Legal News & Views

A district consumer forum here has rejected a man's plea seeking insurance claim on his stolen vehicle, saying he had taken over a month to inform police and the insurance company about the theft, which was not "normal human conduct". The New Delhi District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum rejected the complaint of Kaushlendra Singh after noting that due to the delay, the insurance company could not get an opportunity to investigate the theft of his motorcycle and was entitled to repudiate the claim. "We found that the complainant has failed to explain his conduct in not immediately informing the police and waiting for one-and-a-half months to lodge a report. Such conduct is not normal human conduct in case of theft. "This creates doubt in the case of complainant and Opposite Party (insurance company) is entitled to repudiate the claim for violation of conduct in such circumstances as Opposite Party has got no opportunity to get the theft investigated,...

General Circular No: 26 /2014 No.2/2/2014-CL-V Government of India Ministry of Corporate Affairs 5th Floor,'A Wing', Shastri Bhawan, Dr. R.P. Road, New Delhi - l10001 Dated: 27h June, 2014 To All Regional Dlrectors, All Registrars of Companies, All Stakeholders. Sir, In continuation of this Ministry's circular no. Q2l20L4 dated 11.02.2014' it is hereby clarified the use of the word " Commodity Exchange" may be allowed only where a "No Objection Certificate" from the Forward Markets Commission (FMC) is furnished by the applicant. All other provisions of the Companies (Incorporation) Rules, 2014 will continue to be applicable. 2. It is also clarified that the certificate from Forward Markets Commission will also be required in cases of companies registered with the words "Commodity Exchange' before the issue of this circular. 3. This issues wlth the approval of competent authority

A consumer forum here has asked an insurance firm to pay Rs 3 lakh to a couple for causing harassment and delay in addressing their plea for cancellation of policies sold to them fraudulently by the company's agent. The New Delhi District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum held Aviva Life Insurance Company Ltd guilty of indulging in "unethical behaviour" and "unfair trade practice" which caused "mental agony" and "financial difficulties" to the couple due to deficiency in service in not taking corrective measures immediately. The couple, whose personal details and signatures were incorrectly or fraudulently filled by the agent of the insurance company, had sought immediate cancellation of the seven policies worth Rs 12.5 lakh in 2010. The forum presided by C K Chaturvedi also noted that while the company "arbitrarily" cancelled four policies, it had initially refused to cancel the remaining three policies without giving any jus...

RESERVE BANK OF INDIA FOREIGN EXCHANGE DEPARTMENT CENTRAL OFFICE MUMBAI Notification No.309/2014-RB Dated : June 4, 2014 Foreign Exchange Management (Export and Import of Currency) (Amendment) Regulations, 2014 In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (g) of sub-section (3) of Section 6 and sub section (2) of Section 47 of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (42 of 1999), the Reserve Bank of India hereby makes the following amendments in the Foreign Exchange Management (Export and Import of Currency) Regulations, 2000 (Notification No.FEMA. 6/2000-RB dated May 3, 2000), namely:- 1. Short title and commencement (a) These Regulations may be called the Foreign Exchange Management (Export and Import of Currency) (Amendment) Regulations, 2014. (b) They shall come into effect from the date of their publication in the Official Gazette. 2. Amendment of the Regulations: In the Foreign Exchange Management (Export and Import of Currency) Regulations, 2000 ...

Press Information Bureau Government of India Ministry of Corporate Affairs 12-June-2014 18:33 IST Following receipt of queries and suggestions from stakeholders, it has been decided to amend Rule 6 of the Companies (Meetings and Powers of Board) Rules, 2014. This will provide additional time for companies in constituting Audit Committees, and Nomination and Remuneration Committees till 31st March, 2015. Similarly, Sub-rule (5) of Rule 3 of the Companies (Declaration and Payment of Dividend) Rules, 2014 has been amended so as to bring greater clarity in the matter. Clarifications have also been placed on the Ministry’s website stipulating that Registers in the new format will not be required to be maintained in respect of records relating to loans/guarantee/security/ acquisition of securities prior to 1.4.2014. The corresponding notifications and circulars are available on the Ministry’s website at www.mca.gov.in. 

RBI/2013-14/634 DBOD.AML.BC. No. 119/14.01.001/2013-14 June 9, 2014 The Chairperson/CEOs of all Scheduled Commercial Banks (Excluding RRBs)/ Local Area Banks / All India Financial Institutions Dear Sir/ Madam, Know Your Customer (KYC) Norms/Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Standards/ Combating of Financing of Terrorism (CFT) /Obligation of banks under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 – Clarification on Proof of Address Please refer to paragraph 2.4 (h), (i), (j) (l), (m) and Annex I of Reserve Bank’s Master Circular on Know Your Customer (KYC) Norms/Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Standards/Combating of Financing of Terrorism (CFT)/Obligations under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, issued vide DBOD. AML. BC. No. 24/14.01.001/2013-14 dated July 1, 2013, regarding requirement of ‘proof of address’ while opening a bank account by individuals. 2. Reserve Bank has been receiving representations/references from various quarters’ especially migrant work...

