Legal News & Views

While interpreting an arbitration agreement, a bench comprising of Mohit S. Shah, CJ and M. S. Sonak, J held that in an agreement between two groups, group entities which are not signatories to the agreement may also be made party to the arbitration agreement if they are referred to in the contract. In the present case, a joint venture company was set up by two groups through a joint venture agreement. Under the agreement, the definition of the appellant group included “such other entities controlled by him or his immediate relatives or his group companies directly or indirectly”. Similarly, the definition of the respondent group included “…and their immediate relatives taken together and such other entities controlled by them or their immediate relatives directly or indirectly”. Disputes arose between the parties when the appellant group alleged that the respondent group were carrying on a competitive business. The appellant group thus approached the Court to seek interim relief un

The Hyderabad High Court has held that it cannot issue writ of habeas corpus in case of private detention. A division bench comprising Chief Justice Kalyan Jyoti Sengupta and Justice P.V. Sanjay Kumar was dismissing a habeas corpus petition by a person from Karimnagar district seeking production of his wife who was in alleged detention of his in- laws. The petitioner has relied on a judgment of the Supreme Court in the  case of Mohd. Ikram Hussain versus the state of Uttar Pradesh  and  submitted that the unauthorised detention by private individual  was also can be taken care of in writ jurisdiction for issuance of writ of  habeas corpus. After perusing the order of the Apex Court, the bench said that when  the Allahabad High Court first entertained application under Article 226 of the Constitution and Section 491 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, in case of alleged detention of a person by private  individual, the High Court was under Section 491 of the Code, was conferred wi

Time has come for courts to deal firmly with women filing false rape complaints as they are tormentors warranting punishment, a Delhi Court has said. False rape cases makes the crime graph shoot up, play havoc with the crime statistics and tend to trivialise the offence of rape and, "no sooner that the news of a person having been accused of rape spreads in the society, he is looked down upon by all and sundry," it observed. While the act of rape causes intense emotional distress and immense humiliation to the victim, at the same time one cannot lose sight of the fact that false implication in a rape case causes equal humiliation, disgrace and mental agony to the accused, the court further said. "He (rape accused) as well as his family is ostracised from the mainstream. He is humiliated and ridiculed everywhere. Even his honourable acquittal by the court is not taken note of and does little to salvage his lost honour and dignity. He has to live with the trauma of

Supreme Court today upheld the constitutional validity of an amendment in the provision of the securitisation law which authorises the creditor to classify the account of a borrower as Non Performing Assets (NPA) in accordance with RBI guidelines and directions and laid to rest the confusion created by conflicting judgement of the Madras & Gujarat High Courts. The apex court passed the judgement while dealing with the amended definition of the expression 'NPA' under Section 2(1)(o) of the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest (SARFAESI) Act, 2002. A bench of justices J Chelameswar and S A Bobde disposed of a bunch of petitions while directing the borrowers to pay costs to the respective creditors at one per cent of the amount outstanding on the date of the notice. While upholding the validity of the amendment brought out in 2004, the bench said "the submission that the amendment of the definition of the expres

Donaldson India Filters Systems Pvt. Ltd vs. DCIT (Delhi High Court) Decided - (i) Undoubtedly, Explanation – 1 to Section 147 indicates that mere production of account books or other evidence before the Assessing Officer would not necessarily amount to disclosure of the material information by the assessee. But then, the explanation clarifies the said general refrain by the words “not necessarily”. Therefore, the burden is equally placed on the Assessing Officer to exercise due diligence in examining the record (account books or evidence) produced before him in the light of declarations made in the return or responses (to the notices, questionnaire etc.). As has been noted above, the sine quo non for action under Section 147 (to deal with escapement of income) is gathering or availability of some “tangible material” requiring the matter to be re-opened; (ii) The order passed by the assessing authority extracted above unmistakably shows that even at that stage it had no fresh mate

