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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.

Held, Merely having an explicit clause may not be sufficient to make time the essence of the contract – As the contract was spread over a long tenure, the intention of the parties to provide for extensions surely reinforces the fact that timely performance was necessary – Contractual clauses having extension procedure and imposition of liquidated damages, are good indicators that ‘time was not the essence of the contract’

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH WELSPUN SPECIALTY SOLUTIONS LIMITED (FORMERLY KNOWN AS REMI METALS GUJARAT LIMITED) — Appellant Vs. OIL AND NATURAL GAS CORPORATION LIMITED — Respondent ( Before…

Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 – Sections 34 and 37 – Arbitration Appeal – Jurisdiction of High Court – Jurisdiction in a first appeal arising out of a decree in a civil suit is distinct from the jurisdiction of the High Court under Section 37 of the 1996 Act arising from the disposal of a petition challenging an arbitral award under Section 34 of the 1996 Act

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH PUNJAB STATE CIVIL SUPPLIES CORPORATION LIMITED AND ANOTHER — Appellant Vs. M/S RAMESH KUMAR AND COMPANY AND OTHERS — Respondent ( Before : Dr.…

Consumer Protection Act, 1986 – Repudiation of claim – When the appellant was aware of the earlier insurance policy obtained from IFFCO-TOKIO by the respondent, there was no reason for not asking for such hydrology data of the previous year – As such, it cannot be said that there was non-disclosure of hydrology data or any fraud from the side of the respondent, as is projected by the appellant so as to repudiate the claim – There was no non-disclosure or fraud, as pleaded by the appellant to repudiate the claim – Appeal dismissed.

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH THE ORIENTAL INSURANCE CO. LIMITED — Appellant Vs. MALANA POWER COMPANY LIMITED — Respondent ( Before : R. Subhash Reddy and Hrishikesh Roy, JJ.…

Real Estate ( R and D ) Act, 2016 – S 3(1) – Prior registration of real estate project with Real Estate Regulatory Authority – HELD its application is retroactive in character and the projects already completed or to which the completion certificate has been granted are not under its fold and therefore, vested or accrued rights, if any, in no manner are affected. It will apply after getting the ongoing projects and future projects registered under Section 3 to prospectively follow the mandate of the Act .

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA FULL BENCH M/S. NEWTECH PROMOTERS AND DEVELOPERS PRIVATE LIMITED — Appellant Vs. STATE OF UP AND OTHER ETC — Respondent ( Before : Uday Umesh Lalit,…

(CrPC) – S 482 – (IPC) – S 385 – Extortion – When a specific role was attributed to the accused, the High Court could not have quashed the FIR under Section 482 of the CrPC – cannot place reliance on a “draft charge-sheet” which is yet to be placed before the Magistrate to quash the criminal proceedings under Section 482.

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH  JITUL JENTILAL KOTECHA — Appellant Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT AND OTHERS ETC — Respondent ( Before : Dr. Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud and B.V. Nagarathna,…

(IPC) – S 307 read with S 34 – Attempt to murder – Appeal against conviction and sentence – When the deadly weapon – dagger has been used, there was a stab injury on the stomach and near the chest which can be said to be on the vital part of the body and the nature of injuries caused, it is rightly held that the appellants have committed the offence under Section 307 IPC

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH SADAKAT KOTWAR AND ANOTHER — Appellant Vs. THE STATE OF JHARKHAND — Respondent ( Before : M.R. Shah and S. Bopanna, JJ. ) Criminal…

Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 – Illegal sand mining – Section 21(5) of the MMDR Act empowers the State Government to recover the price of the illegally-mined mineral, in addition to recovery of rent, royalty or tax – Penalty recommended by the Central Empowered Committee ‘CEC’ for illegal sand mining is in addition to the penalty that can be imposed by the State Government in terms of Section 21(5) of the Act

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA FULL BENCH BAJRI LEASE LOI HOLDERS WELFARE SOCIETY THROUGH ITS PRESIDENT — Appellant Vs. THE STATE OF RAJASTHAN AND OTHERS — Respondent ( Before : L.…

Chennai City Tenants Protection Act, 1921 – Section 2(4)(ii)(b) – Tamil Nadu City Tenants Protection Act, 1972 – Section 9 – Rent and eviction – While interpreting the expression “actual physical possession of land and building” would mean and require the tenant to be in actual physical possession – Rent and eviction – While interpreting the expression “actual physical possession of land and building” would mean and require the tenant to be in actual physical possession

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH NATIONAL COMPANY, REPRESENTED BY ITS MANAGING PARTNER — Appellant Vs. THE TERRITORY MANAGER, BHARAT PETROLEUM CORPORATION LIMITED AND ANOTHER — Respondent ( Before :…

Service Matters

Service Law – Misconduct – Quantum of punishment – Scope of judicial review on the quantum of punishment is available but with a limited scope – Where the punishment imposed by the disciplinary authority is found to be shocking to the conscience of the Court, normally the disciplinary authority or the appellate authority should be directed to reconsider the question of imposition of penalty – after setting aside the penalty order, it is to be left to the disciplinary/appellate authority to take a call

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH UNION OF INDIA AND OTHERS — Appellant Vs. EX. CONSTABLE RAM KARAN — Respondent ( Before : Ajay Rastogi and Abhay S. Oka, JJ.…

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