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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.

Allegations that the petitioners had been beaten or an attempt had been made to extort money from them or anyone else has been denied–These prayers cannot be permitted to be raised in a writ petition directly in the Supreme Court under Article 32 of the Constitution–No violation of basic requirement as laid down in case D.K. Basu supra were infringed–Show cause notices issued to the respondents dropped.

2010(1) LAW HERALD (SC) 576 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA Before The Hon’ble Mr. Justice Harjit Singh Bedi The Hon’ble Mr. Justice J.M. Panchal Writ Petition (Criminal) No. 17…

Reservation in Panchayats–Panchayats located in Scheduled Areas, the exclusive representation of Scheduled Tribes in the Chairperson positions of the same bodies at all three tiers is constitutionally permissible–Sections 17(B)(2), 36(B)(2) and 51(B)(2) of the Jharkhand Panchayat Reservation Act, 2001 are constitutionally valid provisions.

2010(1) LAW HERALD (SC) 558 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA Before The Hon’ble Mr. Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan The Hon’ble Mr. Justice P. Sathasivam The Hon’ble Mr. Justice J.M.…

Dying declaration– Once the court is satisfied that the declaration was true and voluntary undoubtedly, it can base its conviction without any further corroboration–It cannot be laid down as an absolute rule of law that the dying declaration cannot form the sole basis of conviction unless it is corroborated.

2010(1) LAW HERALD (SC) 545 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA Before The Hon’ble Mr. Justice Arijit Pasayat The Hon’ble Mr. Justice Asok Kumar Ganguly Criminal Appeal No. 966 of…

Criminal Procedure Code, 1973, S. 167(2)–Criminal Procedure Code, 1973, S. 309–Criminal Procedure Code, 1973, S. 173(8)–Investigation–Investigation and re-investigation stand on different footing–Investigation into an offence completed by Police Challan submitted–Superior can order further investigation and not re-investigation–Court cannot give custody of accused to new agent for custodial interrogation.  

2010(1) LAW HERALD (SC) 521 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA Before The Hon’ble Mr. Justice S.B. Sinha The Hon’ble Mr. Justice Mukundakam Sharma Criminal Appeal No. 941 of 2009…

Rape on a minor girl–Defence that they were falsely implicated due to enmity–Alleged dispute over a common wall was not of such a grave nature compeling the entire family of the prosecutrix to go to the extent of the putting at stake its reputation and fair name of a young girl child to settle the scores with the accused.

2010(1) LAW HERALD (SC) 538 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA Before The Hon’ble Mr. Justice B. Sudershan Reddy The Hon’ble Mr. Justice J.M. Panchal Criminal Appeal Nos. 70-72 of…

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