B P JEEVAN REDDY

M/s Lok Nath and Company filed wealth‑tax returns late for the years 1959‑60 to 1967‑68. The Wealth‑Tax Officer, after issuing a notice under s.18(1)(a), accepted the assessee’s revised returns and made an assessment, incorrectly stating it was under s.16(3) though it was in substance under s.16(1). The Commissioner, b…

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) supplied electricity to Asian Art Printers Ltd. under a "Mixed Load (HT)" tariff. The tariff booklet contained clause (c) stating demand charges plus energy charges and clause (d) prescribing a minimum bill. The consumers argued that the payable amount should be whichever is hig…

The Orissa State Electricity Board entered into a five‑year electricity supply agreement with Orissa Tiles Ltd, which required the consumer to pay a stipulated minimum charge irrespective of actual consumption. The Board disconnected supply on 30 April 1968 for non‑payment and the consumer also failed to pay the minimu…

Tekchand, a watch dealer, and his two sons made a voluntary disclosure of income under the Voluntary Disclosure of Income and Wealth Act, 1976 and obtained a certificate. After serving a detention order under the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act (COFEPOSA), they were served no…

The Commissioner of Income Tax challenged Amritsar Transport Company Private Limited for including amounts collected as "Dharmada" in a separate account in its business income. The company argued that the levy, collected at Rs.1 per bilty, was a customary charitable contribution distributed among the labourers' poor re…

The respondent, a former Superintendent of a high‑security jail, was charged with grave lapses after a terrorist escape in January 1987. The memo of charges was served only in July 1992, five and a half years later, and an enquiry was appointed in 1993. The Punjab & Haryana High Court quashed the charges, citing the de…

Mis J.B. Boda & Co. Pvt. Ltd., a reinsurance broker, received a commission in US dollars after deducting its fee from the gross reinsurance premium it remitted to foreign reinsurers with RBI approval. The company claimed that the retained commission constituted "income received in convertible foreign exchange" under Se…

Purnendu Chakrobarty, a senior employee of Hindustan Paper Corporation, was charged in a murder case and repeatedly applied for leave without proper sanction or medical certificates, resulting in unauthorised absence for more than eight consecutive days. The corporation invoked Rule 23(vi)(E) of its Conduct, Discipline…

The respondents obtained appointments in the Railway Service by presenting forged casual labourer service cards. When the fraud was discovered, the Railway authorities removed them and the respondents sought reinstatement before the Central Administrative Tribunal, which ordered their reinstatement with benefits. The U…

The assessee company had advanced a loan to a firm whose partners were also its shareholders and directors. Interest was charged on the loan in the 1966-67 and 1967-68 assessment years, establishing it as an interest‑bearing loan. For the 1968-69 assessment year the company passed a resolution before the end of its acc…

The petitioner, Krishna Veer Singh Chauhan, was appointed Secretary of the Vidharbha Rashtrabhasha Prachar Samiti in 1982 but the respondents forcibly took control of the trust's affairs and properties. The petitioner obtained orders from the Joint Charity Commissioner and the Supreme Court directing the respondents to…

The Collector of Central Excise, Bombay appealed against the Customs, Excise and Gold Control Appellate Tribunal's decision that the distillation and recrystallisation processes undertaken by Mis. S.D. Fine Chemicals Pvt. Ltd. did not constitute "manufacture" for excise purposes. The Tribunal was divided: the technical…

The petitioners, tenants of four shops, alleged that the third respondent fraudulently obtained two court decrees from Gauhati and Gaya to evict them from their premises, purchasing the decrees and powers of attorney for a sum of rupees twenty thousand each. They sought a writ under Article 32 directing the CBI to inve…

Harish Uppal, a former Indian Army officer, was court‑martialed and sentenced to dismissal and two years' rigorous imprisonment for irregularities during the 1971 Bangladesh operations. While incarcerated, his advocate filed a post‑confirmation petition under Section 164(2) of the Army Act, 1950, which was rejected by …

The Central Excise Collector appealed against several sugar factories claiming that they were not entitled to the excise‑duty rebate under four Government notifications because the factories had produced no sugar in the corresponding periods of the base year. The factories argued that the phrase “quantity of sugar prod…

P.N. Malhotra, a civilian employee in the defence services whose salary was drawn from the Defence Estimates, was dismissed after a disciplinary enquiry conducted under the CCS (CCA) Rules, 1965. He challenged the dismissal before the Central Administrative Tribunal, which held that the 1965 Rules did not apply to him …

The State of Jammu & Kashmir exempted all local edible‑oil manufacturers from sales tax for ten years, while out‑of‑state manufacturers were required to pay an 8% tax. Shree Mahavir Oil Mills and other out‑of‑state producers challenged the exemption as a violation of Articles 301 and 304(a) of the Constitution, which g…

The Supreme Court examined a report by former Justice O. Chinnappa Reddy investigating Delhi Development Authority (DDA) officials who allegedly colluded with Skipper Construction to hand over land possession without full auction payment and to allow construction, causing loss to the DDA and the public. The report foun…

The State of Rajasthan promoted thirteen officers under Rule 28‑B of the Rajasthan Administrative Service Rules, 1954, nine on seniority‑cum‑merit and four on merit. Sriram Verma, a senior officer, claimed his junior Ashok Kumar Sanvaria was promoted over him and appealed to the Rajasthan Civil Services Appellate Tribu…

The Calcutta State Transport Corporation (CSTC), a statutory body created under the Road Transport Corporations Act to provide road transport services, claimed that its income was exempt from tax under Section 10(20) of the Income‑Tax Act, 1961, on the ground that it was a "local authority" as defined in Section 3(31) …

The Supreme Court considered two questions raised by Bombay Dyeing & Manufacturing Co. Ltd.: (1) whether professional fees paid to solicitors for the amalgamation of Nawrosjee Wadia Ginning & Pressing Co. could be treated as revenue expenditure under the Income Tax Act, and (2) whether a contribution of Rs. 2,25,000 to…

The Supreme Court issued a clarificatory order modifying its earlier judgment (1 May 1996) in Writ Petition (C) No. 1128 of 1986, which had provided for discharge or acquittal of accused whose criminal trials were pending for a prescribed period. The Court held that the relief does not apply where the pendency is cause…

The Kerala General Sales Tax Act, 1963 introduced optional alternate taxation provisions (Section 7(7), 7A, 7B, 11, 12) allowing contractors to pay a fixed percentage of the contract value instead of tax under Section 5(1)(iv). Several contractors who had not opted for this scheme challenged the validity of those sub‑s…

The State of Madhya Pradesh appealed against a series of interim orders passed by the High Court in a writ petition filed by M.V. Vyavsayand Co., the highest bidder for liquor licences, which had allegedly defaulted on contractual and statutory obligations. The High Court, despite being informed that the case involved …

Ranjit Kumar Majumdar, a civilian employee holding a civil post in the defence services, was suspended under Rule 10(1) of the Central Civil Services (Classification Control and Appeal) Rules, 1965 while a criminal prosecution was pending. He challenged the suspension before the Central Administrative Tribunal, arguing…