General Circular No.19/2014 No. 1/4/2013-CL-V  Government of India Ministry of Corporate Affairs 5th Floor, ‘A’ Wing, Shastri Bhavan, Dr R.P. Road,  New Delhi  Dated12 June, 2014 To All Regional Directors, All Registrars of Companies, All Stakeholders. Subject: Clarifications on Rules prescribed under the Companies Act, 2013 - Matters relating to share capital and debentures- reg. Sir, Government has received representations from Industry Chambers, Professional Institutes and other stakeholders seeking clarifications on matters relating to ‘share capital and debentures’ under the relevant provisions of the Companies Act, 2013 (Act) read with relevant rules, which have come into force with effect from 1st April, 2014. The representations have been examined and clarifications on the following points are hereby given (i) Share Transfer Forms executed before 1st April, 2014:- In view of prescription of new Securities Transfer Form as per Form SH-4 with e...

General Circular no. 24l2014 F. No: 01/13/2013 -CL-V Government of India Mlnistry of Corporate Affairs 'A' Wing, 5th Floor, Shastri Bhawan Dr. Rajendra Prasad Road, New Delhi-110001 Date 25.06.2014 To All Regional Directors, All Registrars of Companies, All Stakeholders. Subject: Clarification with regard to holding of shares in a fiduciary capacity by associate company under section 2(6) of the Companies Act, 2013. Sir, In continuation of the General circular No. 20/2013 dated 2711212073, it is clarified that the shares held by a company in another company in a 'fiduciary capacity' shall not be counted for the purpose of determining the relationship of 'associate company' under section 2(6) of the Companies Act, 2013. 2. This issues with approval of Competent Authority.

General Circular no. 23/2O14 F. N: 1/ 13/2013 -CL-V Government of lndia Ministry of Corporate Affairs A'Wing, Sth Floor, Shastri Bhawan Dr. R.P. Road, New Delhi110001 Date:25.06.2014 Regional Directors, Registrars of Companies, Stakeholders. Subject: Clarification relatlng to incorporation of a company i.e. company Incorporated outside India, Sir, Government has received references seeking clarity about the status of subsidiaries incorporated/to be incorporated by companies incorporated outside India. Attention has, in particular, been drawn to the absence of the deeming provision of sub-section (7) of section 4 of the Companies Act, 1956 in the Companies Act, 2013 (New Act). The matter has been examined in the Ministry in the light of sections 2(68), 2(7I) and 2@7'l of the New Act and it is clarified that there is no bar in the new Act for a company incorporated outside India to incorporate a subsidiary either as a public company or a private comp...

General Circular No. 2O/2O14 No. 1/34l2013-cL-V Government of India Ministry of Corporate Affairs sth Floor, A Wing, Shastri Bhavan Dr R.P. Road, New Delhi Dated 17 June, 2014 Subject: Cladlication with regard to voting through electronic means - Sir, Section 108 of the Companies Act, 2013 read with rule 20 of the Companies (Management and Administration) Rules, 2Ol4 deal with the exercise of right to vote by members by electronic means (e-means), The provisions seek to ensure wider shareholders participation in the decision making process in companies. Corporates and other stakeholders while appreciating the new approach have drawn attention to some practical difficulties in respect of general meetings to be held in the next few months. 2. The suggestions received from the stakeholders have been examined. It is noticed that compliance with procedural requirements, engagement of Depository Agencies and the need for clarity on matter like demand for poll/ po...

Most hospitals have become shops, said the HC on Friday, decrying the alleged refusal by Marol's SevenHills Hospital to release a patient over non-payment of bills. A division bench of Justice V M Kanade and Justice P D Kode heard a petition by Sanjay Prajapati for directing the police to get his brother Chinku discharged, saying the hospital had refused to do so until pending bills are paid up. He also urged action against the hospital's doctors and staff. Prajapati had disputed the pending bill, calling it erroneous. Public prosecutor Sandeep Shinde told the HC that after operating on the patient in March, he was kept at the hospital for post-operative care due to lack of nursing care at home. "The hospital is willing to discharge him now," he said. The hospital's advocate said the allegations are false and the petition "filed simply because the petitioner has no money to pay the dues". He added, "It is the patient who is not going home. We...