NATIONAL BANK LIMITED VS GHANSHYAM DAS AGARWAL & ORS. CIVIL APPEAL No. 7513  OF 2009 Supreme Court has stated that a bank opening a letter of credit (LoC), cannot "disregard, delay or dilute its responsibility to make payment strictly and promptly as obligated by the terms of the letter of credit." It has a duty to all concerned to ensure that its action would not frustrate obligations. The court stated so while dismissing the appeal, National Bank Ltd vs G D Agarwal, and upholding the judgment of the Calcutta High Court. Though the decree of the high court has been satisfied, the Supreme Court felt that the law should be emphasised. The complaint of the Indian exporter of rice to a Bangladesh firm was that the importer there had managed to clear the entire consignment by devious means and the bank there did not take adequate precaution against such eventuality. "In trans-border transactions, trade depends almost entirely on the faith reposed in banking insti

India Trade Promotion Organization vs. DGIT (E) (Delhi High Court) S. 2(15)/ 10(23C)(iv): If the definition of "charitable purpose" is construed literally, it is violative of the principles of equality & unconstitutional. If the dominant object is not to carry on business or trade or commerce, then an incidental or ancillary activity for which a fee is charged does not destroy the character of a charitable institution The DGIT (E) passed an order stating that though the assessee is engaged in “the advancement of any other object of general public utility” as per s. 2(15) of the Act, its object could not be regarded as “charitable purposes” due to the new proviso to s. 2(15) and that it was not eligible for exemption u/s 10(23C)(iv). It was held that as the assessee had huge surpluses in banks, it had given its space for rent during Trade Fairs and Exhibitions, it had received income by way of sale of tickets and income from food and beverage outlets in Pragati Maidan

It is not just under the old central Land Acquisition Act 1894, but even under state laws, land is acquired and not used for decades, making a mockery of the whole exercise. This was revealed in a judgment of the Supreme Court last week involving the Maharashtra Regional Town Planning Act. In 1991, the state government reserved for acquisition prime land in Mumbai's Vikhroli suburb for laying additional railway tracks. Even more than a decade later, no steps were taken by the authorities to utilise the land and no explanation was given. The land use was changed and the plan was to build a road. The land owner, Godrej & Boyce Manufacturing Co, then moved the Bombay High Court arguing the state government had no power to change the usage. Its writ petition was dismissed. On appeal, the Supreme Court set aside the high court ruling and quashed the notification due to the long lapse of time. Recently, the Supreme Court had passed several judgments in cases in which the land was no

In a significant judgment, the Bombay high court has ruled that in cheque bounce cases, only the drawee bank's jurisdiction could be considered during criminal proceedings under Section 138 of Negotiable Instruments (NI) Act, 1881, even as the Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) system facility enabled citizens to draw/pay cheques at any branches all over the country. Justice SB Shukre of the Nagpur bench of the HC observed: "There can be only one drawee bank and not several. When the RTGS cheques bear an endorsement payable at all our branches', it only means 'payment instructions expedited' enabling receipt thereof immediately." The HC was hearing a petition filed by one Sangita Shah against one Sukrant Shah. The judicial magistrate first class, Nagpur, had returned her complaint against Sukrant on November 3, 2014. Following this, she had filed a writ petition in the HC. While dismissing Shah's petition, the judge made it clear that there is a diff

The Bombay high court has allowed proceedings against HDFC Bank over allegations that it seized a flat in Pune by breaking open the locks after its owners defaulted on a loan. Justice Abhay Thipsay questioned whether the bank could have forcibly taken possession of the flat without a court order and directed a magistrate-ordered investigation into the case. The HC directive comes on a private complaint by the flat's owners, Milind Mahadik and his wife Aarti. The bank said the couple were wilful defaulters and under law—Securitization and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest (SARFAESI) Act—it had powers to seize the flat. The judge held that while the law does not bar a bank from taking possession of a secured asset without court orders, when force is to be used, the district magistrate's orders are necessary. "If breaking open the lock put on a flat and taking forcible possession... is held to be permissible on the grounds that the S

