A. Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005—Sections 12, 20 and 22—Domestic violence—Maintenance, alternative accommodation and compensation—Held: Where both the Trial Court and the Appellate Court, on appreciation of oral and documentary evidence, concurrently conclude that the aggrieved wife was subjected to domestic violence, the award of monetary relief, maintenance for the wife and minor child, and expenses towards alternative accommodation does not call for interference in revision merely because the husband disputes the findings. However, compensation under Section 22 must remain fair and proportionate to the facts of the case and the financial condition of the respondent. In the present case, while the monthly maintenance and accommodation charges were found to be reasonable and were affirm...

A. Civil Procedure Code, 1908—Order XXI—Execution of decree—Executing Court cannot travel beyond the decree—Property not forming part of the plaint, suit schedule or decree cannot be introduced at the execution stage by unilateral alteration of the execution schedule—Delivery of possession based on such tampered execution records held illegal and vitiated. B. Karnataka Land Revenue Act, 1964—Land records proceedings—Revenue authority's order founded on manipulated execution records held unsustainable—Revisional authority rightly relied on village maps, survey records and boundary descriptions to conclude that the disputed property vested in the Railways. C. Railways—Title to acquired land—Historical acquisition records, Gazette notifications, survey maps and long, unint...

A. Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881—S. 138—Companies Act, 1956/2013—Ss. 560(5)/248(5), 250—Effect of dissolution/strike-off of company on cheque subsequently issued in its name—Once a company is struck off and stands dissolved, it loses its juristic personality and any act done on its behalf thereafter is void ab initio unless restored under S. 252 of the Companies Act, 2013—A cheque issued in the name of, or purportedly by, a dissolved company is not a legally enforceable instrument, there being no valid drawer/account-holder in the eye of law, and, correspondingly, the account cannot be said to be "maintained" by the erstwhile Director who no longer has authority or control to give effective instructions to the bank—Proceedings under S. 138, which presuppose a validly issued cheque dra...

A. Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996—Ss.34 & 37—Scope of Judicial Interference—A Court exercising jurisdiction under Section 34 does not act as an appellate forum and cannot reappreciate evidence or substitute its own view for that of the Arbitrator—Patent illegality must strike at the root of the award and does not include mere erroneous application of law or reassessment of evidence—The scope under Section 37 is even narrower and is confined to examining whether the Section 34 Court acted within the statutory limits. [Paras 3-6] B. Limitation Act, 1963—Art.54—Specific Performance—No Fixed Date for Performance—Where an agreement does not prescribe a specific date for execution of sale deeds, limitation commences only upon a clear and unequivocal refusal to perform the cont...

A. Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (as amended in 2018)—Section 7(a)—Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023—Section 483—Regular Bail—Bribe demand by police officials—Held: Even assuming a prima facie case regarding demand and acceptance of illegal gratification, the alleged offence is punishable with imprisonment up to seven years and is neither punishable with death nor imprisonment for life—After arrest, seizure of the tainted amount and recording of relevant material, the accused were remanded to judicial custody, indicating that custodial interrogation was no longer necessary—In the absence of criminal antecedents and where apprehensions of witness tampering could be addressed through stringent conditions, the accused were entitled to be released on bail. (Paras 6 to 10) B. Preve...

Essential Commodities Act, 1955—Sections 3 & 7—Indian Penal Code, 1860—Section 149—Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023—Section 528 (formerly Section 482 Cr.P.C.)—Quashing of Proceedings—Insufficient material against accused—Held: Criminal proceedings cannot be sustained solely on the basis of the disclosure statement of co-accused in the absence of any independent material connecting the accused with the alleged offence—Where the investigation failed to collect evidence showing that the petitioner was involved in the purchase, transportation or illegal stocking of Public Distribution System (PDS) rice, and no independent witness or incriminating material was found against him, the essential ingredients of offences under Sections 3 and 7 of the Essential Commodities Act were no...

A. Code of Civil Procedure, 1908—Order XXXII Rules 3 & 4 (Karnataka Amendment)—Minor defendants—Appointment of guardian ad litem—Mandatory procedure—Held: Before appointing a guardian ad litem for a minor defendant, the Court must issue notice to the minor and the proposed guardian, obtain the guardian's consent, and comply with the mandatory requirements under Order XXXII Rules 3 and 4 CPC as amended in Karnataka. Appointment of a guardian without such notice and consent is without jurisdiction, rendering the representation of the minor ineffective and the decree passed against the minor a nullity. (Paras 17 to 26) B. Code of Civil Procedure, 1908—Order XXXII—Specific performance suit—Minor defendants not properly represented—Effect—Held: Where minor defendants, thoug...

A. Code of Civil Procedure, 1908—Order VII Rule 11(a) & (d)—Rejection of plaint—Partition suit—Cause of action and limitation—Held: Where the plaintiff was an executant/signatory to a registered partition deed, admitted execution of the document, but sought only a decree for partition without seeking cancellation or declaration that the partition deed was void or not binding, the plaint disclosed no valid cause of action for a fresh partition suit. A suit filed after more than fifteen years of the registered partition was clearly barred by limitation under Article 59 of the Limitation Act, 1963. Rejection of the plaint under Order VII Rule 11(a) and (d) CPC was therefore justified. (Paras 12 to 16, 20 to 24) B. Limitation Act, 1963—Article 59—Registered partition deed—Challenge on gro...

A. Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005—Sections 12 and 20—Interim maintenance—Wife earning substantially more than husband—Held: Interim maintenance cannot be awarded as a matter of course merely because the claimant is the wife. The Court must consider the comparative financial status and earning capacities of both spouses. Where the wife is admittedly earning substantially more than the husband, is financially capable of maintaining herself, and fails to substantiate any exceptional financial liabilities, an order directing the husband to pay interim maintenance is unsustainable and liable to be set aside. (Paras 8 to 10) B. Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005—Section 20—Interim maintenance—Determination of entitlement—Held: While deciding an applicatio...

Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005—Sections 20 & 23—Interim Maintenance—Earning wife—Entitlement—Held: Interim maintenance cannot be awarded as a matter of course merely because a wife files proceedings under the Domestic Violence Act—Where the wife is financially independent, earns substantially more than the husband, and fails to produce material to establish financial liabilities or inability to maintain herself, she is not entitled to interim maintenance—The Trial Court erred in considering only the husband's income while completely ignoring the admitted income of the wife—Accordingly, the order directing the husband to pay ₹20,000/- per month as interim maintenance was held unsustainable and set aside, with liberty reserved to the wife to seek appropriate rel...