The two widows perhaps had good reason to claim compensation after their husbands died in a hit-and-run case. But in the absence of evidence to buttress their claim, they resorted to deception and succeeded in receiving a combined compensation of 14.5 lakh. But after their fraud was exposed, the Madras high court has quashed the claim. On May 5, 2005 at 4.30pm Stephen Chelladurai was riding a bike with N Illangovan on the pillion. They were going from the city to Chengalpet when near Peramanur village on GST Road they were hit by an unidentified vehicle driven in a rash manner. Chelladurai died on the spot while IIangovan succumbed to injuries on his way to a hospital. The next year, Chelladurai's wife Chitra and Illangovan's wife E Pushparani approached the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) stating an auto belonging to A R Iyappan and driven by A R Boobalan was the vehicle which caused the accident. After investigation, S Krishnan, inspector, MM Nagar police station c...

A doctor's certificate is not enough to declare that an accused was insane at the time of committing a crime, the Bombay high court has said. A division bench of Justices V M Kanade and P D Kode made the observation on Wednesday while hearing a petition seeking confirmation of the death penalty for Santosh Mane, a state transport bus driver, who mowed down nine persons in Pune. Mane's lawyers have claimed that he was of "unsound mind" at the time of the incident and was undergoing psychiatric treatment. "Merely because a doctor gives a certificate, it is not sufficient to declare that an accused was not sane at the time of the incident," observed the judges. "There has to be a finding by the trial court after evidence is led that the accused was of unsound mind." The bench questioned the defence over raising the plea of insanity at a belated stage. The defence had not raised the issue during the trial. It did so only after the HC remanded th...

RBI/2013-14/660 DPSS. CO. D. No. 2646/02.27.005/2013-14 June 20, 2014 To All Payment System Providers, System Participants and prospective Prepaid Payment Instrument Issuers Madam/Dear Sir, Know Your Customer (KYC) Norms /Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Standards/ Combating of Financing of Terrorism (CFT)/Obligation of Payment System Operators under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 – e-KYC Service of UIDAI – Recognizing E- Aadhaar as an ‘Officially Valid Document’ under PML Rules Please refer to our circular DPSS.CO.AD.No.919/02.27.005/2013-14, dated October 25, 2013, advising the acceptance of e-KYC of UIDAI as a valid process for KYC verification under the Prevention of Money Laundering (Maintenance of Records) Rules, 2005. 2. In this regard, we are enclosing a copy of circular DBOD.AML.BC.No.100/14.01.001/2013-14 dated March 4, 2014 (ref. RBI/2013-14/510) issued by Department of Banking Operations and Development, Central Office on the above subject. 3. ...

The Delhi State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has asked a petrol pump owner here to pay Rs 24,000 to a man for filling petrol instead of diesel in his car, causing damage to the engine. The consumer commission comprising judicial member S A Siddiqui and member S C Jain passed the order while upholding a district consumer forum's order which had asked a Delhi-based petrol pump, Matta Automobiles, to pay Rs 24,000 to one Brij Mohan. "...We do not find any justification for any interference (in forum's order) from our side with the result the appeal fails and is liable to be dismissed," the commission said, adding that forum's order was legally sound and should be maintained. Mohan had told the commission that on June 26, 2007, the operator of the petrol pump had filled petrol instead of diesel in his car. As a result, the car had to be repaired and he had to pay Rs 38,604 as bill. Thereafter, Mohan filed a consumer complaint against the petrol pu...

Her story might be an inspiration for the physically challenged but justice has remained elusive for her. In 2008, a bus accident left research engineer S Thenmozhi, 30, paraplegic. In April 2013, the motor accident claims tribunal directed the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) to provide her a compensation of 57.9 lakh. However, TNSTC refused to budge and on Tuesday a city court ordered attaching of movable assets of the transport corporation. Thenmozhi was employed in C-DOT, a telecom technology development centre in Bangalore. On July 21, 2008, she was coming to Chennai in a private bus. Around 2am, the bus had a flat tyre and the driver parked it on the left side of the road near Pallikonda in Vellore district on the Bangalore-Chennai highway. While the tyre was being changed, a TNSTC bus of Dharmapuri division hit the stationary bus. The rear part of the bus was smashed and passengers were injured. Thenmozhi who had a seat at the back of the bus suffered...