Settling stolen car insurance can’t be delayed for long When a vehicle is stolen, the insurance company is liable to indemnify the loss. But what happens when the vehicle is traced after a considerable lapse of time? Can the insurance company refuse to settle the claim? This issue was decided in an interesting case before the West Bengal State Commission in ICICI Lombard General Insurance Co Ltd v/s Dredging & Desiltation Co Pvt Ltd, in Appeal No 748 of 2013 decided on 22.1.2015. Case Study: The insured had a Tata Indica which was insured by ICICI Lombard. It was stolen on 30.6.2007. The loss was intimated to the insurance firm. The papers sought to process the claim were also submitted. In mid-July, the insurance firm asked the insured to sign documents for transfer of the vehicle in its favour, should it be traced. All documents were executed. The insured then bought a new car on 22.8.2008. Surprisingly, the insurance firm sat over the claim. After more than 15 months, t

Cooperative societies involved in activities earning profits for their members cannot claim the status of 'consumers' in litigations before consumer forums, the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has ruled. The commission has set aside the Kolhapur district consumer forum's orders to the extent of holding 12 directors of the Ichalkaranji Urban Cooperative Bank personally liable for repayment of fixed deposit amounts of six cooperative societies, which are into credit finance and milk collection and supplies in Kolhapur district. A two-member bench of the commission, comprising Justices R C Chavan and Usha S Thakare, also held in their order on January 14 that it would not be open to the district consumer forum to hold the directors personally liable in the absence of any specific allegation or proof of their complicity in the mismanagement of the bank's affairs. The commission has, however, left intact all orders against the bank, which, as a corporate le

A driving licence that stood expired on the date of a traffic accident cannot be considered to be legally valid unless it is renewed within the statutory period of 30 days, the Kerala high court has held. If the licence is not renewed so, the insurance company won't be liable to pay compensation, the court said. A five-member bench led by acting Chief Justice Ashok Bhushan on Wednesday overruled a 2004 decision by a three-member bench on the issue. The three-member bench had held that driving licence would continue to exist in spite of its expiry unless the licensee is disqualified from holding a licence. The 2004 decision does not lay down the correct law and, therefore, it is overruled, the judgment authored by Justice A V Ramakrishna Pillai for the full bench said. In addition to Justice Bhushan and Justice Pillai, the full bench comprised Justice A M Shaffique, Justice A Hariprasad, and Justice A K Jayasankaran Nambiar. The five-member bench held, "It is beyond di

How much should a homemaker be paid? Or can we even measure her worth? A division bench of the Madras High Court, comprising Justice Prabha Sridevan and Justice T.S. Sivagnanam, has declared: ‘The time has come to scientifically assess the value of the unpaid homemaker, both in accident claims and in division of matrimonial property’. The case: Compensation was claimed for a couple killed in an accident. What was the woman worth? The judges said: “One cannot ignore... that the homemaker, by applying herself to the tasks at home, liberates her spouse to devote his energy, time and attention to… generate property for the family”. Fixing the notional income of the woman at Rs. 3,500, they awarded Rs. 7.6 lakh to her daughter. “Homemakers too should be considered earning members,” they said. How do you put a number to what a homemaker does? The judges suggested (a) what she would have earned had she not remained at home, (b) if marriage is an equal economic partnership, the homemake

Government has to exercise its powers to take corrective course within a reasonable period to change an order that has been secured by a beneficiary in a fraudulent manner, the Supreme Court has ruled. It held as wrong the Andhra Pradesh Government order exercising its 'revision power' after nearly five decades to issue show cause notice to villagers as to why their entries in land records should not be cancelled and corrected as the transactions there were fraudulent. The apex court held "if actions or transactions were to remain forever open to challenge, it will mean avoidable and endless uncertainty in human affairs, which is not the policy of law." A bench comprising Justices TS Thakur and C Nagappan dismissed the appeal filed by the Joint Collector of Ranga Reddy district against the order of the High Court saying that the revisional powers vested under the Andhra Pradesh (Telangana Area) Land Revenue Act cannot be exercised 50 years after the making of t

Housing societies do not have to pay service tax on maintenance charges collected from their members, a tax tribunal has ruled. This will reduce the maintenance outgo of residents of nearly a lakh housing societies in Mumbai and Thane, particularly the upscale ones where the charges can go over Rs 1 lakh every month. The recent decision by the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) came in a case involving Tahnee Heights, a residential housing society on Nepean Sea Road, and Mittal Tower at Nariman Point that houses several offices. The decision means a flat-owner or owner of a commercial premise in a housing society registered under the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act will have to pay much less. The society will not be required to impose a service tax charge (currently 12.36%) against maintenance charges collected from its members. Typically in any housing society in Mumbai, the resident welfare association (RWA) formed from among members of the so

