BRIJESH KUMAR

The appellant, S.R. Radhakrishnan, leased a premises for a year, erected a roof and other structures, and later transferred possession and his printing business to his two younger brothers, executing a release deed in their favour. The property was subsequently purchased by the respondent, Neelamegam, who served notice…

The respondents were granted occupancy tenancy over temple land under Section 45 of the Karnataka Land Reforms Act, 1961 by a Land Tribunal order dated 3 July 1979. In 1985 the appellants filed an application under Section 5(2)(i) of the Karnataka Certain Inams Abolition Act, 1977 seeking occupancy rights over the same…

The appellants, members of a Scheduled Tribe, claimed that land in a scheduled area of Orissa had been forcibly occupied by non‑tribal respondents. The Competent Authority ordered restoration of possession to the appellants, but the trial court dismissed the petition on the ground that the respondents' possession for o…

The case concerned the Bihar Forest Service where 50% of Assistant Conservator of Forest (ACF) posts were to be filled by promotion and 50% by direct recruitment. The appellants were appointed as ACFs by direct recruitment on 14 December 1987, while promotees were appointed on 6 October 1987 and 23 November 1987 despit…

The Supreme Court dealt with a suit for specific performance of a contract to sell immovable land where the plaint failed to give a precise description of the property and no map was annexed. The trial court decreed specific performance, but the decree did not identify the land, leading to execution difficulties, inclu…

The respondents applied to the Secunderabad Cantonment Board for sanction of a layout plan on land they claimed to own. The Board initially returned the plan for lack of an exemption certificate under the Urban Land (Ceiling) Act, but the High Court held that such a certificate was not required. The plan was later retu…

The Chandigarh Administration advertised fourteen Assistant Sub‑Inspector posts, reserving two for SC and four for OBC candidates. Applicants from Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, holding caste certificates from their home states, claimed reservation benefits but were denied. The Central Administrative Tribunal an…

The respondent, Sagar Thomas, a branch manager of Federal Bank, was dismissed after a disciplinary enquiry and challenged the dismissal by filing a writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution. The High Court held the petition maintainable, deeming the bank a public authority performing a public duty. The bank a…

M.M. Khashim, promoted to Deputy Superintendent of Police (Category‑2) in Andhra Pradesh, was placed on probation and passed the required departmental test in 1986. An order dated 6 Oct 1989, issued by the State Government, declared that he had satisfactorily completed his probation as of 27 Jan 1987 and relaxed Rule 7…

The Sree Narayana Chandrika Trust, a partner in Chandrika Enterprises, saw its profit share fall from 45% to 30% when the firm was reconstituted and a new partner, M.U. Indira, contributed Rs 25,000 for a 12% share. The Gift Tax Officer treated the 15% reduction as a gift and levied tax under the Gift Tax Act, 1958. Th…

The State of Kerala acquired land for its Public Health Engineering Department under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, and the Collector made a compensation award in 1986. Claimants sought enhancement of compensation before a civil court, which rendered awards between 1989 and 1991. In 1984 the Kerala Water Authority (KW…

Prahalad Sharma, a Service Engineer of the Uttar Pradesh State Agro Industrial Corporation, was dismissed by the Managing Director for alleged financial irregularities. He appealed to the Chairman of the Corporation, who reinstated him. The State Government, invoking its revisional power under Rule 13 of the Uttar Prad…

The Supreme Court examined whether A.P. Gas Power Corporation Ltd (APGPCL), a privately‑participated captive power plant, needed a licence to supply electricity to its shareholders, their sister concerns and companies that acquired its shares. APGPCL argued that the power generated was for captive consumption and that …

Kamaleshwar Kishore Singh filed a partition suit valued at Rs 16 lakhs and paid a fixed court fee of Rs 29.25, assuming it was a simple partition case. Defendant No. 20 objected, leading the trial court to order payment of ad‑valorem court fee on 10% of the sale‑deed value of certain properties. The defendant later cla…

The Himachal Pradesh Ceiling on Land Holdings Act, 1972, led the Collector to declare 9,000 bighas of land belonging to the heirs of Raja Lakshman Singh as surplus in 1976. The State appealed the Collector’s order but withdrew the appeal in March 1976, rendering the Collector’s order final. In 1991, the Financial Commi…

Punjab National Bank (PNB) sued Indian Bank and Indo‑Europe Foods Ltd for recovery of a US‑dollar bank guarantee amounting to USD 5,237,284.54. The plaint sought a decree in US dollars with rupee equivalents for court‑fee and jurisdiction purposes. PNB later applied to amend the pleading to delete the rupee equivalents…

The landlord sought eviction of a tenant occupying a piece of land with a small wooden structure under the A.P. Buildings (Lease, Rent and Eviction) Control Act, 1960. The tenant claimed he only rented the land and owned the wooden structure, arguing that the structure was not a "building" within the meaning of Section…