 A district consumer forum on June 19 directed an insurance company to pay a local resident his claimed amount of Rs 12,53,335 and a legal cost of Rs50,000 for repudiating an insurance claim. The New India Assurance Company had refused the claim amount on grounds that the driver of the insured vehicle, involved in accident, had a fake driving licence. According to the case, Sarabjit Singh had got his vehicle insured with the company, which was valid from February 28, 2013 to February 27, 2014. In an accident near Ranchi in March 24, 2013, the vehicle got completely smashed. Following this, Singh had immediately informed the insurance company officials. According to Singh, the company had carried out a spot-survey of the vehicle, and following the advice of their examiner, he had the vehicle transported to Mohali by spending more than Rs 50,000 as carriage charge. After this, Singh had submitted relevant documents along with an estimated claim of Rs 12,53,335 and his driving li...

In the infamous suicide case of air hostess Geetika Sharma, the Court while dismissing the petition for cancellation of bail granted to accused Gopal Goyal Kanda, held that it is settled law that bail once granted cannot be cancelled in a routine manner. It can be cancelled only on a ground which has arisen after the bail was granted. In such cases the general presumption is that at the time of hearing the bail application, the prosecution has raised all the grounds against the accused in the matter of bail and, therefore, when once bail has been granted, the prosecution cannot have the bail cancelled on some circumstances which may have existed before the grant of bail. It was said that every accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt and every accused person has the right to enjoy the bail granted to him unless there is evidence to show that he will abuse this right granted to him. In the instant case, the petitioner failed to bring any incriminating ev...

In the instant case where the petitioner had alleged that submission of  original documents of solvency and character certificates along with the bid document causes serious hardship to bidders, where bidders have to submit bids to more than one tender, the Court while referring cases of this Court directed the respondents that rather than insisting on filing of original certificates along with the bid document, authorities must accept attested true copies of the aforementioned documents along with affidavits verifying that said documents are valid. The Court further held that at the time of opening of bids authorities may compare the attested copies with originals and can reject the bid in case of non-production of original documents. The Court also clarified that these directions shall govern only those cases where last date of submission of the bid has not expired. [Maa & Company v. State of U.P., Writ No. 23641 of 2014, Decided on 24th of April, 2014] Article referred:...

 In a writ petition relating to the delay in promotion of a Head Master, a single bench comprising of Rajiv Sharma, J, reiterated the legal position as laid down by the Supreme Court that the right of eligible employees to be considered for promotion is virtually a part of their fundamental right guaranteed under Article 16 of the Constitution. The guarantee of a fair consideration in matters of promotion under Article 16 virtually flows from guarantee of equality under Article 14 of the Constitution and any delay in the promotion by the Selection Committee for no valid reason is an infringement of that right. In the present case the petitioner had been duly considered for the post of Principal but he had retired before the actual Promotion list was out thus depriving him of the opportunity to the benefits of that post. The Court found the delay violative of his rights and thus allowed the petition. [Shakti Chand Dogra v. State of Himachal Pradesh, CWP(T) No.12590/2008, decided on...

The  division bench comprising of Atul Kumar Jain and Govind Mathur, JJ, on reference of the matter by the single bench, made clear that order or decree made by Supreme Court in exercise of its extraordinary power does not form precedent for other subordinate Courts. In the present case, appellant made an application seeking release on bail/suspension of sentence on conviction under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985. The Apex Court in Dadu alias Tulsidas v. State of Maharasta (2000) 8 SCC 437 as well as Union of India v. Rattan Mallik (2009) 2 SCC 624, emphasized that  “a sentence awarded under the NDPS Act can be suspended by the appellate court only and strictly subject to the conditions spelt out in Section 37 of the Act”. Where as in Mansingh v Union of India (2004) 13 SCC 42, the Apex Court does not examine the requirements of Section 37 and passed an order exercising extraordinary power under Article 142 of the Constitution for doing com...

In an appeal concerning ownership of land by a sale deed, T.S. Chauhan, J, relying on previous judgments of the Supreme Court, High Courts and Privy Councils, reiterated the fact that if a party to a case, who could enunciate the real facts, abstains from entering the witness box, an adverse inference could be drawn against such party according to Section 114 of the Evidence Act, 1872. In the present case one of the defendants had made two sales of the same property, one in 1987 and the other in 2000, and filed a written oath supporting the second sale but he did not appear in the witness box. The Court considered the second sale deed as a fraud and said that the non-appearance of the witness demolishes the case of the appellants and thus dismissed the appeal.[Neeraj v. Raj Kumari, RSA No. 163 of 2014, decided on 22 April, 2014] Article referred: http://blog.scconline.com/post/2014/06/19/adverse-inference-can-be-drawn-against-a-party-to-a-suit-abstaining-from-entering-the-witnes...