In a striking decision which bucks the trend of pro-arbitration decisions from the Indian judiciary in recent years, a single judge of the Delhi High Court has restrained McDonald’s from invoking an LCIA arbitration clause in its joint venture agreement with its local partner. The court’s order was issued on the basis that the arbitration agreement was inoperative or incapable of being performed, and on the basis that in an arbitration involving predominantly Indian parties and Indian law, London was a forum non conveniens and therefore the arbitration proceedings were “vexatious” and “oppressive“. The decision may be subject to appeal, but in the meantime will raise concerns for any parties facing opposition in India to attempts to invoke offshore arbitration in Indian law agreements.  Background A Joint Venture Agreement (“JVA“) dated 31 March 1995 was entered into between McDonalds Corporation (registered in Delaware, USA), its Indian subsidiary (“D1“) and a local partner, Mr

The Allahabad High Court found the definition of a 'workman' in the Uttar Pradesh Industrial Disputes Act so anomalous that it requested the government to amend it. But the Supreme Court observed that the high court had exceeded its jurisdiction by asking the legislature to change the law. In the judgment delivered last week in Pepsico India Holding Ltd vs K K Pandey, the apex court stated that the high court should not have asked the government to amend the definition of 'workman'. According to the Act, anyone who draws a salary above Rs 500 per month could not be considered a workman and he is beyond the purview of the law. Pepsico terminated a fleet executive and he challenged the management's action. The company invoked the rule and said that since he was drawing a salary of about Rs 8,000, he could not move the labour court. His plea was dismissed by the labour court. But on appeal, the high court said that the rule was an archaic hangover of the 1947 Act when

CIVIL APPEAL NO. 11604 /2014 [Arising out of S.L.P. (Civil) No. 15314 of 2014] Anil s/o Jagannath Rana and others ... Appellant (s) Versus Rajendra s/o Radhakishan Rana and others ... Respondent (s) Once a court takes a decision not to refer disputes between two parties to arbitration, that order cannot be altered by approaching the chief justice seeking arbitration under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, the Supreme Court stated in its judgment, Anil vs Rajendra. The partners of a firm earlier took the dispute to the civil judge of Aurangabad. He heard the suit and while it was at the final stage, Rajendra approached the Bombay High Court chief justice for appointment of an arbitrator. The assigned judge proceeded to appoint an arbitrator. On appeal, the Supreme Court set aside the high court order and affirmed that the decision of the Aurangabad judge not to allow arbitration had become final. It cannot be overridden by a plea for arbitration.

The Supreme Court has said that the recent ordinance on land acquisition is prospective in nature, holding that delays owing to litigation are to be counted to the benefit of landowners and going against state governments owing to the absence of specific language to this effect. The court also said the benefit given to landowners is a "statutory right" and "cannot be taken away by an ordinance by inserting proviso to the above-said sub-section without giving it retrospective effect", it said with reference to the relevant clause. "We are... of the view that there is a presumption against the retrospective operation of a statute and further a statute is not to be construed to have a greater retrospective operation than its language renders necessary, but an amending Act which affects the procedure is presumed to be retrospective, unless amending Act provides otherwise," it said. The ruling was passed earlier this week on a petition filed by M/s Radia

The Mumbai Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has recently determined the following issue in the affirmative in the case of Manoj Dhupelia: Should the income of an offshore discretionary trust be subject to tax in India, if no distributions have been made to beneficiaries in India? The question arose from appeals filed by individual beneficiaries in relation to a Lichtenstein-based trust, the Ambrunova Trust and Merlyn Management SA (the Trust) with the ITAT. It is important to note that the individuals in this case were amongst those first identified by the Government of India (GOI) as holding undeclared bank accounts in Lichtenstein. The ITAT ruling raises the following issues: Taxation of Trust Corpus: ITAT classified the corpus of the trust as "undisclosed income" and declared it taxable in the hands of the beneficiaries. Taxation of Undistributed Income: ITAT refused to draw a distinction between the corpus and undistributed income from the trust and declared i