The respondent, a lecturer, was employed by a private college that was taken over by the Punjab Government in 1983 under a gift deed. The deed stipulated that staff absorbed by the Government would be treated as "new entrants" and that the Government would not assume any liability for service rendered before the takeov…

The Commissioner of Sales Tax, Orissa appealed against the Orissa High Court's order granting Jagannath Cotton Company exemption from sales tax under the State's Industrial Policy Resolutions of 1986 and 1989. The company argued that its process of extracting cotton from waste cotton constituted manufacturing, thereby …

The Supreme Court examined the admission process for medical courses in Uttar Pradesh where Lucknow University had applied a 15% horizontal reservation for five special categories (dependents of freedom fighters, children of soldiers, physically handicapped, hill area and Uttarakhand area) alongside vertical reservatio…

J. Rangaswamy, holding a diploma in Radiological Physics from BARC, was serving in a special ad‑hoc post with pay higher than that of a professor and sought to be recognized as Professor of Radiological Physics, arguing that his diploma was an adequate qualification in lieu of a Ph.D. He filed a writ petition, a civil …

S.A. Rasheed applied in 1980 for a quarry lease of pink granite covering 300 acres. A lease was initially granted for 100 acres on 6 January 1981 and corrected to 300 acres on 6 June 1981, but before a lease deed could be executed, Rule 3(A) of the Karnataka Minor Mineral Concession Rules, 1969, which barred private gr…

The Gosar Family Trust was a private discretionary trust with two classes of beneficiaries: the first class could receive the trust's annual income, while the second class would receive the corpus and any accumulated income upon termination. The trustees had absolute discretion to distribute or retain income and could …

M.S.P. Nadar Sons, a registered firm, sold shares in several companies during FY 1972‑73, realizing a gross long‑term capital gain of Rs 5,61,508 and a long‑term capital loss of Rs 96,583. The assessee computed assessable capital gains by first applying the standard deduction of Rs 5,000 and the 50% deduction under Sec…

The petitioners, manufacturers of handicrafts in Haryana, purchased raw material within the state and sold the finished goods to dealers in Delhi who exported them. They claimed exemption from purchase tax under Section 9 of the Haryana General Sales Tax Act, relying on the declaration form ST‑15. The Haryana Sales Tax…

The assessee, Narang Dairy Products, was granted a development rebate under Section 33(1)(a) of the Income Tax Act for its entire machinery in AY 1965-66. Subsequently, part of the machinery was sold and the remaining plant was leased to Hindustan Lever Ltd for three years, within the eight‑year period prescribed by Se…

The Supreme Court examined whether cigarettes manufactured before 1 March 1978 but removed from the factory after that date were liable to the special excise duty introduced by Section 37 of the Finance Act, 1978. The respondent, a tobacco manufacturer, argued that excise duties are levied at the time of manufacture, n…

Godrej & Boyce manufactured refrigerators packed in corrugated fibre containers (CFCs) and contested the inclusion of CFC value in excise valuation. The Revenue served demand notices including CFC value, leading Godrej to file writ petitions. Godrej attempted to support its case with fabricated dealer letters, which we…

The Supreme Court examined the fixation of levy‑sugar prices for the years 1974‑75 to 1979‑80 under Section 3(3‑C) of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955. Earlier the Court had directed the Government to amend the notifications to include the sugar producer’s liability under clause SA (5A) of the Sugarcane (Control) Or…

The Assistant Collector of Customs appealed against Anam Electrical Manufacturing Co. challenging the levy of a ten‑percent surcharge and the handling of a refund claim under the Central Excise Act, 1944 and the Customs Act, 1962. The Supreme Court examined whether the surcharge could be upheld and, more importantly, w…

Marshall Sons and Co. (India) Ltd. (the holding company) and Marshall Sons and Manufacturing Ltd. (the subsidiary) entered into a scheme of amalgamation that specified a transfer date of 1 January 1982, but the scheme was only sanctioned by the Madras and Calcutta High Courts in late 1983 and early 1984. The Income Tax…

The proprietor of Hotel Darpan in Mussoorie was served notices under Section 10 of the Uttar Pradesh Taxation and Land Revenue Laws Act, 1975, demanding payment of a Rs 5,000 amount and threatening a daily fine for non‑deposit. The appellant argued that the demand was for a penalty imposed for failure to file the requi…

The State of Rajasthan initiated disciplinary proceedings against IAS officer B.K. Meena for alleged misappropriation of Rs 1.05 crore, while a criminal case under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 was also filed. The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) stayed the disciplinary enquiry pending the criminal trial,…

The husband obtained an ex‑parte decree of divorce and subsequently died. The wife (appellant) filed an application under Order IX Rule 13 of the Code of Civil Procedure to set aside the decree, asserting that it affected her marital status and property rights. The trial court dismissed the application, holding that di…

The appellants, Sanjay Gupta and others, were appointed as Registration Clerks in the Sub‑Registrar's office at Jhansi after being selected by a committee under the Subordinate Offices Ministerial Staff (District Recruitment) Rules, 1985. The Inspector General later issued an order directing termination of all Registra…

Bengal Iron Corporation, a manufacturer of cast‑iron pipes, man‑hole covers and similar items, claimed that its products fell under Item 2(i) of the Third Schedule of the Andhra Pradesh General Sales Tax Act, 1957, and were therefore liable to a single point tax of 4% only. The Commercial Tax Officer levied tax at the …

The Supreme Court examined whether a parcel of land situated on Mount Road, Madras, which had been used for raising bananas and vegetables, qualified as "agricultural land" under the Income Tax Act, 1961 and thus could be exempt from capital gains tax. The assessee argued that the land was agricultural and therefore no…

The respondent, S.K. Sharma, a bank manager, was charged with temporary misappropriation of a loan amount and was removed from service after a departmental enquiry. The enquiry officer relied on statements of witnesses, but the respondent was not supplied copies of those statements nor of certain documents as required …

The respondents obtained an eight‑storey building sanction on 27 April 1985 under the Bengal Municipal Act, 1932, but failed to commence construction within two years, causing the sanction to lapse. They later applied for a revised eight‑storey plan and a twelve‑storey plan in 1987, claiming a deemed sanction under Sec…

Escorts Farms (Ramgarh) Ltd., a private limited company, sold shares it had purchased after 1954 and claimed capital gains by treating the actual purchase price of the original shares as the cost of acquisition, ignoring the effect of subsequently issued bonus shares. The Income‑Tax Officer, the Appellate Assistant Com…

The Supreme Court examined the constitutional validity of the Cess and Other Taxes on Minerals (Validation) Act, 1992, which sought to validate state levies on minerals that had been struck down by earlier judgments. The Court held that Section 2 of the Act validly creates and retrospectively validates the levy and col…

The Administrator Municipal Committee, Charkhi Dadri (appellants) acquired 46.51 acres of land under a notification issued pursuant to Section 42 of the Punjab Town Improvement Act, 1922, and an award was passed in 1976 with compensation paid and possession taken in 1977. The scheme (No. 1‑B) was required to be execute…