While discussing the scope of supervisory jurisdiction of the High Court, the Court said that this power involves a duty on the High Court to keep the inferior courts and tribunals within the bounds of their authority . Stating that the scope of judicial review is very limited and narrow, it was held that it does not vest the High Court with unlimited prerogative to correct all species of hardship or wrong decisions made within the limits of the jurisdiction of the Court or Tribunal but to remove manifest and patent errors of law and jurisdiction without acting as an appellate authority. It must be restricted to cases of grave dereliction of duty and flagrant abuse of fundamental principle of law or justice, where grave injustice would be done unless the High Court interferes and that it must be exercised most sparingly and only in appropriate cases. The Court was of the opinion that the independence of the subordinate courts in the discharge of their judicial functions is of paramoun...

The rationale behind passing judgements or orders by courts cannot be disclosed to litigants under the Right to Information Act, Supreme Court has said. An appellate authority of the Supreme Court, constituted under the RTI Act, dismissed the plea of an RTI activist who had sought information on the rationale for passing orders on review petitions without holding a hearing and without giving any reasons. “It will be of essence to state that the CPIO is not the authority or the person from whom information can be sought on the rationale behind the delivery of judgements by the court as has been attempted to be done by the appellant in this case,” the authority said in its order. It dismissed an appeal filed by Ravinder Raj, an advocate, who approached the appellate authority after the information officer of the apex court refused to furnish information on the issue. “The Supreme Court in the case of Khanapuram (judgement) has held that the judge speaks through its judgements or...

The apex consumer commission has refused to entertain a plea by a woman and her daughter alleging medical negligence by two Hyderabad-based hospitals and a doctor, saying they were “careless” in pursuing their case. The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) rejected the Hyderabad-based complainants’ plea against an Andhra Pradesh State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission order dismissing their case on account of delay in the filing of appeal, saying the petitioners were “negligent” in pursuing their complaint in a diligent manner. The order came on petitioners G Suseela and her daughter V Ramya’s revision petition against the state commission’s decision dismissing their appeal against a district forum order. “We fully agree with the reasoning given by the State Commission that there was delay of 430 days in filing the appeal before it. Moreover, the conduct of the petitioners (mother and daughter) is so negligent that, firstly, they did not pursue their comp...

  In a case of alleged infringement of a trademark, a bench comprising of  SJ Kathawala, J granted an interim injunction restraining a firm from marketing an edible oil brand on the grounds that the name was similar to an established product. The court said that merely adding a suffix to a popular name can't be the basis of a new trademark. In the present case, the plaintiff had acquired registration of the trademark ‘RISO’ in 2012. The plaintiff alleged that the impugned trademark ‘RISO-LITE’ of the defendant was deceptively similar to its mark ‘RISO’. The Counsel for the defendant argued  that ‘RISO’ was an Italian name for rice and hence it was descriptive in nature and can be freely used by anyone. The Court however rejected this contention stating though it is true that certain words are often borrowed from a foreign language and commonly used in India but ‘RISO’ is not one such word which is commonly used in India, and cannot be held as descriptive in the Indi...

In the appeal for dismissal of charges relating to the rape of a girl while going to the fields to give food to her father, the bench comprising of Dipak Misra and N. V. Ramana, JJ, rejecting the appellant’s pleas of medical evidence and false implication by the prosecutrix, upheld the decisions of the lower courts. The appellant had contended that the the prosecutrix is habitual of sexual intercourse and there were no signs of recent forcible sexual intercourse or injuries on her body and hence, rape should be ruled out. The Court, rejecting the said contention, held that it is not essential every rape victim should have injuries on her body to prove her case and that the findings of the medical experts are sufficient to establish rape. [ Krishan vs. State of Haryana, Criminal Appeal No. 1342 of 2012, decided on May 16, 2014] Article referred: http://blog.scconline.com/post/2014/06/11/not-necessary-for-every-rape-victim-to-have-injuries-on-her-body.aspx

Gujarat high court has ruled that the authorities cannot seize vehicles of private travel operators midway by making passengers alight the vehicles. The high court has said that in case of violation of the Motor Vehicle Act or other laws, the authorities have to first ensure that the passengers do not suffer. They can seize vehicles only after they reach final destination and all passengers get down. The HC ruling has come in response to a petition filed by the Akhil Gujarat Pravasi Vahan Chalak Mahamandal, which has approached the court after the show-cause notices issued to various travel operators by Ahmedabad RTO. The authority has asked private operators to close their function in case they do not have requisite permission. It has also warned those who have allegedly violated norms of their permits. The RTO has maintained that private travel operators do not have permission to issue ticket to passengers, but they get permit to transport a group of people to certain destina...

