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Haryana School Education Act, 1995, Section 22 — Civil Court Jurisdiction — Ouster of jurisdiction by statute must be express or implied — Section 22 only ousts jurisdiction where Government or its officers have power to adjudicate — Recovery of fees by a school is not a power conferred on Government/authorities — Civil court jurisdiction not ousted in matters of reasonable fee recovery. Penal Code, 1860 — Section 498A — Cruelty by husband or relatives of husband — Allegations in FIR were vague, general, and filed one year after admitted separation of the parties — No specific instances of cruelty were mentioned — Criminal proceedings are liable to be quashed. Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 — Section 482 — Quashing of FIR — Court can quash FIR if allegations, taken at face value, do not constitute any offence — Vague and general allegations of marital discord, without specific instances, do not prima facie constitute an offence under Section 498A IPC. Penal Code, 1860 — Sections 376(2), 450 — Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 — Section 4 — Sexual assault on a minor — Evidence of prosecutrix — Conviction can be based solely on the prosecutrix’s testimony if it inspires confidence — Corroboration of testimony of prosecutrix is not a requirement of law, but a guidance of prudence — Minor contractions or small discrepancies should not be a ground for throwing out the evidence of the prosecutrix. State Financial Corporations Act, 1951 — Section 29 — Liability of Financial Corporation taking possession of industrial unit for dues — Corporation acts as a trustee, liable only to the extent of funds in its hands after settling its dues, not personally liable. Civil Procedure Code, 1908 — Section 80 — Notice to Government or public officer — Mandatory requirement before instituting suit — Failure to issue notice or obtain leave renders suit not maintainable and decree a nullity, even if impleaded later. Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 — Section 62; Section 14(1)(d) — Appeal against NCLAT order setting aside NCLT order directing return of property — NCLT had directed return of property based on CoC decision that property not required by corporate debtor — NCLAT set aside NCLT order invoking Section 14(1)(d) barring recovery of property during CIRP — Supreme Court held that Section 14(1)(d) not applicable as CoC and Resolution Professional initiated the process for returning property due to financial burden of rentals, and not a simple recovery by owner — Commercial wisdom of CoC regarding non-retention of property given primacy — NCLAT order set aside, NCLT order restored.

No ill-founded sympathy for Advocates who try to browbeat or threaten Judges: Supreme Court holds three Advocates guilty of Contempt of Court . HELD “both the complaints are ex facie contemptuous. Highly scurrilous and scandalous allegations have been levelled against the two judges of this Court. In our view, the entire contents of the complaints amount to contempt.”

No ill-founded sympathy for Lawyers who try to browbeat or threaten Judges: Supreme Court holds three lawyers guilty of Contempt of Court The Supreme Court has also observed in its…

[Sexual Harassment] HELD “A priori, when inaction or procrastination (intentionally or otherwise) is meted out in response to the attempt of setting the legal machinery in motion, what is put to peril is not just the individual cries for the assistance of law but also the foundational tenets of a society governed by the rule of law, thereby threatening the larger public interests. The denial of timely inquiry and by a competent forum, inevitably results in denial of justice and violation of fundamental right,”

  SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH NISHA PRIYA BHATIA — Appellant Vs. UNION OF INDIA AND ANOTHER — Respondent ( Before : A.M. Khanwilkar and Dinesh Maheshwari, JJ. )…

Evidence Act, 1872 – Section 68 – Will – Proof of – Mere proof of the document in accordance with the requirements of Section 68 of the Evidence Act is not final and conclusive for acceptance of a document as a Will – When suspicious circumstances exist and the suspicions have not been removed, the document in question cannot be accepted as a Will – Appeal dismissed

  SUPREME COURT OF INDIA FULL BENCH SHIVAKUMAR AND OTHERS — Appellant Vs. SHARANABASAPPA & ORS. — Respondent ( Before : A.M. Khanwilkar, Hemant Gupta and Dinesh Maheshwari, JJ. )…

Service Matters

Delhi Higher Judicial Service Rules, 1970 – Rule 27 – Constitutional validity – Criteria for appointment of a member of higher judicial service to the post of District Judge and Sessions Judge or its equivalent – HELD “while raising grievances with regard to the impact and effect of ACR gradings, the appellant appears to have missed out the fundamental factor that for the promotions in question, an individual”s minimum merit, by itself, was not going to be decisive, but the relevant factor was going to be comparative merit of the persons in the zone of consideration”.

  SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH SUJATA KOHLI — Appellant Vs. REGISTRAR GENERAL, HIGH COURT OF DELHI AND OTHERS — Respondent ( Before : A.M. Khanwilkar and Dinesh Maheshwari,…

Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement – Articles 5(3)(e) and 7 – Liability to tax under DTAA – Meaning of expressions “business connection” and “business activity” has been articulated. HELD And since by a legal fiction it is deemed not to be a PE of the respondent in India, it is not amenable to tax liability in terms of Article 7 of the DTAA – High Court justly reckoned the same as being of preparatory or auxiliary character, falling under Article 5(3)(e) – Appeal dismissed.

  SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH UNION OF INDIA AND ANOTHER — Appellant Vs. U.A.E. EXCHANGE CENTRE — Respondent ( Before : A.M. Khanwilkar and Ajay Rastogi, JJ. )…

Rajasthan Land Acquisition Act, 1953 – Sections 4 and 6 – Arbitration Act, 1940 – Section 17 – Contract Act, 1872 – Section 23 – Execution of Award – Execution of an award can be only to the extent what has been awarded/decreed and not beyond the same – Arbitrator in its Award had only declared the price of land and nothing more – Thus, the question of execution of a sale deed of the land at the price so declared by the Arbitrator in its Award, could not be directed

  SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH FIRM RAJASTHAN UDYOG AND OTHERS — Appellant Vs. HINDUSTAN ENGINEERING AND INDUSTRIES LTD. — Respondent ( Before : Uday Umesh Lalit and Vineet…

Chit Funds Act, 1982 – Section 64 (1)(A) – Civil Procedure Code, 1908 (CPC) – Order 21 Rule 89 and Section 151 – Auction – Merely a guarantor and not a borrower and that the entire due amount was deposited by respondent No. 1 with the respondent No. 2 – Chits Company, HELD since the Revision had been filed within less than a week of the auction and entire dues had been settled, the confirmation of the auction was not justified. – Appeal dismissed.

  SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH PAUL — Appellant Vs. T. MOHAN AND ANOTHER — Respondent ( Before : Uday Umesh Lalit and Vineet Saran, JJ. ) Civil Appeal…

West Bengal Cooperative Societies Rules, 2011 – Rule 133(1) – Membership – It is clear that besides the initial amount of Rs. 3.86 lakhs, the petitioners did not deposit any further amount and kept disputing the demands raised by the Housing Society – HELD the order of the Society expelling the petitioners had come into effect and thereafter the six flats have already been allotted to six different persons, who have deposited the requisite amounts – Application dismissed.

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH SK JALALUDDIN AND OTHERS — Appellant Vs. THE STATE OF WEST BENGAL AND OTHERS — Respondent ( Before : R.F. Nariman and Vineet Saran,…

Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) – Sections 34, 302, 363, 364A – Evidence Act, 1872 – Sections 65(B) and 114 – Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC) – Section 313 – Kidnapping and death – Modification in sentence – Motive of the accused to take life was to become rich by not doing hard work but by demanding ransom after kidnapping a young, innocent boy of 8 years – Present case falls short of the “rarest of rare” cases where a death sentence alone deserves to be awarded to the appellants – SC Commutes Death Sentence To Life Imprisonment Without Remission For 25 Yrs

  SUPREME COURT OF INDIA FULL BENCH ARVIND SINGH — Appellant Vs. THE STATE OF MAHARASHTRA — Respondent ( Before : Uday Umesh Lalit, Indu Malhotra and Hemant Gupta, JJ.…

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