A. Motor Vehicles Act, 1988—Sections 166(1)(c)—Legal Representatives—Dependency—Maintainability of Claim—All legal representatives of a deceased victim are entitled to maintain a claim petition under Section 166(1)(c), irrespective of whether each legal representative was actually dependent upon the deceased. The absence or extent of dependency may affect the quantum of compensation, but does not defeat the right to maintain the claim. [Paras 5–5.3] B. Motor Accident Compensation—Consortium—Spousal, Parental and Filial Consortium—Consortium is an independent and indispensable head of compensation. Spousal consortium is payable to the surviving spouse, parental consortium to children for the loss of parental care, affection, guidance and protection, and filial consortium to parents f...
A. Code of Civil Procedure, 1908—Order XXI Rule 22—Execution Proceedings—Notice to Legal Representatives—Order XXI Rule 22 is mandatory; however, where an execution proceeding is transferred to the DRT under Section 31 of the Recovery of Debts and Bankruptcy Act, 1993, the subsequent execution is governed by Section 29 of the 1993 Act read with the Second Schedule to the Income-tax Act, 1961. Consequently, non-compliance with Order XXI Rule 22 has no impact on the validity of the auction sale conducted by the DRT. [Paras 31, 35–37] B. Recovery of Debts and Bankruptcy Act, 1993—Section 29—Income-tax Act, 1961—Second Schedule Rules 2 & 61—Non-service of Notice—Auction Sale—Substantial Injury—Rule 2 of the Second Schedule incorporates principles of natural justice...
A. Indian Evidence Act, 1872—Section 60—Oral Evidence—Contents of Excluded Documents—Once internal documents, emails or correspondence have been held irrelevant and their production has been refused by orders attaining finality, the same material cannot be introduced indirectly through oral evidence. What is impermissible directly as documentary evidence cannot be brought on record indirectly through a witness. [Paras 13–15, 20] B. Code of Civil Procedure, 1908—Order XI—Discovery and Inspection—Finality of Judicial Orders—Where orders refusing discovery or production of internal documents have attained finality before the appellate courts, the trial court is bound by such orders and cannot reopen the issue at a subsequent stage. Repeated applications seeking the same material cannot...
A. Indian Penal Code, 1860—Sections 302, 34, 201 & 120B—Circumstantial Evidence—Homicidal Death—Medical Evidence—In a murder case based entirely on circumstantial evidence, the prosecution must establish circumstances which unerringly point towards the guilt of the accused. Where the post-mortem report and medical evidence establish death by drowning and the injuries are consistent with accidental contact with stones or other hard substances, without evidence showing that the deceased was rendered unconscious and deliberately drowned, the medical evidence cannot support a finding of homicidal death. [Paras 8–10, 21–23] B. Circumstantial Evidence—Last Seen Theory—Motive—Accused Seen with Deceased—Mere proof that the accused were last seen with the deceased or were pre...
A. Indian Succession Act, 1925—Section 63(c)—Evidence Act, 1872—Sections 68 and 69—Proof of Will—A Will propounded by a beneficiary must be proved in accordance with the statutory requirements of attestation and proof—Failure to satisfactorily establish attestation under Section 68 and the foundational requirements for invoking Section 69 renders the Will legally unproved—Registered Will does not dispense with the mandatory proof required by law. (Paras 71, 135) B. Evidence Act, 1872—Proof of Will—Suspicious circumstances—Propounder’s burden—Suspicious circumstances are not to be considered in isolation but cumulatively—Circumstances such as inaccurate recitals, exclusion of natural branches, relationship of attesting witnesses with beneficiaries, non-examina...
A. Civil Procedure Code, 1908—Order XLI Rules 23, 24 and Section 107—Appellate Court—Remand—Remand is not to be ordered as a matter of course and is justified only where necessary in the interests of justice—Where the evidence necessary for adjudication is already available on record and the issues have been sufficiently framed, the appellate court should decide the matter itself instead of remanding it to the Trial Court—High Court’s order remanding the suit for reconsideration of validity of sale deed and limitation, despite sufficient evidence on record, held unsustainable and set aside. (Paras 16–17) B. Limitation Act, 1963—Section 3—Limitation—Duty of Court—Limitation is a matter which the Court is bound to consider even if it is not specifically pleaded by th...
A. Indian Penal Code, 1860—Sections 302 and 34—Murder—Sole eyewitness—Conviction can legally rest on the testimony of a single eyewitness where such evidence is wholly reliable, consistent and inspires confidence—Corroboration by medical evidence further strengthens the prosecution case—The fact that the witness is the daughter of the deceased does not, by itself, make her an interested or unreliable witness—Quality of evidence, and not the number of witnesses, is the governing consideration—Conviction based on the testimony of P.W.3 upheld. [Paras 17-25] B. Indian Penal Code, 1860—Sections 302 and 304—Murder and culpable homicide—Determination of intention—Nature and severity of injuries, weapon used, vital parts targeted and surrounding circumstances are relevant...