Bahrain’s national carrier Gulf Air has been directed to pay compensation of 20 lakh to an Indian passenger by a District Consumer Forum here after he was denied the boarding pass at the airport here to travel to Qatar in 2008 despite having valid documents and lost his job, reports PTI. Terming it as a case for “punitive” compensation, New Delhi Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum directed the Directors of the Airline to compensate for the harassment caused to Hem Kumar who lost his job in Doha as he was not allowed to board the flight on the ground that his visa did not permit him to re-enter the country. “Opposite Party (Gulf Air), by its imperfect handling of the passengers with valid documents, have caused loss of his job directly and caused unparallel agony and harassment to complainant,” a bench presided by Justice C K Chaturvedi said, while giving Kumar the maximum monetary relief of Rs 20 lakh that a district forum can award. While awarding the amount of compensation, the...

 Low-fare airline JetLite has been directed by a consumer forum here to pay Rs 2 lakh as compensation to a flyer, who could not travel from Delhi to Hazaribagh in Jharkhand for a family function because of sudden cancellation of his flight. New Delhi Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum directed the airline to compensate for the harassment caused to Vinod Kumar Singhal and his seven family members in February 2007 and pulled it up for citing fog as a reason for cancellation of the flight. “It appears that opposite party (JetLite) is taking shelter of early morning fog conditions with weather report,” a bench presided by Justice C K Chaturvedi said, while noting that the first reply of the airline did not mention fog as reason for cancellation of flight. “... It rather states that there was heavy technical snag, which technician failed to record, in short time.  “The fog report does not indicate the timing of fog, situation hourly. But for the snag, the flight would have le...

A doctor's plea to have his tenant vacated so as to begin a clinic cannot be turned down citing that he is practising from another consulting room attached to the house, ruled the Kerala high court. The ruling was given by a division bench comprising of justices KT Sankaran and P Ubaid after considering a revision petition filed by the tenants, KC Mathew and KC James of Moolepat Stationery at SM Street in Kozhikode. A revision petition filed by the landlady, D Aruna, wife of Dr Raja Venkittaraman of Chalappuram, was also considered by the court. The eviction of tenants was sought by the landlady projecting the need of her husband to start a clinic. It was pointed out that her husband has been ordered by a rent control court to vacate the premises where he was running a clinic and he now needs the place rented out by Aruna to begin a dental clinic. On December 20, 2010, the rent control court granted eviction, finding that the landlady's need is bona fide and that the tenan...

Selling a car with manufacturing defect has cost Japanese car manufacturer Nissan Motors Rs 50,000. The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, Chennai (North) slapped the multinational company with the fine for deficiency in service. In her submissions to the forum, M Monika Darshini of Kilpauk said she purchased a Nissan Sunny car (model XVD) in August 2012. She found the front left wheel often had reduced air pressure leading to frequent flat tyres. The authorized service centre in the city, Jain Jubilant Cars, inspected the car and said the low air pressure was due to a dent in the alloy wheel. In December 2012, the car was sent to the service centre but was returned without rectifying the defect. After she approached the customer relationship manager, he promised to address the problem and the car was again sent to the service centre. But the dealer demanded `9,000 as repair charges claiming that the dent was a result of a collision. "I was forced to pay Rs 8,986,...

The Supreme Court has ruled that a criminal case against one of the contracting parties cannot stall arbitration. "The balance of convenience is more in favour of permitting arbitration proceedings to continue rather than to bring it to a grinding halt," the court stated in its judgment, Swiss Timings Ltd vs Organising Committee, CWG. The court clarified that the award could be challenged later if there was conviction after trial of the accused persons. In this case, the foreign company which provided the time, score and result systems for the Commonwealth Games 2010 invoked the arbitration clause when there were disputes over payment. The CWG committee resisted arbitration on the ground that the company had received undue favours and the matter was probed by the CBI and criminal proceedings are going on in the trial court. Its judgment and the arbitral award might be contradictory leading to confusion, which should be avoided by the apex court. These arguments were reject...

 consumer forum here has asked an insurance company to settle a claim relating to the theft of a car, saying the firm took a "super-technical view" in rejecting the claim. New Delhi Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, presided by C K Chaturvedi, asked The New India Insurance Company Ltd, with which the vehicle was insured, to settle the car's theft claim filed by a Delhi-based couple Preeti Roy and Pratik Chandra Roy. The couple had approached the forum claiming Preeti, who was owner of the car, had later on transferred the vehicle in the name of her husband Pratik. The car was stolen and thereafter Pratik approached the insurance company for theft claim. The firm had rejected the claim stating that on the day of the theft, the husband had not got insurance policy transferred in his own name. The forum said "the opposite party (insurance company) is taking a super-technical view of the matter without any solid basis. In law, the husband acts for the wife al...