The Supreme Court examined two dismissals of police Sub‑Inspectors, Ajay Manchanda and Kuldip Singh, effected under clause (b) of the second proviso to Article 311(2) of the Constitution without a departmental enquiry. In Manchanda's case, a Deputy Superintendent’s report concluded that the complainant and witnesses we…

M/s. Nagarmal Baijnath, a partnership firm, was dissolved on 2 December 1946 and its business was discontinued. Income‑tax and excess‑profits‑tax assessments for the years 1946‑47 and 1947‑48 were nonetheless made in the name of the firm after its dissolution. The assessee initially raised no objection, but later sough…

Hindustan Paper Corporation Ltd. entered into an agreement with the Kerala Government in 1974 that exempted its newsprint turnover from Kerala's sales tax for two years from the start of production. The company sold most of the newsprint in inter‑state trade and claimed a corresponding exemption from Central Sales Tax …

The Supreme Court examined writ petitions challenging the West Bengal Taxation Laws (Second Amendment) Act, 1989, which imposed a cess on tea estates calculated per kilogram of green tea leaves produced. The petitioners argued that the levy was a tax on tea production, falling under Union competence (Entry 84/List I) a…

The Supreme Court examined the controversy surrounding the establishment of a mechanised slaughter house (Alkabeer Abattoir) at Rudraram, Medak district, Andhra Pradesh. The petitioner organisations challenged the various permissions granted to the company, arguing that the slaughter house would deplete cattle wealth a…

Mohd. Idris Ansari, a retired Irrigation Department officer, was punished in 1992 for financial irregularities during 1986‑87. The High Court set aside that punishment for violating natural‑justice principles and allowed the State to start fresh proceedings. After his retirement on 31‑Jan‑1993, the State issued a notic…

The appellants, manufacturers of rubber flaps used to protect tyre tubes, were taxed under sub‑entry (2) of Entry 43 of the Uttar Pradesh Sales Tax Act, 1948 as accessories of motor vehicles. They contended that the flaps were not accessories of a motor vehicle but only of tyres or tubes and should therefore be taxed a…

The Union of India appealed a decision of the Allahabad High Court that struck down paragraph 7 of Central Excise Notification No. 175 of 1986, which excluded from exemption any small‑scale manufacturer that affixed the brand or trade name of a person not eligible for the exemption. The Court examined whether this amen…

The Supreme Court was asked to resolve a dispute between the two factions of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church over the fairness of clause 68 (renumbered as clause 71) of the 1934 Constitution, which gave equal representation to each Parish Church irrespective of its size. The Court held that the clause was not fair…

The petitioner, Ratanlal Nath, challenged several rules made under the Tripura Panchayats Act, 1993, alleging they were ultra vires the Act and the Constitution. The issues concerned (i) provisos allowing use of records other than the last census for determining SC/ST and total population, (ii) sub‑rules governing the …

Krishanlal, a clerk in the Jammu & Kashmir Home Guards, was investigated by the Anti‑Corruption Commission under the J&K (Government Servants) Prevention of Corruption Act, 1962. The Commission recommended his dismissal, but the authorities failed to furnish him a copy of the inquiry proceedings as required by Section …

Karamchand Premchand Pvt. Ltd. set aside Rs 4,50,000 as a provision for a possible tax liability under Section 23A of the Income‑Tax Act, 1922. The company later claimed that this amount was a reserve and should be included in its capital for the purposes of Rule 1 of the Second Schedule of the Super Profits Tax Act, 1…

Standard Triumph Motor Co. Ltd., a UK non‑resident, entered a 1939 collaboration agreement with an Indian company to receive a 5% royalty on sales. The Indian company credited the royalty in its books each year, but the royalty was only remitted to the UK in sterling. The assessee claimed that, because it maintained it…

The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) auctioned a commercial tower plot and awarded it to Skipper Construction Ltd., which paid only 25% of the bid and later defaulted on the balance despite multiple extensions and court orders. Skipper repeatedly violated interim orders by seeking to create third‑party rights through …

The Union of India appealed against a Bombay High Court decision that a strip of surgical dressing (trade‑name Handyplast) medicated with 0.125% nitrofurozone was not a "patent or proprietary medicine" under Tariff Item 14‑E of the Central Excise and Salt Act. The product consisted of a sterile elastic adhesive pad to …

The appellant, an illiterate Harijan widow, sued to cancel a sale deed she had executed in favour of the respondent, alleging fraud, that she thought she was executing a will, and that the deed was obtained without consideration. The trial court, appellate court and Allahabad High Court all held that the deed was volun…

The appellant, Sanjay Ahlawat, challenged clause 3(i) of the prospectus of Maharishi Dayanand University, which awarded a ten‑mark weightage to graduates of the sole medical college in Haryana for postgraduate medical admissions. He argued that the rule was arbitrary, discriminatory and violated Article 14 of the Const…

The State of Orissa contracted B.N. Agarwala to construct an irrigation project. After completion, Agarwala claimed extra work payments, and the dispute was referred to the Superintending Engineer, who acted as sole arbitrator and awarded Rs.1,59,298, including Rs.61,086.61 as interest for the period from 10‑Oct‑1969 t…

Varkey filed his income‑tax return on 16 April 1970. The Income‑Tax Officer (ITO) made an assessment on 27 March 1972, finding concealment of income amounting to less than Rs 25,000 and, on the same day, initiated penalty proceedings and later imposed a Rs 10,000 penalty. The Appellate Assistant Commissioner set aside …

S. Nagoor Meera, a Superintendent in the Collegiate Education Department, was convicted under IPC s.420 and the Prevention of Corruption Act s.5 and sentenced to one year rigorous imprisonment. The High Court suspended the sentence and released him on bail. The Deputy Director issued a show‑cause notice seeking his dis…

Six persons were tried for a violent assault on 24 December 1986 that resulted in the death of Suku. The trial court convicted all under various IPC sections, including murder (302) read with Section 149, and the High Court later acquitted two accused while confirming the others. On special leave, the Supreme Court was…

S.B. International Ltd., an exporter of marine products, applied for advance licences under the Duty Exemption Scheme of the Export and Import (Control) Act, 1947 between May and September 1992. On 25 September 1992 the government raised the value‑addition norm from 1000% to 1900% and later issued the licences in Febru…

The plaintiff (borrower) sued the suppliers, lenders and guarantor over a power‑plant project, invoking credit agreements that contained arbitration clauses. The lenders, particularly Svenska Handelsbanken (defendant No. 4), instructed their counsel not to appear or take any step in the main suit, limiting a power of a…

The State of Maharashtra appealed against The Britannia Biscuits Co. Ltd., which sold biscuits in tins and collected a refundable deposit for the tins, refunding it only if the tins were returned within three months. The Assessing Authority treated the amount written off from unreturned tin deposits (Rs 84,013) as part…

The Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) allotted an industrial plot to the respondent, who was required to pay 25% of the price upfront and the balance in six instalments. After paying only the first instalment, the respondent defaulted; HUDA issued a show‑cause notice under section 17(3) of the HUDA Act, a pena…

The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) allotted a flat to the respondent after a draw of lots on 12 October 1990, but the allotment‑cum‑demand letter was sent only on 9‑13 January 1991. In the interim, DDA revised land rates by a circular dated 6 December 1990, and the respondent was asked to pay the higher price. The r…

The appellant, a cooperative society engaged in sugar manufacturing, obtained sugarcane from its farmer members, gave them advances, and processed the cane into sugar. The Sales Tax Officer assessed purchase tax under Section 14B of the Bombay Sales Tax Act, 1959, holding the supply to be a purchase, a view affirmed by…

Indian Tool Manufacturers produced carbide "throw‑away" inserts that were initially classified under Tariff Item 68, later under Item 51A(iii) after an amendment, and subsequently re‑classified by the Assistant Collector of Central Excise as Item 62 (Tool Tips). The manufacturer appealed the re‑classification, arguing …

The Union Territory of Pondicherry auctioned arrack licences for the 1981‑82 excise year, but altered the rate of supply after the auction without notifying bidders. Licencees, who had paid deposits and begun business, claimed they were entitled to the previous year’s supply rate and that the altered rate made the cont…

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (successor to ESSO) stored petroleum products in Okha Gram Panchayat and paid octroi on the portion consumed locally. The Panchayat claimed octroi on all goods imported, added excise duty to the valuation, and denied refund for goods exported after two months, arguing that Rule 32 create…

The petitioners, non‑matriculate instructors in Haryana's Adult Literacy Programme, claimed that they performed the same duties as matriculate instructors and therefore deserved the same pay scale, invoking the doctrine of "equal pay for equal work" under Article 14. They sought regularisation, back wages, and recognit…

The appellant, a District & Sessions Judge, was denied extension of service beyond age 58 and challenged the decision in a writ petition. The High Court, on the Chief Justice's direction, filed a Letters Patent Appeal (LPA) against the single judge's order, which was admitted and eventually decided by a Division Bench.…

The assessee filed returns for assessment years 1964-65 and 1965-66 under Section 139(4) of the Income Tax Act, having missed the regular filing deadline, and later filed what he called revised returns under Section 139(5). The Income Tax Officer assessed the returns after the four‑year limitation period but within the…

The Associated Cement Company (ACC) entered into a contract with a contractor for loading cement bags and reimbursing certain wage components. ACC paid the contractor as per the contract but did not deduct tax under Section 194C(1) of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The Income Tax Officer issued notices for non‑deduction of …

The Supreme Court examined whether, under Section 17(iii)(b) of the Uttar Pradesh Agricultural Produce Market Act, a purchasing trader remains liable to pay the market fee when the selling trader does not collect it. The dispute arose from a sale of specified agricultural produce between two traders. The Court held tha…

EMKAY Investments Pvt Ltd, a newly set up small‑scale plywood manufacturer, claimed exemption from sales tax under Rule 3(66a) of the West Bengal Sales Tax Rules, 1941. The company used the brand name “Merinoply,” which belonged to another firm, Marinoply and Chemicals Ltd. The tax authorities denied the exemption, inv…

The case concerned dealers of iron and steel who, under the Bengal Finance (Sales Tax) Act, 1941, were required to transport goods with a declaration signed by the consignor as mandated by Rule 89A(2). The dealers contended that the rule unfairly placed the burden of producing the declaration on them while sellers were…

The appellant, K.C.D. Pvt. Ltd., bought whole black pepper and whole turmeric in West Bengal, ground them into powder, and sold the powder. It argued that under the West Bengal Sales Tax Act, 1954, the powdered forms are the same goods as the whole forms, already taxed at the first point of sale, and therefore not liab…

The Supreme Court had ordered the closure of Mohan Meakin's plant on 1 April 1993 for failure to meet anti‑pollution standards. The company’s managing director and CEO operated the plant from 7‑11 April and later obtained a consent from the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board on 21 April, restarting operations despit…

The appellants, coffee growers, filed writ petitions seeking to restrain the Coffee Board from using the Pool Fund, created under Section 30 of the Coffee Act, 1942, to pay the purchase tax imposed by the Karnataka Sales Tax Act, 1957. The High Court held that the growers were not liable to pay the tax and that the Boa…

The appellant, an exporter of hides and skins, pledged goat skins to a bank and obtained an overdraft. The skins were damaged due to the bank's improper storage, leading the appellant to file a criminal complaint. A compromise was reached whereby the bank waived Rs 1,93,159 owed by the appellant, which the appellant tr…

G.R. Karthikeyan, an individual assessee, won Rs 22,000 as prize money in the All India Highway Motor Rally and the Income‑Tax Officer included it in his total income under the definition of "income" in Section 2(24) of the Income‑Tax Act, 1961. The Appellate Assistant Commissioner, the Tribunal and the Madras High Cou…

The appellant, who had appeared for the All India Post‑Graduate medical entrance examination of 1992, was not allotted any seat despite having higher marks than some candidates who were later admitted in Kerala. After the first, second and third admission lists were issued, the remaining vacant seats were surrendered t…

The Supreme Court examined disputes arising from the Kerala Abkari Shops (Disposal in Auction) Rules, 1974, where licensees of arrack shops claimed the State was contractually obliged to supply additional quantities of liquor beyond the statutorily mandated monthly quota. The Court held that the monthly quota is obliga…

The Tamil Nadu Entertainment Tax Act, 1939 was amended to levy a 40% tax on collections from cable television exhibitions. Cable TV operators challenged the amendment, alleging violations of Articles 14 and 19(1)(a) and (g) of the Constitution, claiming the tax was prohibitive, discriminatory against Doordarshan, and e…

The Union of India appealed against a Delhi High Court order that reduced the consideration payable by Jain Sabha for an additional 0.787 acres of land allotted for a school. The government had originally allotted 1.363 acres in 1967 at Rs 5,000 per acre, and later, in 1990, offered 2.15 acres with the original portion…

The Calcutta High Court entertained a writ petition filed by a partnership firm and one of its partners seeking a mandamus directing the electricity supplier, CESC Ltd., not to disconnect supply and to refer disputed bills to an arbitrator. The petitioners had not availed the statutory remedy under Sections 26(4) and 2…

Twenty-six packages of utensils were seized by a Uttar Pradesh sales tax officer because they were being transported without the required documents. The railway argued that the goods were moving from a railway godown to a city booking agency, which it claimed was part of the "Railway" under the Railways Act and therefo…

The Supreme Court entertained a Special Leave Petition filed by P. Av. Education Trust, a private law college, challenging the admission procedures imposed by the Government of Tamil Nadu. The petition raised the question whether the scheme laid down in Unnikrishnan v. State of Andhra Pradesh (1993) applied to the coll…

The assessee filed loss returns for assessment years 1950-51 to 1955-56 after the statutory period, and the Income‑Tax Officer (ITO) communicated that no cognizance could be taken. Later, the assessee claimed set‑off of those losses against income of 1960-61 and 1961-62, and the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal directed t…