A. Central Excise Act, 1944—Section 11A—Extended period of limitation—Invocation of extended limitation requires clear evidence of wilful misstatement, suppression of facts, or intent to evade duty—Where the relevant facts were within the knowledge of the Department and the assessee and there was no deliberate concealment or intent to evade duty, the extended period cannot be invoked—Mere non-payment or short-payment of duty, without the statutory ingredients, is insufficient—Demand beyond the normal period of limitation is therefore unsustainable. [Paras 13, 15-16] B. Central Excise Act, 1944—Section 11A—Show Cause Notice—Extended limitation—A notice invoking the extended period must specifically establish suppression, wilful misstatement, or intent to evade duty and cannot r...
A. Central Excise Act, 1944—Section 11A—Extended period of limitation—Invocation of extended limitation requires clear evidence of wilful misstatement, suppression of facts, or intent to evade duty—Where the relevant facts were within the knowledge of the Department and the assessee and there was no deliberate concealment or intent to evade duty, the extended period cannot be invoked—Mere non-payment or short-payment of duty, without the statutory ingredients, is insufficient—Demand beyond the normal period of limitation is therefore unsustainable. [Paras 13, 15-16] B. Central Excise Act, 1944—Section 11A—Show Cause Notice—Extended limitation—A notice invoking the extended period must specifically establish suppression, wilful misstatement, or intent to evade duty and cannot r...
A. Central Excise Act, 1944—Section 11A—Extended period of limitation—Invocation of extended limitation requires clear evidence of wilful misstatement, suppression of facts, or intent to evade duty—Where the relevant facts were within the knowledge of the Department and the assessee and there was no deliberate concealment or intent to evade duty, the extended period cannot be invoked—Mere non-payment or short-payment of duty, without the statutory ingredients, is insufficient—Demand beyond the normal period of limitation is therefore unsustainable. [Paras 13, 15-16] B. Central Excise Act, 1944—Section 11A—Show Cause Notice—Extended limitation—A notice invoking the extended period must specifically establish suppression, wilful misstatement, or intent to evade duty and cannot r...
A. Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005—Sections 17 & 19—Right of Residence—Shared Household—Alternate Accommodation—A daughter-in-law cannot claim an indefeasible right of residence in a property exclusively owned by her father-in-law where the property is neither ancestral nor joint family property, the owner's permission to the son and his family to reside therein has been revoked, and the daughter-in-law has alternate accommodation in her own name generating rental income. In such circumstances, the statutory right of residence under Section 17 cannot be invoked to defeat the owner's right to seek possession. [Paras 47, 52–53] B. Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005—Sections 17(2) & 19—Civil Procedure Code, 1908—Section 100—E...
A. Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973—Section 125—Maintenance to Wife—Divorced Wife—A wife, including a divorced wife who has not remarried, is entitled to maintenance under Section 125 CrPC. Mere divorce does not extinguish the husband's statutory obligation to maintain her unless any of the disqualifications under Section 125(4)—such as living in adultery, refusal to live with the husband without sufficient reason, or living separately by mutual consent—are established. Maintenance of Rs.4,000/- per month was held just and reasonable having regard to the husband's earning capacity and the wife's basic needs. [Paras 7, 7(iii)–(iv), 13] B. Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973—Section 125(4)—Disqualification from Maintenance—Burden of Proof—Revisional Jurisdiction&m...
A. Trusts and Trustees — Rendition of Accounts — Maintainability — Co-trustee against Co-trustee — A suit by one trustee against a co-trustee for rendition of accounts is maintainable, as every trustee has the right to know the financial position of the trust and to demand accounts from a co-trustee entrusted with collection and expenditure of trust income — such accountability is necessary for proper supervision of trust affairs and to protect trustees from liability arising from misappropriation — (Para 6). B. Civil Procedure Code, 1908 — Section 92 — Rendition of Accounts — Legal Representatives — Survivability — A suit by co-trustees for rendition of accounts to enforce their individual right of supervision does not fall within Section 92 CPC, which concerns represen...
A. U.P. Regulation of Urban Premises Tenancy Act, 2021—Section 21(2)—Written tenancy agreement—Absence of written tenancy agreement does not bar maintainability of eviction proceedings or oust jurisdiction of Rent Authority—Jurisdiction flows from the statute and not from existence of tenancy document; landlord-tenant relationship and disputed tenancy facts are matters for adjudication on pleadings and evidence, not jurisdictional preconditions. [Paras 9–14, 25] B. U.P. Regulation of Urban Premises Tenancy Act, 2021—Sections 33 and 34—Code of Civil Procedure, 1908—Order VII Rule 11—Exclusion of procedural remedy—Act being a self-contained special enactment expressly excludes general application of the Code of Civil Procedure except specified powers; therefore, application anal...
