confined to a prima facie determination of the existence of an arbitration agreement, and no further — The referral court must refrain from entering into contentious factual or legal issues related to authority, capacity, arbitrability, maintainability, or merits of claims, adhering to the principle of minimal judicial intervention. (Paras 14, 15, 17, 19) Criminal Law — Conviction — Circumstantial Evidence — Last Seen Together Theory — Must establish acquaintance between accused and deceased for theory to apply as a circumstance linking chain; mere fact of accused and deceased being in the same vicinity shortly before the crime, without proven acquaintance, is insufficient to propound the ‘last seen together theory’ as a conclusive link, though presence in same vicinity remains a relevant initial fact. (Para 6) Civil Procedure Code, 1908 (CPC) — Suit for Permanent Injunction — Dismissal of Suit — Reversal by High Court — Scope of Interference by Supreme Court — Where the Trial Court dismissed a suit for permanent injunction on grounds of failure to establish title and uncertainty in property identification, and the High Court reversed this relying on unproven and unauthenticated documents/surveys (like a BDA survey not proved or authenticated, and a letter without a clear seal or legible signature), the High Court erred. (Paras 3, 4, 11, 12, 14) Succession Act, 1925 — Section 63 — Indian Evidence Act, 1872 — Section 68 — Proof of Will — Requirement of attestation — Will excluding one legal heir (daughter) — One attesting witness (DW-2) examined — DW-2 must speak not only to the execution by the testator and his own attestation, but also to the attestation by the other witness — Failure of the Trial Court and High Court to find the Will proved — Evidence of DW-2 affirmed the signatures of the testator and both attesting witnesses after being suggested so in cross-examination by the plaintiff — Where a positive suggestion is made in cross-examination, and the witness affirms it, the response has probative value and cannot be ignored merely because it was a leading question — Concurrent finding disbelieving the Will reversed. (Paras 6, 16, 23, 24, 29 Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 — Section 166 — Claim Petition — Standard of Proof — In motor vehicle accident claims, the standard of proof is based on preponderance of probabilities, not proof beyond reasonable doubt — However, claimants must establish three elements: (i) occurrence of accident; (ii) involvement of the specific offending vehicle; and (iii) rash and negligent act of the driver — Mere occurrence of the accident alone is insufficient if the involvement of the vehicle and negligence are not established. (Paras 5, 7, 8, 16)

Uttar Pradesh Consolidation of Holdings Act, 1953 – Section 9A(2) – Partition – Preliminary decree for partition granted in the suit of the year 1929 was never given effect to – There was no evidence to show who among the two namely, ‘S’ and ‘R’ died first, the Deputy Director of Consolidation righty found it equitable to distribute ‘S’ 1/3rd share equally between the branches of ‘R’ and ‘J’.

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISON BENCH SARJU MISHRA (D) THR. LRS. AND OTHERS — Appellant Vs. JANGI (D) THR. LRS. AND OTHERS — Respondent ( Before : Hemant Gupta and…

Insurance Claim – Deficiency in service – Delay in processing the claim and delay in repudiation could be one of the several factors for holding an insurer guilty of deficiency in service – But it cannot be the only factor – There was no categorical evidence of any deficiency in service on the part of the Insurance Company.

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISON BENCH M/S THE NEW INDIA ASSURANCE CO. LTD. AND ANOTHER — Appellant Vs. SHASHIKALA J. AYACHI — Respondent ( Before : Hemant Gupta and V.…

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