The case concerned five engineering students who had secured admission in management‑quota seats of affiliated colleges of Punjab University and sought migration to Chandigarh Engineering College on security grounds. The principal of the transferee college initially refused, later consented on the condition that additi…

The Orissa State Electricity Board (OSB) entered into a contract with M/s I.P.I. Steel Ltd (the respondent) for power supply up to a maximum demand of 7,778 kVA, with a two‑part tariff comprising demand charges and consumption charges. Due to a severe generation shortfall, the State Government issued an order under Sec…

The National Association of Educated Self Employed Youth (NAESEY) had installed kiosks within hospital premises and on the margins of busy roads in Madras, Vellore and Tiruppur. The Tamil Nadu government ordered their removal, citing health hazards in hospitals and traffic hazards on main thoroughfares, and offered to …

The Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) financed the purchase of a vessel, taking a mortgage over it and requiring the borrower to obtain a comprehensive risk insurance policy assignable to the Director of Ports. The borrower sold the vessel to Haji Daud, who later claimed the insurance proceeds after the vessel sank. The Nat…

The Committee for the Protection of Democratic Rights filed a writ petition in the Bombay High Court seeking a declaration that the Commission of Inquiry appointed under the Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1952 was not a court of law and directing the Maharashtra government to prosecute those responsible for the Bombay rio…

Waldies Ltd. was assessed to income tax for AY 1964‑65 and subsequently to surtax under the Companies (Profits) Surtax Act. The income‑tax assessment was later reopened under Section 147, increasing the tax liability, and the surtax assessment was rectified under Section 13 of the Surtax Act to allow a deduction for th…

K. Mohapatra, a retired IPS officer, faced a criminal prosecution under the Prevention of Corruption Act for possessing assets disproportionate to his known income. While the case was pending, the State of Orissa withheld his gratuity and refused to sanction his final pension, granting only a provisional pension. Mohap…

The appellant, Indian Cable Co., produced PVC compound (granules) from duty‑paid PVC resin and was assessed excise duty on the compound. The Tribunal held that the conversion constituted "manufacture" under Sec. 2(t) of the Central Excises and Salt Act, 1944 and that the compound was dutiable. The appellant contended t…

The State of Uttar Pradesh entered into a works contract with Bridge & Roof Co. (India) Ltd., which required the State to deduct 4% tax at source under the U.P. Trade Tax Act, 1948. The Commissioner of Sales Tax, under a composition scheme, directed a reduced deduction of 1% and the State complied, prompting the contra…

The respondents, former members of a Joint Hindu Family, received specific assets and certain family debts after a partition ordered by an arbitrator's award. They claimed that interest paid on these debts, especially to unsecured creditors, should be deductible as a diversion of income by an overriding title under the…

Ganesh Narayan Hedge filed a complaint under Section 500 IPC alleging defamation by S. B. Bangarappa and two others. The Magistrate, after taking evidence, framed charges, which were challenged by a revision petition under Section 399 before the Sessions Judge, who dismissed it. The respondents then approached the Karn…

Ashok Leyland Ltd., a manufacturer of trucks, sold vehicles to state transport undertakings and other buyers through its regional sales offices (RSOs) across India. The company filed Form ‘F’ with the Tamil Nadu sales‑tax authority, claiming the movement of goods to RSOs was a transfer, not a sale, and paid sales tax i…

Prakash Trading Co., a groundnut oil manufacturer, claimed an additional tax deduction for deoiled cakes exported or sold to exporters under the export incentive provisions of the Finance Acts of 1966 and 1967, which were linked to the First Schedule of the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, 1951. The Income …

The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) advertised for an Assistant Professor in Endocrinology. Dr. Nikhil Tandon was appointed, while Dr. Ajay Sood challenged the appointment, alleging that Tandon did not possess the required D.M. qualification or an equivalent recognised qualification. The High Court set …

The petitioners, a Bihar distillery licensed under the Bihar Excise Act to manufacture industrial alcohol (rectified spirit), challenged the State’s notice of cancellation of its licence, contending that licensing and control of such distilleries fall exclusively within the Union’s competence under the Industries (Regu…

Madras Fertilizers Ltd. manufactured a mixed fertilizer (Vijay N.P.K.17-17-17) containing urea, potash, phosphoric acid, ammonia and ammonium phosphate formed during mixing, and claimed exemption from excise duty under Notification 25/70 of the Central Excise and Salt Act, 1944. The Assistant Collector denied the exemp…

Ashok Leyland Ltd., a manufacturer of trucks and spare parts, imported certain spare parts and sold them to its truck buyers. The company claimed deductions under sections 80‑E and 80‑I of the Income Tax Act, 1961 for profits earned from these imports, arguing that the income was attributable to its "priority industry"…

Essar Gujarat Ltd. purchased a Direct Reduction Iron Plant from Teviot Investments Ltd. and, as a pre‑condition, obtained a process licence and technical know‑how from Midrex and Yoest Alpine (V.A.). The Collector of Customs added the licence fee (DM 2,000,000) and a portion of the engineering and consultancy fees to t…

The respondent, a cinema owner, applied to the District Magistrate for a reduction in seating capacity from 540 to 450 seats and to opt for the composite (compounded) payment of entertainment tax for FY 1995‑96. Both applications were rejected, leading to a writ petition in the Allahabad High Court, which held that the…

The State of Maharashtra issued a notification under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 to acquire two plots (CTS No. 211 and CTS No. 218) for a bus stand. The Land Acquisition Officer passed an award only for CTS No. 211, excluding CTS No. 218 on the basis of a private settlement between BEST and other partie…

The case concerned a motion of no‑confidence against the President of the Nagar Palika, Sultanpur. The meeting was presided over by an Additional Civil Judge and the votes of seventeen members (including three nominated members who had not taken the oath of allegiance) were in favour, while the President voted against.…

Ms. Renu Mullick joined the Central Excise and Customs as a Lower Division Clerk in 1974, was promoted to Upper Division Clerk, and on her own request transferred to the Allahabad Collectorate in 1987 where she was placed at the bottom of the seniority list as per the 1980 executive instructions. In 1991 she was promot…

The employee, a Junior Management Scale‑I officer of Allahabad Bank, was served with a charge‑sheet in 1983 and an enquiry was conducted by a Deputy General Manager (DGM). While the enquiry was pending, the employee was transferred and the Assistant General Manager (AGM) of another zone was nominated as the disciplinar…

The appellant State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur removed its manager, P.D. Grover, for allegedly accepting a bribe and dismissed his appeal before the Executive Committee. Grover filed a civil suit challenging the departmental and appellate orders, claiming violations of Regulation 68(2)(iii) (failure to frame definite c…

Krishna Dass Agarwal sued Kanhaiyalal to enforce a pre-emption right over a house Kanhaiyalal had purchased, relying on an alleged agreement, the Gwalior Pre-emption Act (Samvat 1992) and a customary right. The trial court decreed in favour of the plaintiff, but the defendant appealed. While the appeal was pending, the…