A. Protection of Women From Domestic Violence Act, 2005—Sections 2(s), 17 and 19—Right to reside in shared household—A mother-in-law, being a woman in a domestic relationship, cannot be evicted or excluded from a shared household merely because the property is owned by the daughter-in-law; right of residence is not dependent upon ownership or actual residence, and exclusion can only be in accordance with law—Satish Chander Ahuja v. Sneha Ahuja (2021) 1 SCC 414 held to govern, rendering S.R. Batra v. Taruna Batra (2007) 3 SCC 169 no longer good law. [Paras 9-15] B. Protection of Women From Domestic Violence Act, 2005—Sections 12, 17, 18, 19 and 22—Shared household—Right of residence—The expression “shared household” is to be construed broadly to include a household where person...
A. Indian Penal Code, 1860 — Section 498A — Cruelty — Live-in Relationship — Relationship in the Nature of Marriage — Purposive Interpretation — Though Section 498A is a penal provision requiring strict construction, a purely literal interpretation which defeats its legislative object is impermissible. A live-in relationship which possesses the essential attributes of a relationship in the nature of marriage, particularly where the parties cohabit, hold themselves out as spouses and have an intention to marry, may fall within the protective scope of Section 498A IPC. The provision must be interpreted having regard to its social purpose of preventing cruelty and harassment against women. [Paras 5–12] B. Indian Penal Code, 1860 — Section 498A — Protection of Women from Domestic Violen...
A. Hindu Marriage Act, 1955—Sections 13(1)(ia) & 13(1)(ib)—Divorce—Cruelty and Desertion: Prolonged separation coupled with unwillingness to resume cohabitation amounts to cruelty and desertion; divorce decree upheld. [Paras 7–8] B. Counter-Claim—Gold Ornaments, Patrimony, Marriage Expenses & Defamation—Evidence: Wife’s claims for return of valuables, marriage expenses and defamation damages dismissed for want of convincing evidence. [Paras 8–15] C. Hindu Marriage Act, 1955—Section 37—Maintenance—Divorced Wife: Wife’s maintenance claim can be allowed even where the husband initiated divorce; maintenance awarded considering his financial capacity. [Para 16] ...
A. Criminal Procedure Code, 1973—Section 125(4)—Maintenance—Disqualification—Wife living in adultery, refusing to live with husband without sufficient reason, or living separately by mutual consent is disentitled to maintenance; finding of adultery and voluntary withdrawal from matrimonial home upheld. [Paras 4, 9–11] B. Criminal Procedure Code, 1973—Sections 397 & 401—Revisional Jurisdiction—Revisional jurisdiction is limited; concurrent findings of fact cannot be disturbed unless perverse, illegal or patently unreasonable. [Paras 9, 13–14] C. Criminal Procedure Code, 1973—Section 125—Maintenance—Social Justice—Section 125 is a beneficial provision intended to prevent destitution, but the entitlement remains subject to statutory disqualifications unde...
A. Civil Procedure Code, 1908 — Order V Rule 1, Order VIII Rules 1 & 10, Section 151 — Karnataka Amendment Act, 2024 — Written Statement — 120-day limit — Held, the 120-day period is ordinarily mandatory and the right to file written statement stands forfeited thereafter; however, the amendment cannot be construed as completely extinguishing the limited judicial discretion preserved under Rule 10 and Section 151 CPC, as recognized in Salem Advocate Bar Association (2005) — In exceptional and compelling circumstances, where refusal to accept the written statement would result in grave miscarriage of justice or manifest injustice, the Court may exercise narrowly confined discretion, for reasons to be recorded and ordinarily upon realistic costs; such discretion is not to be exercised routinely or mech...
A. Uttar Pradesh Regulation of Urban Premises Tenancy Act, 2021—Sections 35 & 39—Court Fees Act, 1870—Court fee on appeal—Held: A memorandum of appeal against a composite decree for eviction, arrears of rent and mesne profits is required to be valued on the subject matter in dispute in appeal—Where the appellant challenges the entire decree, court fee is payable on the entire decretal liability, including accrued or ascertainable mesne profits—Court fee paid on the original application does not determine the court fee payable in appeal. (Paras 44 to 76) B. Uttar Pradesh Regulation of Urban Premises Tenancy Act, 2021—Section 39—Court Fees Act, 1870—Statutory fiction—Scope—Held: Section 39(2) deems an application before the Rent Authority and an appeal before the Rent ...