The tenant, Vithal N. Shetti, had occupied premises in Pune and erected a permanent structure (dining hall, kitchen, lavatory) in 1961. The landlord, Prakash N. Rudrakar, claimed the construction was done without his written consent and without municipal plan sanction, invoking Section 13(1)(b) of the Bombay Rents, Hot…

The respondents filed a declaratory suit claiming joint ownership of the suit property and seeking to declare certain gift and sale deeds ineffective. The trial court dismissed the suit on the grounds of limitation and that a prior decree (O.S. No. 93/71) operated as res judicata against Defendant No. 1 only, despite s…

The appellant, Sudhangshu Mohan Deb, claimed possession of land that had originally been settled in his predecessor's favour and later sold to him. After a decree granting him possession was set aside, the Tripura Land Revenue and Land Reforms Act, 1960 vested all estates in the notified area in the State Government, e…

Harina​gar Sugar Mills Ltd, a sugar manufacturer licensed under the Bihar Agricultural Produce Markets Act, 1960, was levied a market fee on its purchase of sugarcane and sale of sugar and molasses. The mill challenged the fee in a suit, obtained a decree in its favour, but later faced assessments and penalties for the…

Mis. Sathyanarayana Brothers (P) Ltd. entered into a contract with the Tamil Nadu Water Supply & Drainage Board for the manufacture and supply of prestressed concrete pipes for the Veeranam water project, subject to foreign collaboration clearance and foreign‑exchange assistance. Delays in obtaining foreign exchange an…

Nihal Singh, a life convict under Section 302 IPC, filed a writ petition in the Punjab & Haryana High Court seeking classification as a Class‑B prisoner under para 576‑A of the Punjab Jail Manual, which provides facilities based on classification. The Single Judge declared the classification scheme ultra‑vires of Artic…

The Supreme Court examined whether the Division Bench decision of the Madras High Court in M. Varadaraja Pillai's case merged into the Supreme Court's order of 10 September 1986, which dismissed appeals on the ground of non‑joinder of the State as a necessary party. The Court held that the Supreme Court order did not d…

Respondent No. I, a Science Master in the Himachal Education Department since 1970, was deputed to the Special Services Bureau as Circle Organizer in 1977 and later absorbed in that post in 1984. The Department’s seniority list gave him seniority from the date of absorption, but he claimed seniority from the date he he…

The appellants, professional tourist guides, held identity cards issued by the Department of Tourism that permitted them to charge visitors for guiding services. Clause 17 of the governing instructions stipulated that the identity card would not be renewed once a guide turned 60 years old, leading to the denial of rene…

The Kerala Forest Department auctioned the right to collect residual tree growth and fire wood. The appellant bid Rs 3,00,100, but before the bid was confirmed a fire destroyed a substantial part of the subject matter. The appellant requested a reduction in the bid amount, yet the Managing Director confirmed the bid an…

The petitioners were retirees of Assam Oil Company Ltd., which was nationalised in 1981 and its assets, including a 1973 pension fund, were transferred to the successor Indian Oil Corporation (Assam Oil Division) under the Burmah Oil Company (Acquisition) Act. The corporation later introduced a revised pension scheme i…

The State of Punjab appealed against a Punjab & Haryana High Court order that granted Art‑cum‑Lattering Experts, Production Artists and related cadres a pay‑scale of Rs 1800‑3200, the same as that given to Assistants in Class A and B offices. The High Court had relied on the then‑precedent Haryana State Biologists Asso…

The State of Bihar constituted a Commission of Inquiry under Section 3 of the Commission of Inquiry Act, 1952 to investigate the 1989 Bhagalpur communal riots. The two‑member report of the Commission contained remarks that impugned the reputation of Lal Krishna Advani, who claimed he was not given notice under Section …

The Punjab Public Service Commission (PSC) advertised 500 medical officer posts with reservations for Scheduled Castes and Balmikis/Majhbi Sikhs. The State Government’s policy was that candidates from reserved categories possessing the minimum qualifications should not be subjected to any test. Contrary to this, the PS…

The respondents, who purchased urban properties at auction under Section 29 of the State Financial Corporations Act, 1951 and under the Official Liquidator in winding‑up proceedings under the Companies Act, 1956, sought fresh electricity connections for those premises. The appellant, Gujarat Electricity Board, demanded…

The Central Government nationalised sick textile mills under the Sick Textile Undertakings (Nationalisation) Act, 1974 and placed them under National Textile Corporation Ltd. Staff employed in the mills sought parity in pay with staff in the corporation's corporate offices, invoking the principle of equal pay for equal…