Birla Sun Life Insurance Company Ltd has been pulled up by a consumer forum here for "inventing grounds" to reject the claims of a woman whose deceased husband had been insured with it. The New Delhi Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, presided by C K Chaturvedi, also asked the insurance company to settle the claims of two policies and also pay a compensation of Rs 50,000 to the man's wife. The forum, also comprising its members S R Chaudhary and Ritu Garodia, said the company was "just inventing grounds to defeat the just claim" and asked it to settle the death claim filed by Punjab resident Rashpal Kaur for her late husband. "We...Find that opposite party (insurance company) is just inventing grounds to defeat the just claim. His (man) going to the school upto primary or leaving it, or his being a farmer etc. Are no grounds to deny the death claim," the forum said. "We hold the insurance company guilty of arbitrarily repudiating the clai...

Though they disputed the amount which was due to the bank, the bank's lawyer sent them a notice under Section 13(2) of the SARFAESI Act, the petition said. As per this section, a notice has to be sent to the debtor asking them to repay the outstanding loan within 60 days. If the debtor fails to pay up, the bank can take possession of the mortgaged property. The petitioners' counsel Praveen K Joy argued at the high court that a lawyer is not competent to issue such a notice as he is not an authorized officer of the bank, as specified in Security Interest Rules of 2002. As per the rules, an authorized officer is an officer who is not less than a chief manager of a public sector bank. Opposing this, the bank's counsel Lal K Joseph contended that the notice sent to the petitioners is legally competent. Setting aside the notice sent by the lawyer, the court held, "On a plain reading of Rule 2(a) and 2(b), it can be seen that only an officer of the bank, as specified ...

In a significant order, the Central Information Commission has ordered that private schools, whether public authority or not, must provide information on service records and salaries. The order came on an RTI plea filed by an ex-employee of Jindal Public School with Directorate of Education seeking a certified copy of service book and other details from her past employer. The Directorate of Education provided the information available with them but the school refused to furnish the reply, saying RTI Act did not apply on it. Private unaided schools had challenged an earlier CIC order in court which said that schools must give information related to vacant seats, EVS quota but would be exempt from providing information on disbursement of salaries, public budget estimate of receipts etc. Information commissioner Sridhar Acharyulu directed the school to provide the information, reasoning that provisions of RTI Act applied on private schools since they were governed by laws such as t...

Supreme Court: In an appeal concerning the maintainability of a petition filed under the  Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 despite the contract stating that the English Law of Arbitration was to be followed in the case of an arbitration arising out of a dispute, a division bench comprising of Surinder Singh and Dr. A. K. Sikri, JJ, following the Videocon India Limited v. Union of India,(2011) 6 SCC 161, held that an agreement as to the seat of an arbitration is analogous to an exclusive jurisdiction clause. Any claim for a remedy as to the validity of an existing interim or final award is agreed to be made only in the courts of the place designated as the seat of arbitration. In the present case a production sharing contract which provided for production and exploration of oil fields was made by the two parties which was to be governed by the Indian Contract Law. However, in case of a dispute an arbitration procedure was to be instituted which was to be governed by the Engli...

Punjab and Haryana High Court: While examining the legal position regarding the condonation of delay u/s. 5 of Limitation Act, 1963, the Court observed that the test of ‘sufficient cause’ as in S. 5 is a pure individualistic test and not an objective test, therefore it depends upon the facts from case to case. It was further observed by the Court that The statute of limitation has left the concept of ‘sufficient cause’ undefined, thereby leaving to the Court a well-intentioned discretion to decide the individual cases whether circumstances exist establishing sufficient cause. There are no specific categories of sufficient cause. The categories of sufficient cause are never exhausted. Citing the Supreme Court decision in Oriental Aroma Chemical Industries Ltd. v. Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation, (2010) 5 SCC 459, the Court observed that the u/s. 5 the courts are empowered to condone the delay where a party approaching the court belatedly shows sufficient cause for not avail...

The Central Government in exercise of the powers conferred under Section 470(1) of the Companies Act, 2013, passed an order called the Companies (Removal of Difficulties) Second Order, 2014 dated June 2, 2014 to the effect that the Company Law Board shall exercise the jurisdiction, powers, authority and functions under Section 74(2) of the Act until a date is notified by the Central Government under Section 434(1) of the Act. - Gazette Notification dated June 6, 2014

 Issues related to alleged fraud in business deals can be matter for arbitration, the Supreme Court has ruled, while referring a dispute between Swiss Timing and the organising committee of the 2010 Commonwealth Games over unpaid fees to an arbitral panel. The committee had withheld a part of payment due to the Swiss company after accusing it of obtaining the contract to provide timing, score and result systems for the games fraudulently in connivance with organising committee head Suresh Kalmadi. Kalmadi, who is facing criminal cases along with some company officials over alleged irregularities, and Swiss Timing had denied any wrongdoing. Following the dispute, the company invoked the arbitration clause in the contract. It approached the Supreme Court after the committee refused to agree to arbitration. Swiss Timing also sought court intervention to set up an arbitral panel and named former Supreme Court judge SN Variava its nominee. Justice SS Nijjar, who considered the comp...