Rejecting an argument by SBI that it was not at fault in recovering monthly instalments on "disbursed" housing loan, the Dispute Redressal Forum here has asked the bank to refund the entire EMI charged unduly for 20 months from a policeman and directed it to pay him Rs 50,000 as compensation for deficient services. In their order, issued last week Forum President M Y Mankar and members Madhuri Vishwarupe and ND Kadam directed the bank to make the payment to complainant Rajendra Sadashiv Pardesi, within the next 40 days or else pay interest on the sum at 6 per cent p.A. Till its realisation. The new panel has adopted an innovative system by which it directs both the complainant and the respondent to file an affidavit before a specified date as regards the compliance of the Forum order which tracks the pendency in the compliance which was not happening earlier. In his complaint, the policeman told the Forum that the bank had sanctioned him a housing loan and issued a che

Delay in lodging an FIR for stolen property cannot be grounds for an insurance firm to reject the claim of its policyholder, a consumer court here has ruled. The court directed an insurance firm to pay a policyholder Rs 1.48 lakh with interest at the rate of 9% from the date when his vehicle was stolen and Rs 2,000 to cover litigation costs. The firm was told to pay the amount within six weeks from the date of receipt of the court's order. On January 14, the complainant moved a fresh plea before the additional district consumer disputes redressal forum, stating that the firm has not paid him the amount even after the six weeks' time given by the forum, nor has it moved an appeal before the state consumer forum against the order. He has called for appropriate action against the insurance firm and fresh damages for not executing the order. The forum recently said that in a case involving an insurance claim for a stolen car, police take time in lodging an FIR in the hope th

Ashoka Education Foundation vs. CIT (ITAT Pune) S. 12AA/80G(5): CIT, while granting registration or renewal, can only look at the nature of activities and is not concerned with violation of s. 11(5) or s. 13 Decided:.....While granting the exemption or renewal of exemption under section 80G(5) of the Act, the role of CIT is limited to look into the nature of activities being carried on by the institution or fund and the violation if any, of the provisions of section 13 of the Act and its various subsections are to be looked into by the Assessing Officer while deciding the issue of grant of deduction under sections 11 and 12 of the Act. The CIT while issuing the extension of exemption under section 80G(5) of the Act has a limited role to play i.e. to see whether the activities of the assessee trust were charitable in nature. Even if the ground about contravention of section 11(5) of the Act was validly taken by the CIT, that would have bearing only at the point of the assessment an

Schrader Duncan Limited vs. ACIT (ITAT Mumbai) S. 271(1)(c): If the High Court admits the appeal u/s 260A, it means that the issue is debatable and penalty cannot survive Decided:.....Without going into much deliberation and merits of the case, now question arises since the substantial question of law “whether on the facts in the circumstances of the case and in law, the Tribunal was justified in holding that the appellant was not entitled to claim the loss of Rs.6.34 crore arising on conversion of UTI US 64 units in to 6.75% Tax Free Bonds of UTI?” has been admitted by the Hon’ble jurisdictional High Court, vide order dated 19th September, 2014, now question arises whether penalty u/s 271(1)(c) of the Act survives when the addition has become debatable? We note that the Hon’ble jurisdictional High court vide order dated 08/07/2014 in the case of CIT vs M/s Nayan Builders & Developers (ITA No.415/2012) held that no penalty is imposable u/s 271(1)(c) of the Act. Likewise, the T

Pradeep Kumar Chowdhry vs. DCIT (ITAT Hyderabad) S. 54F: Amount paid to builder for house is equivalent to amount spent by assessee for construction. Fact that only advance is given and construction is delayed beyond 3 years does not deprive assessee of exemption Decided:.....(i) In the present situation we have to consider the following factors distinguishing a house construction as against flat booked with the construction company in the context of exemption u/s. 54F: (a) Real estate prices have soared up and, therefore, very few individual house are being constructed. (b) Exemption is available in case of purchase of a flat within two years. (c) It has been held by co-ordinate Benches that consideration received on transfer has been invested either in purchasing a residential house or in constructing a residential house, even though the transactions are not complete in all respects and as required under the law would not disentitle the assessee from availing benefit u/s.