A. NAGARAJU BROS., a dealer in VIP suit cases made of plastic and fitted with steel bands, claimed that these suit cases were "plastic articles" under Entry 113 of Schedule I of the Andhra Pradesh General Sales Tax Act, 1957, and therefore liable to tax only at the first point of sale for the assessment year 1981‑82. T…

Imperial Chit Funds Ltd., a company in liquidation, was served with a tax demand of Rs.1,027 by the Income Tax Officer after winding‑up proceedings had begun. The Official Liquidator argued that the tax claim could not be enforced until the claim was proved in the winding‑up process, invoking the Companies Act’s scheme…

M/s Bangalore Wire Red Mills imported a high reversible mill in 1982 and warehoused it without paying duty, executing a bond under Section 59(1) of the Customs Act, 1962. A notice dated 7 March 1985 required clearance within fifteen days, but the goods were only cleared on 9 September 1988, at which time duty was paid …

The landlord (appellant) sought a perpetual injunction against the tenant (defendant) to stop any construction on a building that had been destroyed by fire, claiming the tenancy had ended. The City Civil Court granted an interim injunction and later found it had jurisdiction, subsequently punishing the tenant for cont…

The petitioners, general‑category medical graduates, challenged a Uttar Pradesh Government circular dated 31‑August‑1995 that removed the requirement of a minimum 35% qualifying mark for SC/ST/OBC candidates in the entrance test for postgraduate medical courses. They argued that the circular violated the Indian Medical…

A clerk of the Municipal Committee, Bahadurgarh was found to have misappropriated Rs. 1,548.78 and falsified accounts. He was convicted under Section 409 of the Indian Penal Code, later altered to Section 468, and the municipality dismissed him. The Director of Local Bodies reduced the punishment to stoppage of four in…

Ballarpur Paper and Straw Board Mills Ltd. hired foreign personnel, including Emil Webber, to set up a plant in India. Under the contract, the salaries were to be paid free of Indian tax, and Ballarpur paid the tax on Webber’s salary to the tax authorities. The Income Tax Officer treated the tax amount paid by Ballarpu…

The Commissioner of Excise, Assam invited tenders for supplying rectified spirit and received seventeen bids. After excluding two ineligible bids, the lowest eligible offer was from Dutta Associates, but the Government introduced a "viability range" (Rs. 14.72‑Rs. 15.71) not mentioned in the tender notice and asked onl…

The Union Territory of Chandigarh reserved 5% of seats in Punjab Engineering College for children and spouses of military/para‑military personnel, dividing them into five sub‑categories with a descending order of priority. Several applicants challenged the categorisation, arguing that the High Court had exceeded its ju…

The Supreme Court, hearing contempt petitions concerning admission to professional courses in Tamil Nadu, examined the effect of the 69% reservation under Article 15(4) of the Constitution and a 5% reservation for special categories under Article 15(1). The Court found that the 5% reservation is horizontal and must be …

Sanjay Dutt, accused in the Bombay blast case, was arrested under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, 1987 (TADA) for possession of unauthorised arms. The charge‑sheet was filed after the statutory period of 180 days, and the petitioner sought bail on the grounds that mere possession of arms witho…

Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL), a public sector undertaking, manufactured boiler components in its Hyderabad unit and dispatched some to its Tiruchi unit and others directly to the work‑site at Angul, Orissa, for a NALCO power‑plant project. The Andhra Pradesh State began levying Central Sales Tax (CST) on these c…

The Entry Tax Officer of Karnataka challenged the Karnataka Tax on Entry of Goods into Local Area for Consumption, Use or Sale therein Act, 1979, contending that the tax applied to goods sold within a local area even when the seller intended to take them out of the area. The Karnataka High Court held that Section 3 of …

The Meerut Municipal Corporation attempted to levy octroi on empty glass bottles of the aerated drink "Double Seven" that were brought into the municipal area for refilling. The bottling company contended that the bottles were exempt under Entry 13 of the 1975 Notification, which exempts "mineral water bottles" importe…

The Supreme Court considered whether malt and malt extract manufactured by Barmalt (India) Ltd. qualify as "food products" under Excise Notification No. 55 of 1975 and whether the company was entitled to a refund of excise duty on the basis of unjust enrichment. The Court affirmed the Delhi High Court's view that malt …

The respondent, a Branch Manager of State Bank of India, claimed reimbursement for moving his household goods after a transfer and was charged with five offences, including false claims and irregular loan disbursement. An enquiry officer found all charges proved on documentary evidence, and the disciplinary authority i…

The Union of India filed disciplinary proceedings against IRS officer Upendra Singh alleging that, while handling income‑tax proceedings under sections 133A, 144A and 143(1) of the Income Tax Act, he acted illegally by ignoring incriminating evidence, acquiescing to a reduced disclosure by the assessee and directing pr…

Mohan Lal, the father of the respondents, sued Kartar Singh for possession of land, claiming ownership and that an eviction order under Section 43 of the Pepsu Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act, 1955, was void. The lower courts held that the landlord‑tenant relationship had ended and the Collector lacked jurisdiction,…

The Union appealed against a Delhi High Court order staying a clause of a circular that reinterpreted the term “date of transfer” in the duty‑free licence rules. The issue arose when Shree Ganesh Steel imported goods under a licence transferred multiple times, and customs objected that the import occurred beyond six mo…

Guru Nanak College, a private institution affiliated to Guru Nanak Dev University, was taken over by the State of Punjab under a gift deed dated 11 July 1983. The deed stipulated that only staff possessing the requisite qualifications would be absorbed as new entrants and that the incumbent Principal would be taken in …

The appellant, New India Civil Erectors Ltd., entered into a contract with ONGC to construct 304 prefabricated housing units. After termination of the contract, disputes were referred to two arbitrators who awarded the appellant a net sum of Rs. 67,82,620. The appellant sought to make the award a rule of court; the sin…

Three income‑tax appeals before the Hyderabad Bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) involved a common question of law under section 115‑J of the Income Tax Act. The President of the ITAT, exercising his power under section 255(3), constituted a Special Bench of three members to hear the appeals, which were …

Smt. Harbans Kaur filed a writ of habeas corpus under Article 32 alleging that her three sons were illegally detained, tortured and that one son, Gurbax Singh, died in police custody. The Court observed that two sons, Surinder Pal Singh and Sarvjeet Singh, had been produced before a Judicial Magistrate and remanded to …

The claimant, a young student, suffered multiple severe injuries in a road accident caused by the negligent driving of a bus insured by United India Insurance. He filed a compensation claim under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1939, which the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal awarded Rs.1,50,000, later enhanced by the Bombay Hig…

Bihari Lal Jaiswal obtained a retail liquor licence under the Madhya Pradesh Excise Rules and entered into a partnership with ten others to run the business. He applied for registration of the partnership under sections 184 and 185 of the Income Tax Act, but the Income Tax Officer rejected the application because the p…

