A. Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881—Sections 138 and 147—Compounding of offence—Post-conviction settlement—Held: The non obstante clause in Section 147 confers overriding effect over the procedural restrictions contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure and permits compounding of an offence under Section 138 at any stage of the proceedings, including after dismissal of an appeal or during revision, where the parties have voluntarily settled the dispute and the complainant has received the entire cheque amount. In such circumstances, to secure the ends of justice and give primacy to the compensatory object of the enactment, the High Court may record the compromise, set aside the conviction and sentence, and acquit the accused on account of compounding. (Paras 23 to 50) B. Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881—S...

A. Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988—Sections 13(1)(e) & 13(2)—Disproportionate assets—Prosecution established that the public servant accumulated assets disproportionate to his known sources of income, including substantial properties purchased in the name of his wife during the check period—Wife's alleged independent income was insufficient to explain the acquisitions—Burden shifted to the accused to satisfactorily account for the assets, which they failed to do. B. Criminal Procedure Code, 1973—Section 374(2)—Appeal against conviction—Proceedings against the deceased public servant abated on his death—Appeal survived only at the instance of the co-accused wife, whose plea of independent income and divorce was not substantiated by convincing evidence. C. Evidence Act, ...

A. Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881—Sections 138 and 147—Compounding of offence—Post-conviction settlement—Held: By virtue of the overriding non obstante clause contained in Section 147, an offence under Section 138 remains compoundable at every stage of the proceedings, including after affirmation of conviction in appeal and during revision. Where the parties voluntarily settle their dispute through mediation and the complainant acknowledges receipt of the agreed amount in full and final settlement, the High Court may, to secure the ends of justice, record the settlement, set aside the conviction and sentence, and acquit the accused on account of compounding. (Paras 20 to 45) B. Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881—Sections 138 and 147—Compensatory nature of offence—Criminal Procedure Code, 1973&m...

A. Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996—Contract Termination—Employer's Right to Continue Work—Employer's right under the termination clause to execute the remaining work itself or through a third party arises only after the contractor fails to comply with its post-termination obligations within the stipulated period—Until expiry of the contractual compliance period, such right cannot be invoked. [Paras 27–34] B. Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996—Contract Termination—Employer's Lien—Employer's lien over the contractor's equipment and materials can be exercised only after completion of the final settlement process and determination of outstanding dues—Mere termination of the contract does not automatically confer lien rights. [Paras 25–30] C. Arbit...

A. Tamil Nadu Acquisition of Land for Industrial Purposes Act, 1997—Land Acquisition for Public Purpose—Acquisition of land for the Morappur–Dharmapuri New Broad-Gauge Railway Line was upheld as being in furtherance of a public purpose—Held, individual rights must yield to larger public interest where acquisition is in accordance with law and fair compensation is provided—Courts will not interfere with technical matters such as railway alignment absent mala fides or patent arbitrariness. [Paras 6–7] B. Tamil Nadu Acquisition of Land for Industrial Purposes Act, 1997—Objections to Acquisition—Challenge based on alleged procedural irregularities and defective notification was rejected where the landowner failed to avail the opportunity of personal hearing—Any residual prejudice stood ...

A. Bar Council of India Rules—Rule 12—Mandatory attendance—Eligibility to appear in examinations—Compliance with the prescribed minimum attendance requirement is mandatory for law students—Students failing to secure the requisite attendance are ineligible to appear for end-semester examinations, and such requirement cannot be relaxed contrary to the statutory rules. [Paras 3, 4] B. Constitution of India, 1950—Article 14—Equality—Academic discipline—Granting permission to students with attendance shortages to appear in examinations would violate the principle of equality by placing them on par with diligent students who complied with the mandatory attendance requirements. [Para 6] C. Legal Education—Significance of classroom learning—Legal education is a professional d...

A. Constitutional Law—Writ jurisdiction—Educational certificates—Release of Course Completion and MBBS Degree Certificates—Educational institutions ordinarily cannot withhold academic certificates as security for recovery of dues—However, where the fees paid towards the course are subsequently seized by investigating authorities as proceeds of terrorist funding, leaving the institution unpaid, the court may decline to issue a writ of mandamus directing release of the certificates—The student must seek appropriate relief for release of the seized funds before the competent court. [Paras 1, 2, 8, 10] B. Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967—Seizure of assets—Terrorist funding—Where fees paid for a student's education are found to have originated from extorted funds meant for ...

Hindu Law (Mulla, 22nd Edn.)—Artcles 241 & 254—Karta—Powers & Alienation—Legal Necessity—Binding Effect of—Karta of a Hindu Undivided Family is its supreme manager and legal representative, empowered to manage family affairs, represent it in proceedings, incur debts, and alienate coparcenary property—Such alienation is valid and binding on all coparceners, including minors and widows, if made for legal necessity or benefit of estate, with a presumption of validity attaching to Karta’s acts—Existence of legal necessity is fact-specific; discharge of tax liabilities of family business constitutes legal necessity—Once such necessity is proved, the alienation cannot be challenged by any coparcener. A. Specific Relief Act, 1963—Section 10 (prior to amendment)—Sp...

A. Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881—Section 138—Sections 118 and 139—Dishonour of cheque—Dismissal of complaint—Rebuttal of presumption—Held: Appellant/complainant failed to establish source of funds for alleged loan of Rs 5,00,000 and did not produce demand promissory note—Contradictions in her evidence regarding financial capacity and prior dealings created serious doubt—Respondent successfully rebutted statutory presumptions under Ss. 118 and 139 by cross-examination and by producing defence documents (Ex. D1 and Ex. D2)—Burden shifted back to complainant, who failed to discharge it—Trial Court’s dismissal of complaint held justified and based on proper appreciation of evidence. (Paras 2 to 5) B. Indian Evidence Act, 1872—Section 145—Contradictions—U...

Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881—Sections 118 and 139—Section 138—Dishonour of cheque—Statutory presumption—Rebuttal—Financial capacity—Evidentiary value—Held: Presumption that cheque was issued towards discharge of legally enforceable debt is rebuttable—Accused can discharge burden by raising a probable defence on preponderance of probabilities—Where accused questions complainant’s financial capacity and genuineness of transaction, burden shifts on complainant to establish source of funds—Failure to produce contemporaneous evidence such as income tax returns, bank statements or reliable records casts serious doubt on existence of debt—Documents prepared belatedly without supporting material lack probative value—In such circumstances, presumption stands re...