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National Highways Act, 1956 — Amendments and compensation provisions — Section 3-J introduced in 1997 removed applicability of Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (1894 Act) provisions for solatium and interest — Overturned by various High Courts, including reading down Sections 3-G and 3-J to grant solatium and interest — Subsequently, Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 (2013 Act) and its amended provisions extended to NH Act — Court clarified that landowners acquired lands under NH Act between 1997 and 2015 are entitled to solatium and interest — Review Petition filed by NHAI arguing financial burden was underestimated rejected, but clarification on delayed claims issued. Civil Procedure Code, 1908 (CPC) — Order 21 Rule 102 — Applicability — Provision contemplates a situation where a judgment debtor transfers property after institution of suit to a person who then obstructs execution — Not applicable where respondents derived title from independent registered sale deeds, not from the judgment debtor. Land Acquisition Act, 1894 — Section 28-A — Re-determination of compensation — Second application for re-determination based on High Court award maintainable even after accepting compensation based on Reference Court award — Principle of merger means appellate court’s award supersedes earlier award, entitling landowners to benefit from higher compensation — Object of Section 28-A is to ensure equality in compensation among similarly placed landowners. Electricity Act, 2003 — Section 61, 86 — Tariff determination and Generation Based Incentive (GBI) — State Electricity Regulatory Commission (SERC) has exclusive power to determine tariff — Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) introduced GBI to incentivise renewable energy generation — GBI is intended to be over and above the tariff fixed by SERC — SERC must consider GBI while determining tariff, but not necessarily deduct it — SERC’s power to determine tariff includes considering incentives — Parliament’s allocation of funds for GBI does not prevent SERC from considering it in tariff — SERC must exercise its power harmoniously with other stakeholders to achieve policy objectives. Contract Law — Award of Tender — Judicial Review — High Court should exercise restraint when reviewing tender evaluation processes, especially in technical matters, unless there is clear evidence of mala fide, arbitrariness, or irrationality — A marginal difference in scores, as seen in this case, does not automatically warrant interference, especially when the owner has the right to accept or reject bids and the contract is already underway.

Decree against dead person–Death of defendant pending appeal–An application made for substitution of legal representatives, but no order passed by Court through inadvertence–Decree drawn against dead defendant–Decree executable against legal representatives–It was essentially a technical error–Held, act of court should do no harm to a litigant– Civil Procedure Code, 1908, Section 47–Civil Procedure Code, 1908, Order 23 Rule 2.      

2009(1) LAW HERALD (SC) 309 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA Before The Hon’ble Mr. Justice Altamas Kabir The Hon’ble Mr. Justice Markandey Katju Civil Appeal Nos. 6850-6851 of 2008…

Criminal Law–Bail–Grant of–Though detailed examination of the evidence and elaborate documentation of the merits of the case is to be avoided by the Court while passing orders on bail applications, yet a court dealing with the bail application should be satisfied as to whether there is a prima facie case, but exhaustive exploration of the merits of the case is not necessary

2009(1) LAW HERALD (SC) 284 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA Before  The Hon’ble Mr. Justice  Arijit Pasayat The Hon’ble Mr. Justice  Mukundakam Sharma Criminal Appeal No. 1893 of 2008…

During pendency of appeal bail allowed in the year 2006–The incident is 30 years old and after being released in 2006 on bail, it will not be proper to send the accused back to jail, more particularly, because nothing has been stated against him regarding his indulgence in any criminal activity–Sentence reduced to already undergone–Penal Code, 1860, Section 326. 

2009(1) LAW HERALD (SC) 282 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA Before The Hon’ble Mr. Justice Tarun Chatterjee The Hon’ble Mr. Justice  V.S.Sirpurkar Criminal Appeal No.1833 of 2008 (Arising out…

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