The Supreme Court examined two tax disputes. In Commissioner of Income Tax, Kanpur v. Kamla Town Trust, a trust created in 1941 for workers’ housing was rectified in 1945 and 1955; the Court held that the 1945 deed did not create a public charitable trust, denying exemption for 1949‑55, but the 1955 deed had wholly cha…

The plaintiff filed a title suit seeking partition and separate possession of two plots, 73 and 74. The trial court granted partition of plot 73 and a declaration of title for plot 74; the High Court later allowed partition of plot 74 as well. The defendant filed a review petition under Order 47, Rule 1 of the CPC, cla…

Rameshwar Manjhi, a coal cutter, was injured at work and was denied light‑duty work, leading to his termination and compensation. He filed an individual industrial dispute under Section 2A of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, which was referred to the Central Government Industrial Tribunal. While the reference was pen…

Head Constable Kuldip Singh was dismissed from the Punjab Police without a departmental enquiry under proviso (b) of Article 311(2) of the Constitution, on the ground that it was not reasonably practicable to hold an enquiry because witnesses feared for their lives. The dismissal was based primarily on a confession he …

The Patiala Central Cooperative Bank and its employees' union entered into a comprehensive settlement on 28 May 1973, valid for four years, covering pay scales and dearness allowance. After the settlement expired on 31 March 1977, the bank issued a notice on 25 February 1978 under Section 19(2) of the Industrial Disput…

Mis Dalmia Cement, a public limited company, filed loss returns for assessment years 1952‑53 to 1954‑55 after the prescribed time. The Income Tax Officer refused to take cognizance of those returns, stating that no assessment could be made. For later years (1955‑56 to 1959‑60) losses were assessed, and for 1960‑61 the …

The appellants, owners of rubber estates, sold old, unyielding rubber trees during the assessment years 1968-69 to 1978-79. The Income Tax Officer treated the difference between the sale price and the notional price fixed under Section 55(2) of the Income Tax Act as capital gains and also taxed the replantation subsidy…

Sri Krishna Pvt. Ltd. claimed large unsecured hundi loans in its return for AY 1959‑60. In the assessment of the subsequent year (AY 1960‑61) the Income Tax Officer discovered that many of those loans were bogus and that the alleged lenders were near relatives of the company’s directors. Relying on this, the Officer is…

The State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur ordered a fresh disciplinary inquiry against employee Ajay Kumar Gulati, appointing a new inquiry officer despite an earlier report finding the charges established. Gulati challenged the order in a writ petition before the Delhi High Court, contending that the de novo enquiry should…

The assessees, Smith Kline and French (India) Ltd., claimed a deduction for a surtax liability of Rs. 76,777 under the Companies Profits (Surtax) Act, 1964 while computing their total income for AY 1976-77. The Income Tax Officer disallowed the deduction based on Section 40(a)(ii) of the Income‑Tax Act, which bars any …

The Haryana Public Service Commission (HPSC) issued a 1985 notification for recruitment of Assistant Executive Engineers (AEE) in all three wings of the Public Works Department, including the Irrigation branch, even though the State Government had not sent a requisition for the Irrigation vacancies. No candidates were …

The appellant, a tenant, occupied a residential‑shop premises originally at a rent of Rs 55 per month. After the landlord purchased the property, the rent was unilaterally raised to Rs 65 (the landlord later claimed Rs 70) without complying with the Bihar Building (Lease, Rent and Eviction) Control Act. The tenant paid…

Tarapore & Co. entered into a contract with the State of Madhya Pradesh for the construction of a masonry dam, which required the contractor to pay not less than "fair wages" and to observe labour laws without any claim against the Irrigation Department. After the State revised minimum wages, the contractor paid the hi…

The State of Bihar and the Patna Municipal Corporation challenged the validity of the Assessment of Annual Rental Value of Holding Rules, 1993 and two notifications issued by the corporation, which classified holdings by road categories and type of construction and fixed rental rates per square foot. The Patna High Cou…

The plaintiff (borrower) entered into contracts with suppliers for a 108 MW captive power plant and with a consortium of banks, including Svenska Handelsbanken, for financing. The plant was later found to have a capacity of only 60 MW, leading the plaintiff to allege fraud by the suppliers and the lender and to seek a …

Royal Hatcheries Pvt. Ltd. and other hatcheries sell day‑old chicks to poultry farms. The Andhra Pradesh sales‑tax authorities treated the chicks as general goods and levied tax on the sale under Section 5(1) of the Andhra Pradesh General Sales Tax Act, 1957. The hatcheries contended that the chicks fell within clause …

The assessee, a cotton textile manufacturer, paid amounts to the Textile Commissioner under Clause 21‑C(1)(b) of the Cotton Textiles (Control) Order, 1948, in lieu of producing the minimum required cloth, and also paid a sum for non‑fulfilment of an export obligation under a bond. The assessee claimed these payments as…

Modi Industries Ltd. challenged the assessment officer’s order that interest on excess advance tax should be payable only up to the date of the original (first) assessment and only on the excess amount determined in that assessment. The Supreme Court examined the meaning of "regular assessment" in Section 214 of the In…

Navin Chemicals imported crude emetine under a duty‑exemption licence that required re‑export after processing. The goods were found to be emetine hydrochloride with impurities, leading the Additional Collector to confiscate them and offer a fine of Rs 10,000 for release. The company appealed to the Customs, Excise & G…

Poothundu Plantations Pvt Ltd was assessed under the Kerala Agricultural Income Tax Act. A later Agricultural Income Tax Officer, invoking section 36, rectified the assessment on the ground that the predecessor had misinterpreted section 12, relying on the Supreme Court’s interpretation of section 24 of the Indian Inco…

The respondent, a Scale‑I officer of the Central Bank of India serving as Branch Manager, was charged with ten counts of allowing overdrafts, issuing guarantees and sanctioning loans beyond his delegated authority. An enquiry found several charges fully established and others partially, leading to his dismissal. The Or…

ITC Paper Boards Ltd. appealed against the CEGAT order denying it full exemption from excise duty on paperboard manufactured since 1979. The exemption was granted to printing and writing paper by a 24 April 1981 notification and later extended to paperboard by a 2 April 1984 notification, with a clarifying 9 November 1…

The Jammu & Kashmir Public Service Commission prepared a select list of twenty candidates for the post of District Munsif under the 1967 Recruitment Rules. The State Government approved only the first thirteen names and appointed them, while refusing to approve the remaining seven despite petitions and a High Court ord…

The State of Uttar Pradesh filed a Special Leave Petition challenging a Allahabad High Court order that allowed Synthetics and Chemicals Ltd. to manufacture industrial alcohol without obtaining a PD‑2 licence and directed the State not to interfere, subject to preventing conversion of industrial alcohol into potable li…

Jyoti Ltd., a Baroda‑based company, claimed that its reserves for doubtful debts (Rs 85,000) and gratuity (Rs 5,60,000) should be treated as part of its capital base for computing statutory deduction under the Companies (Profits) Surtax Act, 1964. The Surtax Officer excluded the amounts; the Appellate Assistant Commiss…