Sannidhi C. Patel vs. ITO (ITAT Mumbai) S. 56(2)(vi): Amounts received under a Power of Attorney for making investments cannot be treated as income in the hands of the recipient Decided:.....Section 56 of the Act deals with income from other sources. Sub-clause (vi) to section 56 (2) was inserted by taxation laws (amendment) Act, 2006, with effect from 01/04/2007. The plain reading of the aforementioned statutory provisions reveals that it is intended to tax a receipt of money without consideration. The impugned amount was received by the assessee for making the investment on behalf of Ustad Zakir Hussain, on the basis of Power of Attorney. If the provisions of the Act and the content of the Power of Attorney are kept in juxtaposition and analyzed then it can be concluded that the mutual funds, purchase and sold by the assessee were made on behalf of Shri Zakir Hussain and there is no evidence to establish that the investment made by the assessee is from the funds of Shri Zakir Hu

ACIT vs. M/s G V Sons (ITAT Mumbai) Bogus purchases: Merely because a party has admitted to indulging in sham/ accommodation transactions does not mean that all his transactions with the assessee should be treated as sham Decided:....It is not in dispute that the survey action was conducted on a third party. It is also not in dispute that the assessee had business relation with Moxdiam Group, like so many other parties. It is also a fact that there is not even a iota of evidence with the AO, to prove that the assessee did not have straight dealings with the Moxdiam Group. It is also a fact that, that the assessee entered each of its transaction in its primary books, comprising of ledger and stock register. From the order of the AO, the DR could not establish before us that the transaction as recorded in the books was sham. We cannot accept a bald statement made by the AO that any transaction/business done with a party would be sham, simply because the opposite party besides doing

Manpreet Singh vs. ITO (ITAT Delhi) S. 22: Rent received from mobile phone company for use of terrace to install antenna is taxable as "Income from house property" and not as "Other sources" Decided:...The true test is whether the space rented out is part of the building or land appurtenant thereto. The rent is not for the antenna but for the space for installation of antenna. It is not the case of the Assessing Officer that the rent is for the antenna, and, therefore, it is wholly irrelevant whether antenna is part of the building or land appurtenant thereto. What is relevant is the space which has been rented out and, therefore, as long as the space, which has been rented out, is part of the building, the rent is required to be treated as “income from house property”. Learned counsel for the assessee has filed copies of leaves and licence agreements with the Bharti Airtel Limited and the Idea Cellular Limited. In both of these agreements, it is specifically m

ITO vs. Modipon Ltd (ITAT Delhi) S. 50C: The consideration has to be determined on the basis of the circle-rate prevailing on the date of execution of sale deed and not on the basis of the circle-rate prevailing on the date of registration of the sale deed Decided:.........It is manifest that u/s 50C, the value adopted by the stamp-valuation authority is deemed as the consideration for computation of capital gain. However, such valuation adopted by the stamp-valuation authority should be in respect of the transfer by the assessee, of the capital assets. The agreement to sale was duly registered, whereby, the total consideration was agreed to between parties works out to Rs.2,62,08,000/- and was adopted as the consideration for the payment of stamp-duty i.e.@ 4% of Rs.2,62,08,000/- i.e. Rs.10,48,320/-. In view thereof, the aforesaid valuation is also the value adopted by the stamp valuation authority in respect of transfer of the capital asset by the assessee. However subsequent to

To sternly deal with wilful defaulters, Sebi today decided to impose restrictions on such entities with respect to raising funds from capital markets. Such measures are expected to further enhance the protection of investors in the securities market. As part of new norms, the watchdog will impose restrictions on companies, promoters, and directors that are categorised as a 'wilful defaulter' from accessing the capital markets. "The Board approved the proposal to review the policy in respect of restricting an issuer company/its promoter/ directors, categorized as wilful defaulter, from raising capital after going through the public consultation process," Sebi said in statement after the board meeting. At present, Sebi norms bar wilful defaulters from issuing convertible debt instruments. However, there is no restriction on such entities from raising funds from the capital market by way of public or rights issues, among others Before finalising stricter regul