A consumer forum here has asked an insurance company to pay nearly Rs four lakh as claim to a man, whose insured car was stolen, saying it has no authority to assess the value of the vehicle at a lower side after accepting premium at a higher value. The West Delhi District Consumer Forum, presided over by Bimla Makin asked United India Insurance Company Ltd to pay Rs3,98,950 to Delhi resident Sanjay Chawla whose car was insured with it. The firm had offered Rs 2.24 lakh after the vehicle's theft instead of Rs 3,99,950, the amount it had insured it for. The forum also awarded a compensation of Rs 30,000 to the man for the inconvenience and hardship caused to him. The forum rejected the submission of the company that it had earlier valued the vehicle on much higher side on the basis of concealed and false facts provided by the client. It said once the insurance firm has accepted premium on a particular Insured Declared Value (IDV) after assessing its value itself, then at th...

Punjab and Haryana High Court: In a case relating to restriction and objection of property of a transferee pendente lite, the Court ruled that Order 21, Rule 102 of Civil Procedure Code is not applicable in such cases. Placing reliance on Usha Sinha v. Dina Ram (2008) 7 SCC144 where the Supreme Court held that a third party purchasing property from a party to the suit which is the subject matter of litigation, cannot restrict the rightful claim of the decree holder. The Court discussed Order 21 of C.P.C Rule Nos. 97, 98 and 102, wherein it is laid down that in case the decree holder’s possession is being restricted then an application can be filed in the Court upon which the Court shall adjudicate. Rule 102 specifically excludes transferee pendente lite from seeking any relief under Rule Nos. 97 and 98. The Court observed the language of Order 21 Rule 98 and 102 C.P.C., and said that any alienation recorded during the pendency of the suit would not in any way place any fetter upon t...

Bombay High Court: Upholding the decision of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, a division bench comprising of SC Dharamadhikari and GC Kulkarni, JJ held that transfer of a business undertaking as a going concern against bonds and preference shares issued was not a sale, but an exchange. Subsequently, section 2(42C) and section 50B of the Income Tax Act, 1961 relating to the computation of capital gains were not applicable to such a transfer. In the present case, the respondent company had transferred its lift division to another company by way of a slump sale and as consideration for the transfer, preference shares and bonds were allotted by that company to the respondent. The taxpayer claimed that the transfer was an 'exchange' and not a 'sale' and therefore, was not taxable as slump sale. However, this was not accepted by the Tax Officer. The company then appealed to the Tribunal which accepted its contentions. Aggrieved by the decision of the Tribunal, CIT moved th...

A consumer forum has held that the absence of a post-mortem report cannot be a ground for repudiation of an accidental death insurance claim in cases where the police are sure about the cause of death and there is no confusion. On Wednesday, the forum directed New India Assurance to pay the widow of a 45-year-old man who died of snake bite in 2008 the insured amount of Rs 5 lakh, along with a compensation of Rs 1.05 lakh. Holding the company guilty of indulging in unfair trade practice, the forum said, "Depending upon the situation and circumstances and reports of the medical officer, the hospital as well as the police, the claim should have been sanctioned on humanitarian grounds. There is no proof to show that there was any mischief or mala fide intention of the complainant in demanding the claim." The forum rejected the insurance company's defence that it was not in the domain of the police to conclude the cause of death and that the job was of medical doctors, an...

The apex consumer commission has dismissed a man's plea seeking insurance claim for his stolen truck, holding that there was "negligence" on the part of the driver who had left the vehicle "unlocked". National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission bench, presided by Justice J M Malik, dismissed the petition filed by Rajasthan resident Jagdish Prasad Bakshi who had sought insurance claim for his stolen truck, saying he has not come before it with clean hands. "In case truck was locked, its key was not produced either before the police or before surveyor. The truck remained on spot unlocked for half an hour. Surveyor of the insurance company has reported that when the driver left for having tea, he left the key inside the truck. The complainant has not come to the court with clean hands," the bench, also comprising its member S M Kantikar, said. The bench said it "is quite possible that driver may be working in cahoots with the thief". ...