The Supreme Court examined compensation for several plots of land acquired for a printing‑machinery factory. The lands, owned by three different claimants, differed in location, size and shape. The Land Acquisition Officer and the Punjab‑Haryana High Court had fixed a uniform market‑value rate per unit area, and had al…

Mis Novopan India Ltd., a manufacturer of particle boards, claimed exemption from central excise duty under Notification No.55 of 1979, which exempted "unveneered particle boards" (Item‑6 of the table). After initially producing unveneered boards, the company began manufacturing melamine faced particle boards (MFPBs) a…

The appellants owned a 30,885‑sq‑yd plot registered as agricultural land but located within municipal limits. They obtained permission under Section 63 of the Bombay Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act to sell the land for non‑agricultural use and sold it to a housing cooperative in May 1969. The Income‑Tax authorities …

Shriyans Prasad Jain, a former officer of Dalmia Cement & Paper Marketing Co., was paid Rs 7 lakhs on termination of his services and claimed the sum was compensation for loss of employment, exempt under section 7 of the Income‑Tax Act, 1922. The assessment tribunal, High Court and the Supreme Court initially held the …

The case concerned two ocean‑going vessels imported in 1968 under a customs exemption for ships not imported for breaking up. When the vessels were later scrapped in 1983‑84, the ship owners argued that duty should be calculated on the 1968 import value, while the Union of India contended that the exemption notificatio…

The State of Tamil Nadu filed an application seeking modification of the Supreme Court’s July 22, 1996 order that continued the August 18, 1994 order directing a 69% reservation for backward classes, SCs and STs in medical, engineering and other educational institutions and the creation of additional seats for general‑…

The assessee, Karam Chand Thapar & others, acted as a del credere agent for coal collieries and as an agent for coal purchasers. It claimed "under‑charges" from collieries for freight overcharges on under‑loaded wagons, received the amounts before any purchaser claim, and paid purchasers when they demanded reimbursemen…

Sub‑Inspector Mohinder Singh was dismissed in 1991 by the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) of Chandigarh without a departmental enquiry, invoking Article 311(2) proviso (b) of the Constitution on the ground that witnesses would not freely depose against him. The dismissal was based on a report alleging gross misus…

G.P. Volkart Ltd. had obtained municipal approval to construct a 30‑storey building with an FSI of 2.45. After the Bombay Metropolitan Region Development Act, 1974 came into force, the Metropolitan Authority rejected the application within the statutory 60‑day period, prompting the company to appeal to the State Govern…

The State of Orissa, owner of mineral resources, issued a notification for regranting a mining area. Applications for mining leases were filed but not disposed of within the 12‑month period prescribed by Rule 24 of the Mineral Concession Rules, 1960, and were therefore deemed refused. The applicants sought revision bef…

Gurdial Singh transferred 94 kanals and 19 marlas of land to his wife Harmel Kaur in 1963 as maintenance, subject to restrictive covenants. After Singh's death, Harmel sold a portion of the land to the appellants. The second wife and three daughters of Singh sued, claiming a one‑seventh share, arguing that Harmel only …

The A.L.N. Rao Charitable Trust claimed exemption for a surplus of Rs.85,262 under Section 11(1)(a) and Section 11(2) of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The Assessing Authority initially allowed the exemption on the basis that the Trust had invested 75% of the surplus in approved securities, but the Commissioner later issued…

The Pleasant Stay Hotel obtained a two‑storey plan for a hotel at Kodaikanal, but after the Kodaikanal Township Committee rejected its revised plan for additional floors, the hotel proceeded to construct several extra floors in violation of the sanctioned plan and the Tamil Nadu District Municipalities Act, 1920. The P…

The appellant, Madhukar B. Pingal, was selected and appointed as Police Patil based on a selection scheme that allotted 50 % of the total marks to a written test and 50 % to a viva‑voce. An unsuccessful candidate (Respondent‑I) challenged the appointment before the Maharashtra Administrative Tribunal, which held that t…

The appellant, Dilawar Singh (deceased) through his legal representatives, filed a return under Section 10(2) of the U.P. Imposition of Ceiling on Land Holdings Act, 1960, claiming that he had gifted several parcels of land to his grand‑nephew. The Prescribed Authority and the lower appellate court held that the gift d…

The landlord leased premises to Esso Company in 1969. When Esso merged into Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPC) in 1974, the landlord filed an eviction suit under the Karnataka Rent Control Act, 1961 alleging sub‑letting. The lower courts dismissed the suit, holding that under the Esso (Acquisition of Undertaking…

Hind Plastics imported PVC and paid customs duty and additional duty. It filed writ petitions in the Bombay High Court seeking a refund of duty on the packaging, claiming exemption under Notification No. 184‑CUS dated 2 August 1976 issued under section 25 of the Customs Act. The company argued that the invoice value in…

The petitioners, manufacturers of vegetable oil, challenged the levy and collection of the vegetable oils cess for the period 1 March 1986 to 31 March 1987, contending that the Finance Minister’s 1986 budget speech and a subsequent Directorate of Vanaspati letter had dispensed with the cess and that exemption powers un…

The assessee, a private limited company, paid cash commissions on sales to its directors in addition to their salaries. The Income Tax Officer treated these commissions as perquisites and disallowed them under section 40(a)(v) of the Income‑Tax Act for AY 1971‑72 and under section 40(A)(5) for AY 1972‑73. The Appellate…

The State Bank of Patiala had, in several assessment years, transferred sums to a "bad and doubtful debts" account and claimed that these amounts were "reserves" under the Companies (Profits) Surtax Act, 1964, thereby eligible for statutory deduction. The Income Tax Officer rejected the claim, but the Income Tax Appell…

The deceased B.N. Singh had not filed income‑tax returns for three assessment years and died leaving ten legal representatives. His eldest son, Jai Prakash Singh, filed the returns and the Income Tax Officer issued notices under sections 142(1) and 143(2) only to him, not to the other nine representatives, and proceede…

The State of Tripura appealed against a Gauhati High Court decision that declared Rule 3 of its Transit Rules illegal. Rule 3 imposed licence and application fees, required licences for removal of timber and firewood, allowed the State to prohibit export of forest produce, and levied an export duty of up to 100% of mar…

The Supreme Court entertained a social‑action writ filed by the Indian Council for Enviro‑Legal Action on behalf of villagers of Bichhri, who suffered severe water, soil and health damage due to untreated effluents and toxic sludge from private chemical industries. The petition sought directions against the Union of In…

The Union of India appealed a Bombay High Court order that had allowed a writ petition filed by Victory Plastic Pvt. Ltd. The dispute concerned customs duty on PVC resin imported under tariff Item No. 39.01/06 of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975. An initial 1979 notification granted full exemption from duty, but a subseque…

The Commissioner of Income Tax, Kerala appealed against the Kerala High Court's decision in favor of Kilkottagiri Tea and Coffee Estate Co. Ltd., which allowed the company to claim a development allowance for unclaimed expenses incurred in clearing land and planting tea bushes during 1966-67 and 1967-68. The dispute ce…