A. Provincial Small Cause Courts Act, 1887—Section 25—Uttar Pradesh Urban Buildings (Regulation of Letting, Rent and Eviction) Act, 1972—Applicability—Trust property—In suit for eviction and recovery of arrears of rent and damages relating to property owned by a public, religious and charitable Trust, Trust Deed admissible under presumption under Section 90 of the Evidence Act—Such Trust property held exempt from applicability of U.P. Act No. 13 of 1972—Small Causes Court’s dismissal of suit without proper appreciation of evidence held unsustainable. [Paras 22–28] B. Evidence Act, 1872—Sections 90 and 116—Tenant’s estoppel—Tenant who admitted landlord-tenant relationship and payment of rent to Trust’s Manager is estopped from disputing ownership of Trus...

Criminal Procedure Code, 1973—Section 438—Anticipatory bail—Applicant accused of involvement in fraudulent property transaction—Co-accused had already been granted anticipatory bail—Applicant was earlier granted interim protection and complied with all conditions—Considering that personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution is a valuable right and should be curtailed only in exceptional circumstances, anticipatory bail granted subject to conditions ensuring cooperation with investigation and regular appearance before trial court. ...

A. Uttar Pradesh Urban Buildings (Regulation of Letting, Rent and Eviction) Act, 1972—Applicability—New construction—Where building was reconstructed and reassessed by the Municipal Corporation in 2001, such reassessment is determinative for applicability of the Act—Earlier assessment loses relevance and applicability of Act No. 13 of 1972 based on old construction becomes inapplicable. [Paras 25, 27, 28] B. Uttar Pradesh Urban Buildings (Regulation of Letting, Rent and Eviction) Act, 1972—Section 20(4)—Deposit of rent—Denial of title—Civil Procedure Code, 1908—Order XV Rule 5—Even where tenant denies landlord’s title, obligation to deposit rent/damages continues unless lawful and bona fide payment is proved—Mere denial of title does not absolve tenant from statuto...

A. Criminal Procedure Code, 1973—Section 482—Quashing of proceedings—Scope—Power under Section 482 is extraordinary and to be exercised sparingly to secure ends of justice or prevent abuse of process—At the stage of quashing, allegations in FIR and charge sheet are to be taken at face value to determine whether prima facie offence is disclosed—Court cannot undertake meticulous examination of evidence or conduct a mini-trial—Mere existence of civil dispute does not bar criminal proceedings where ingredients of offence are made out—Defence requiring appreciation of evidence is to be considered by trial court—After filing of charge sheet and taking cognizance, proceedings cannot be quashed merely on dispute regarding correctness of allegations. [Paras 15–28] B. Criminal Procedure...

A. Code of Civil Procedure, 1908—Section 47—Execution—Scope—Jurisdictional objection—Executing Court cannot go behind the decree or reopen issues decided on merits—Objections under Section 47 limited to execution, discharge or satisfaction of decree—Where decree passed by competent court, it cannot be treated as nullity merely on alleged erroneous findings—Challenge to landlord-tenant relationship cannot be raised in execution. [Paras 22–24, 27] B. Provincial Small Cause Courts Act, 1887—Civil Procedure—Jurisdiction—Landlord-tenant dispute—Small Causes Court competent to decide eviction suits including question of existence of landlord-tenant relationship—Erroneous finding on such issue does not render decree without jurisdiction—Distinction ...

A. Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC)—Section 309—Speedy Trial—Mandates day-to-day proceedings once witness examination begins; adjournments require special reasons to ensure timely conclusion of trial. (Para 16) B. Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO Act) & SC/ST Act, 1989—Gravity of offences—Allegations under these Acts are serious and must be carefully weighed during bail proceedings. (Para 13, 14) C. Bail Application—Consideration—At bail stage, court need not probe contradictions or assess strength of evidence; it suffices to see if a prima facie case exists based on investigation material. (Para 13) D. Bail Application—Rejection—Serious charges under POCSO/SC-ST Act, supportive victim statements, risk of witness influence, and advanced tria...

Motor Vehicles Act, 1988—Section 173—Motor Accident Claims—Driver Competence, Non-joinder, and Compensation—Under Section 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, a driver holding a valid Light Motor Vehicle (LMV) licence is competent to drive a transport vehicle within the prescribed weight limit; the distinction between LMV (Private) and LMV (Transport) is not a bar if the vehicle falls within the LMV category, relying on Mukund Dewangan v. Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd. (Para 12). Under Section 166, non-joinder of parties, such as the owner and insurer of another vehicle, does not invalidate a claim where negligence is solely attributable to the offending vehicle (Para 13)—Compensation calculation applies the multiplier method for age 36–40 years, with a one-fourth deduction for personal expenses when there...

Tender Proceedings—Rejection of Bids—Judicial Review and Eligibility Criteria—In tender proceedings, courts will not ordinarily interfere with the rejection of a bid unless the decision is mala fide, arbitrary, or irrational—The tendering authority, as the author of tender documents, is best placed to interpret qualification criteria, technical requirements, and documentary compliance—A bidder must strictly adhere to the express conditions regarding ownership/lease of machinery, qualifications of technical personnel, and prescribed formats for bank certificates and authority letters; failure to comply justifies rejection and does not constitute illegality—Late objections to another bidder’s eligibility are not entertained if raised after the objector’s own bid is disqualified—In infras...

Public Service Commission—Age Limit Relaxation—Uttarakhand Public Service (Relaxation in Age Limit for Recruitment) Rules, 2003, Rule 3; Uttarakhand Medical and Health Service Rules, 2014, Rule 10; Uttarakhand Recruitment in Service Upper Age Limit Rules, 2014, Rule 2—Quashing of order refusing relaxation—The State Government and Public Service Commission possess statutory power to grant age relaxation under the relevant Uttarakhand rules—While candidates have no indefeasible right to claim relaxation, the authorities must consider representations on merit and exercise discretion before rejecting requests—In the present case, the petitioner's representation for relaxation of upper age limit was rejected without considering the statutory power, rendering the order unsustainable—Prescription of ...

Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016—Promoter Liability, Development Agreements, and Recovery Proceedings A. Promoter—Definition (RERA Section 2(zk))—A promoter includes any person who develops land into a real estate project for sale of plots, whether with or without structures, and includes assignees of the promoter (Para 12). B. Liability for Non-Delivery (RERA Section 31)—When a promoter fails to deliver possession or refund money collected from allottees, a RERA authority can direct refund with interest and impose penalties—Allottees are entitled to recover dues through appropriate proceedings (Para 6). C. Development Agreement—Rights and Liabilities—An owner transferring absolute rights and possession of land to a developer remains indirectly liable toward allottees if...