A. Employees Compensation Act, 1923—Sections 2(1)(d), 4, and 8—Dependents and legal heirs—Original claimant deceased during pendency of proceedings—Claim initiated by deceased dependent survives and may be continued by legal representatives or heirs—Legal heirs need not independently qualify as dependents to be impleaded and pursue the claim. [Paras 12–18] B. Employees Compensation Act, 1923—Sections 4 and 8—Welfare legislation—Objective to provide financial relief for employment-related accidents—Claim should not extinguish merely due to claimant’s death during pendency—Legal representatives permitted to step into claimant’s place to ensure justice and fulfill purpose of Act. [Paras 19] C. Employees Compensation Act, 1923—Sections 2(1)(d), 4, and 8&...

A. Industrial Disputes Act, 1947—Sections 10(1)(c), 12(5), 25B and 25F—Workman entitled to protection against illegal termination—Petitioner employed as sweeper for over 11 years, alleged payment below minimum wages, harassment, and termination without notice or retrenchment compensation—Reference made by Deputy Commissioner of Labour for adjudication of reinstatement and back wages. [Paras 2–4, 11–14] B. Evidence and burden of proof—Muster rolls, salary vouchers, duty list, and oral testimony produced as secondary evidence—Labour Court allowed reliance on such evidence, drawing adverse inference against respondent for non-production of records—Respondent denied employer-employee relationship; court held existence of employment relationship established on preponderance of probabilit...

A. Employees Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952—Section 8F—Recovery from third parties—Third party filed affidavit denying liability under Section 8F(3)(vi)—Held, statutory protection afforded to such affidavit—Authority cannot compel payment unless it proves that the sworn statement was false in a material particular—Burden of proof lies on the authority; suspicion alone insufficient. [Paras 19–21] B. Employees Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952—Section 8F—Recovery from third parties—Authority must demonstrate that third party either owes money to employer or holds money for/on behalf of employer—Legal relationship under which funds are held must be real and identifiable—Recovery cannot be based solely on suspicion. ...

A. Maharashtra Rent Control Act, 1999—Section 16(1)(g) & 16(1)(n)—Eviction and Tenancy Rights Post-Demolition—Demolition of the building does not automatically terminate tenancy rights; when the land continues to exist, both land and building are considered components of the demise. (Paras 10–12) B. Maharashtra Rent Control Act, 1999—Statutory Tenant—Rights and Liabilities—A statutory tenant is governed solely by the provisions of the Rent Act in force and cannot seek relief under the Transfer of Property Act. (Para 13) C. Civil Procedure Code, 1908 (CPC)—Section 115—Revision for Perverse Appreciation of Evidence—High Court can interfere in revision if an appellate court misreads pleadings or evidence, causing a miscarriage of justice. (Para 34) D. Maharashtra Rent C...

A. Constitution of India, 1950—Article 226—Quashing Caste Scrutiny Committee Decision—High Court can quash the committee’s decision invalidating a Scheduled Tribe claim if the committee ignored substantial documentary evidence, relied solely on the affinity test, or disregarded pre-constitutional documents and validity certificates of relatives. B. Constitution of India, 1950—Article 226—Direction to Issue Caste Validity Certificate—If the committee’s earlier decision is erroneous and contrary to legal principles, the High Court can direct it to issue a caste validity certificate to the claimant. C. Scheduled Tribe Claim Verification—Duties of Caste Scrutiny Committee—The committee must consider all documentary evidence, including pre-constitutional records and relatives&rs...

Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023—Sections 72, 74, 76, 79 & 80—Execution Proceedings—Non-execution of Bailable/Non-Bailable Warrants outside State—Duty of Police Authorities—Directions for effective execution—In a long-pending execution application of the year 2015, the Court took serious note of repeated failure to execute a Non-Bailable Warrant issued against a respondent residing outside the State of Maharashtra, despite multiple reminders and acknowledgments by the concerned police station—The Court observed that such non-execution has resulted in prolonged pendency of execution proceedings, contrary to the directions of the Supreme Court mandating expeditious disposal of execution applications—Referring to the scheme of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, particular...

Land Acquisition for National Highways—Multiplier Factor and Appropriate Government—Under the National Highways Act, 1956 and the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, the Central Government alone has the power to specify the multiplier factor for land acquisition for national highways—Notifications or GRs issued by a State Government, including those fixing the multiplier at 1.00, are unconstitutional and invalid, as they encroach upon the exclusive jurisdiction of the Central Government—For acquisition of land for Union purposes, including national highways, the Central Government is the appropriate government, and awards based on invalid State notifications are liable to be quashed—A fresh award applying the Central Government’s no...

Arbitration—Appointment, Commencement, Interim Measures, and Jurisdiction—Under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, Section 11 empowers courts to appoint arbitrators, and the seat of arbitration is crucial for jurisdiction—Where a loan agreement (Clause 12) provides multiple cities as arbitration seats, the lender’s choice of Mumbai confers jurisdiction on the Bombay High Court—A notice demanding payment and threatening arbitration constitutes a valid request under Section 21, marking the commencement of arbitral proceedings for limitation purposes—Section 9 allows interim measures, including appointment of a Court Receiver, to preserve the subject matter when the borrower frustrates enforcement by not demarcating mortgaged property—Initiation of SARFAESI proceedings does not bar arbitrati...

Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority Act, 1974—Sections 35, 35(2), 35(6)—Compensation for Land Acquisition—Right to Property (Article 300A)—Transferable Development Rights (TDR) vs. Monetary Compensation—Writ Petition—Under Section 35 of the MMRDA Act, 1974, compensation for land acquisition must be determined monetarily, either by agreement between parties or calculated on the basis of net average monthly income—An award of Transferable Development Rights (TDR) in place of monetary compensation without the landowner’s consent is illegal and arbitrary—The Tribunal’s jurisdiction under Section 35(6) is limited to determining the amount of compensation and does not extend to altering the form of compensation—Delay or laches in filing a writ petition does not bar r...

Maharashtra Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act, 1948—Section 43, Section 84C—Transfer of Land Without Sanction—Invalidity of Transfer Without Collector’s Permission—Writ Jurisdiction—Transfer of land by a tenant is prohibited without obtaining the Collector's sanction under Section 43 of the Maharashtra Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act, 1948—An agreement for sale that is conditional on obtaining State Government permission, but where such permission is not secured, results in no valid transfer—Under Section 84C, the Mamlatdar has the power to declare such a transfer invalid, with the land vesting in the State Government—Proceedings initiated by the acquirer to nullify the agreement are considered an abuse of process and not maintainable—In writ jurisdiction, courts exercise...