The Housing and Urban Development Corporation Ltd (HUDCO) was allotted 42.6 acres of Government land in Delhi in 1990 for development, with possession taken in March 1994 but a formal lease executed only in July 1997. The Delhi Municipal Corporation levied property tax on the vacant land for the period July 1990 to Mar…

Rattan Dev filed a suit for a permanent injunction which was decreed by the trial court. The defendant appealed and the first appellate court reversed the decree, dismissing the suit on the ground that the plaintiff did not appear as a witness and an adverse inference was drawn. Rattan Dev filed a second appeal under S…

The plaintiff filed a suit in 1988 for a permanent injunction over agricultural land. In 1999, before trial commenced, he sought to amend the plaint under Order VI Rule 17 of the CPC to add relief for declaration of title and recovery of possession, alleging dispossession by the defendant in 1989. The trial court and t…

The appellant, a widow who had undergone a kidney transplant, filed an eviction petition under Section 14 of the Bihar Buildings (Lease, Rent and Eviction) Control Act, 1982, alleging that the respondent, her employee, occupied the premises as a tenant and was in arrears. The respondent sought leave to defend, denying …

The plaintiff entered into an agreement of sale on 1 Oct 1978 with the owner of a suit property, paying Rs 20,000 of the Rs 30,000 price and agreeing to pay the balance and obtain a registered deed within three years. The owner later sold the property to the appellant on 15 May 1984. The plaintiff served a notice on 8 …

Mool Shankar Singh, an employee, claimed entitlement to a higher special allowance and made a representation which was rejected. He approached the High Court via a writ petition under Article 226, where the Court only directed that a representation be made and did not consider the grievance on its merits. Singh subsequ…

The respondents filed a suit for partition of joint family property, which was settled by a compromise and a decree on 13 July 1978 allocating specific parcels and putting the parties in possession of their shares. Some parcels were left in joint possession, and in 1991 the respondents sought appointment of a commissio…

The New Delhi Municipal Committee (NDMC) assessed property tax on a basement owned by Satish Chand, who argued that the basement was unusable due to water ingress and therefore had no rateable value. Chand filed a civil suit seeking a permanent injunction against the tax demand. NDMC raised a preliminary objection, inv…

Nine persons were charged with murder and related offences arising from a 1989 assault in Singpur, Gujarat. The appellant, Jayantibhai Bhenkarbhai, claimed an alibi, asserting he was in Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar attending legal proceedings on the day of the incident. The trial and High Courts rejected his alibi, convic…

Ganesh Trivedi bought a residential premises in Kanpur from landlord Jagdamba Prasad Awasthi. The premises had been let to Suraj Prasad, who died in 1985 leaving his brother Deo Narain as the sole heir and occupant. Vikas Shukla applied to the Rent Controller to have the premises declared "deemed vacant" on the ground …

The Supreme Court, hearing a suo motu contempt petition filed by environmental activist M.C. Mehta, examined the failure of the Union of India, the NCT of Delhi and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi to comply with its earlier orders directing the relocation or closure of non‑conforming industries operating in resident…

The Orissa State (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Board prosecuted Orient Paper Mills for exceeding air‑pollutant standards after the mill, situated in an area declared an Air Pollution Control Area by Gazette notifications (1984, 1986, 1988), failed to obtain consent. The Board framed charges under Section 37(1) …

The Union Territory of Chandigarh issued a 1996 notification for recruitment of Assistant District Attorney/Law Officer fixing the maximum age limit at 30 years. Respondent Rajesh Kumar Basandhi, aged 33, was rejected and challenged the decision, contending that the Punjab Civil Services Rules, amended in 1996, raised …

The Management of M/s Devi Theatre filed a first appeal under Section 96 of the Code of Civil Procedure against a decree, and the Karnataka High Court admitted the appeal on the condition that the appellant deposit Rs. 75,000 within eight weeks, otherwise dismissing the appeal. The appellant failed to make the deposit …

Mis. Pawan Hans Ltd. sought flats for its employees and entered negotiations with Mis. Lokhandwala Construction Industries Ltd. over price and the requirement of an unconditional bank guarantee. The parties could not agree on the guarantee clause, the Memorandum of Understanding was never signed and the deal collapsed.…

The State of West Bengal raised a battalion of Border Wing Home Guards (BWHG) under a 1976 Central Government scheme, recruiting both full‑time and part‑time volunteers who were to serve for three months. The part‑time BWHGs were continuously deployed for over a decade, performing the same duties as permanent BWHGs but…

The appellant, Ajmer Kaur, challenged the revenue authorities' re‑determination of her father Daya Singh's land holdings under the Punjab Land Reforms Act, 1972. The Collector had initially declared 3.12 hectares surplus in 1976, an order that became final after the appeal was dismissed in 1979. After the death of Daya…