The apex consumer commission has denied insurance claim to a man for his commercial vehicle, saying that at the time of accident the driver was holding a licence for only light motor non-transport vehicle. National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) bench, presided by Justice K S Chaudhari, passed the order while allowing a revision petition filed by ICICI Lombard General Insurance Co Ltd against Karnataka State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission. The state commission had upheld an order of district consumer forum asking the firm to pay Rs 2,45,983 to the complainant Mainuddin, owner of the commercial vehicle. "At the time of accident, driver of vehicle was not possessed with the valid driving licence and in such circumstances, OP (firm) has not committed any deficiency in repudiating claim and district forum committed error in allowing the complaint and state commission further committed error in dismissing appeal. "Hence, revision petition is to be

 In a case which may open a floodgate of litigation, the Madras high court on Tuesday restrained software major TCS from retrenching an employee who has been issued termination by the company. Amid reports that TCS planned to retrench 25,000 engineers, Rekha, who is pregnant at present, was issued termination orders on December 22, 2014. She was informed that she would be relieved from duty on January 21, 2015. She moved the high court saying the retrenchment move was illegal and in gross violation of Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. On Tuesday, admitting her petition, Justice M Duraiswamy granted a four-week interim inunction restraining the company from retrenching her. In her petition, Rekha said she joined TCS in Chennai in March 2011 as an IT analyst. She is a 'workman' within the meaning of Section 2(s) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, as her main duties and responsibilities are technical and clerical in nature. Her job involves receiving and collating inf

___________RESERVE BANK OF INDIA_____________ www.rbi.org.in RBI/2014-15/221 DBOD.No.CID.41/20.16.003/2014-15                                      September 9, 2014 All Scheduled Commercial Banks (excluding RRBs and LABs) and All India Notified Financial Institutions (FIs) Department of Banking Operations and Development, Central Office, 13th Floor, Central Office Building, S. Bhagat Singh Marg, Mumbai - 400 001 Dear Sir/ Madam Guidelines on Wilful Defaulters – Clarification regarding Guarantor, Lender and Unit Please refer to the Master Circular on Wilful Defaulters DBOD.No.CID.BC.3/20.16.003/2014-15 dated July 1, 2014. 2. Paragraph 2.1 of the circular lists out various events when a “wilful default” would be deemed to have occurred. In view of references received from a few banks regarding scope/definition of “wilful default”, it is clarified as follows: a) The term ‘lender’ appearing in the circular covers all banks/FIs to which any amount i

A Delhi court has denied a woman the right to live in a house owned by her father-in-law, saying she has no right to a property which belongs exclusively to her parents-in-law. The court added that the woman can seek the right to reside in a separate house which her husband had already rented. Additional sessions judge Pulastya Pramachala gave the order on an appeal filed by the woman’s parents-in-law against a Mahila court order which directed them to allow their daughter-in-law back into house as it was a shared household. “It is held that the daughter-in-law has no right in a property which exclusively belongs to her parents-in-law and such a property cannot be treated as a shared accommodation,” Pramachala said. Relying on a Supreme Court verdict, the judge added that the woman is entitled to the right of residing in the house only if her husband owns the property or has a share in it. The case was also remanded back to the Mahila court to decide on the woman’s claim of

In a significant judgment, the South Mumbai Consumer Forum has held that a flat owner legally occupying the flat would be a consumer, even if his title to the flat might be in dispute before a competent court. Thurlow owned a flat in a co-operative society. Appuswami was residing with him. In 1976, Appuswami got married in the same flat, and his wife started residing in the same flat. They had three children, born and brought up in the same flat. After Thurlow expired in 2004, Appuswami approached the High Court for inheritance to Thurlow's estate but expired while the matter was pending. His wife and children were brought on record. Subsequently, the society intervened, contending Appuswami did not have any right to the flat and it should be handed over to the Society. The Appuswami family continued to reside in the flat, and even pay the society's outgoings and maintenance charges. Later, the society stopped collecting maintenance charges from all members, as it earned