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Specific Relief Act, 1963 — Section 20 — Specific performance — Discretionary and equitable relief — Clean hands — Grant of specific performance is discretionary, not automatic even where a valid contract subsists; a plaintiff must approach the Court with clean hands. Where the plaintiff’s spouse lodged a criminal complaint seeking recovery of the advance paid, alleging the vendor fraudulently suppressed a subsisting injunction, while simultaneously maintaining a civil suit for specific performance, such conduct amounts to blowing “hot and cold” and disentitles the plaintiff to equitable relief. Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC) — Section 299 — Absence of order — Effect on conviction — Where no order under S. 299 was ever passed at the stage the co-accused was tried (case having been split due to abscondence), the earlier deposition of a witness (since deceased) could not be relied upon to convict the accused apprehended and tried years later; identification by surviving eyewitnesses being doubtful and other witnesses having turned hostile, conviction based on such uncorroborated prior testimony unsustainable — appellant acquitted. Hindu female’s property devolves equally on husband and daughter separately; gift of undivided coparcenary share needs no co-owner’s consent. A. Hindu Succession Act, 1956 — Section 15(1)(a) — Devolution of Female Intestate’s Property — Properties of a Hindu female dying intestate devolve, in the absence of sons/daughters’ issue predeceasing her, upon her husband and daughter in equal shares under Section 15(1)(a); such undivided share in the husband’s hands does not partake the character of coparcenary property. Armed Forces — Air Force Order No. 33/2017 — Prior Permission for Civil Post — Mandatory Nature — Requirement of seeking prior permission before applying for a civil post, and subsequent grant of NOC, held mandatory and not merely procedural/directory, since AFO 33/2017 has necessary nexus with regulating premature discharge of Airmen and its object of maintaining operational preparedness of the Air Force. Consumer Protection Act, 2019 — Deficiency of Service — Maintenance Contractor’s Liability — Elevator Malfunction — Comprehensive maintenance contractor, being both manufacturer and repair contractor with exclusive technical knowledge of safety interlocks and brake mechanisms, held principally deficient in service for failing to act on its own identified remedy (voltage stabiliser) despite repeated notice of persistent malfunction over several months preceding fatal accident.

The NGT has already directed the appellant to deposit Rupees one crore and has set up an expert committee to evaluate the impact of the appellant’s project and suggest remedial measures. In view of these circumstances, we uphold the directions of the NGT and direct that the committee continue its evaluation of the appellant’s project so as to bring its environmental impact as close as possible to that contemplated in the EC dated 2 May 2013 and also suggest the compensatory exaction to be imposed on the appellant

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH KEYSTONE REALTORS PVT. LTD. — Appellant Vs. SHRI ANIL V THARTHARE AND OTHERS — Respondent ( Before : Dr Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud and Ajay…

NCLT and NCLAT would have jurisdiction to enquire into questions of fraud, they would not have jurisdiction to adjudicate upon disputes such as those arising under MMDR Act, 1957 and the rules issued thereunder, especially when the disputes revolve around decisions of statutory or quasi-judicial authorities, which can be corrected only by way of judicial review of administrative action.

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA FULL BENCH M/S EMBASSY PROPERTY DEVELOPMENTS PRIVATE LIMITED — Appellant Vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA AND OTHERS — Respondent ( Before : Rohinton Fali Nariman, Aniruddha Bose…

Service Matters

Service Law – Technical Assesment Reports (TAR) – Mandatory requirement for fulfilling the eligibility criteriTAR may be taken into consideration while grading the officer for the purposes of ACR but once the ACR is being taken into consideration then in view of the office memorandum dated 12.05.2011 – TAR is the criteria which could not have been taken into consideration – Appeal dismissed.

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH UNION OF INDIA AND OTHERS — Appellant Vs. LT.COL. SAMEER SINGH — Respondent ( Before : Deepak Gupta and Aniruddha Bose, JJ. ) Civil…

Electricity Act, 2003 – Sections 62, 65 and 108 – Levy of wheeling charges and grid support charges – Plea of promissory estoppel is not attracted, and there was no unequivocal promise – There was no material change in the facts and circumstances of the case to attract the plea of promissory estoppel based on Government orders

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA FULL BENCH TRANSMISSION CORPORATION OF ANDHRA PRADESH LIMITED — Appellant Vs. M/S RAIN CALCINING LIMITED AND OTHERS — Respondent ( Before : Arun Mishra, M.R. Shah…

Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) – Sections 302 and 149 – Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC) – Section 161 – Murder -If the deposition of PW2 and PW3 are not reliable qua one of the accused on the grounds stated hereinabove and one of the accused came to be acquitted by giving benefit of doubt, the same benefit ought to have been given to the other accused also, unless there is some further material/evidence against the other accused.

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH JODHRAJ AND ANOTHER — Appellant Vs. STATE OF RAJASTHAN — Respondent ( Before : Ashok Bhushan and M. R. Shah, JJ. ) Criminal Appeal…

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