The appellants, Harshad S. Mehta and others, sought to revoke conditional pardons granted by the Special Court under the Special Court (Trial of Offences Relating to Transactions in Securities) Act, 1992, arguing that the Court lacked jurisdiction to grant pardon because the power under Sections 306 and 307 of the Crim…

The appellant, a 20‑year‑old male, was accused of raping and murdering an 11‑12‑year‑old girl who was last seen with him on 28 March 2001. The girl's body was discovered the next day in a dilapidated building, and the post‑mortem report confirmed strangulation and sexual assault. The prosecution relied on the testimony…

The appellant (Vendee) purchased land through a registered sale deed executed by a person claiming to hold a general power of attorney (GPA) for the owner. After commencing construction, another individual asserted that he was the true GPA holder and filed suits for possession. The trial court granted an injunction to …

The State of Mizoram issued a notification withdrawing the revised pay scales for Executive Engineers and Superintending Engineers, prompting the Mizoram Engineering Service Association to file a writ petition seeking the quashing of the notification and the grant of higher pay scales to Chief Engineers and Additional …

Archana M. Kamath, a current account holder of Canara Bank, challenged the bank's imposition of a Rs. 50 charge for issuing 50 MICR cheque leaves, alleging that the fee was unilateral, without her consent, and contrary to RBI directives. The Bombay Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum ruled in her favour, ordering a refun…

Pearlite Liners Pvt Ltd. transferred the respondent, a trainee accountant later promoted, from its head office to a sales office. The employee refused to comply, was absent, and a chargesheet was issued. She filed a suit seeking a declaration that the transfer order was void, that she remained in service, and an injunc…

The petitioners, holders of Trained Teachers Certificate (TTC), challenged their non‑selection for lower and upper primary teacher posts in Kerala government schools, arguing that the advertisement required TTC and excluded B.Ed. degree holders. The State and the Public Service Commission had allowed B.Ed. candidates t…

The Supreme Court considered an appeal by B.Ed. degree holders who sought appointment as primary teachers in Municipal Corporation schools, where the advertisement required either a 10th pass with a two‑year teacher‑training certificate (TTC) or a 12th pass with a one‑year teacher‑training certificate. The High Court h…

The Food Corporation of India (FCI) invited tenders to hire plinths for grain storage and awarded the contract to Mis. Babulal Agrawal, who constructed the plinths and handed them over on 24‑Jan‑1987. The agreement provided that FCI would lease the plinths for three years (extendable by one year) and that a formal leas…

The respondent, a clerk of Andhra Bank, was suspended pending departmental action and later faced criminal charges under Sections 409 and 436 of the Indian Penal Code. He was convicted by a trial court but acquitted on appeal; however, a departmental enquiry continued for several years, culminating in his dismissal. Th…

The landlords filed a suit for eviction of the tenant under Section 5(1)(c) of the Assam Urban Areas Rent Control Act, 1972, claiming the premises were needed for their own cloth business. The trial court, the first appellate court and the Assam High Court upheld the eviction decree. The tenant appealed to the Supreme …

The appellant obtained two import licences in 1982 and sold them to the respondent for a fixed margin payment. The licences were valid for one year; the respondent could not utilise them and the appellant obtained a six‑month revalidation at the respondent's request. The respondent then demanded a second revalidation, …

The Supreme Court entertained a public‑interest writ petition filed by Vishwa Jagruti Mission seeking directions to curb the menace of ragging in educational institutions. Relying on Articles 32 and 142 of the Constitution, the Court observed that ragging is a serious social problem requiring not only criminal legislat…

The appellants' original land was acquired under a Town Planning Scheme and they were awarded two final plots and monetary compensation by an arbitrator. They later sought additional Floor Space Index (FSI) and Transferable Development Rights (TDR) under the 1991 Development Control Regulations, which allowed such bene…

The appellant, Lingala Kondala Rao, occupied a shop that had been gifted to the respondent, Vootukuri Nara Yana Rao, by his father through a registered deed of settlement. The respondent, a member of a joint Hindu family, sought eviction under Section 10(3)(a)(iii) of the A.P. Buildings (Lease, Rent & Eviction) Control…

The Gujarat Cancer Society imported MRI and lithotripsy machines under a customs duty exemption certificate that required the equipment to be used by the "actual user". The Customs Collector later held the society liable for duty but, considering its charitable purpose, imposed only a token fine and did not prosecute. …

The appellant K. Prabhakaran challenged the election of P. Jayarajan, who had been convicted of several offences and sentenced to 29 months of imprisonment, on the ground of disqualification under Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. The trial court had ordered the sentences to run consecutively, ma…

The Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) appealed against a Madhya Pradesh High Court order that had directed it to declare the Class X result of a student, Sheena Peethambaran, who had failed the Class IX examination as a regular student. The student’s school had initially withheld her Class X admission form, leading t…