K N SAIKIA

The respondent filed a suit against the Coal Mines Provident Fund Commissioner without the notice required under Section 80 of the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC). The Commissioner contended that he was a "public officer" within the meaning of Section 2(17)(h) CPC, making the suit incompetent. The trial court and the Pat…

The appellant, legal heirs of the deceased Ram Chandra Singh, challenged the inclusion of a parcel of land gifted by his father in 1971 in his holding for the purpose of determining surplus land under the Uttar Pradesh Imposition of Ceiling on Land Holdings Act, 1960, as amended in 1973 and 1975. The prescribed authori…

The plaintiff, Hira Lal, claimed that his father was a sub‑tenant recorded in Khasra 1356 Fasli and had acquired adhivasi and sirdari rights under the U.P. Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act, 1950, which extinguished the defendants' title. The trial court and the first appellate court rejected this claim, holding…

Plasmac Machine Manufacturing Co., a maker of injection moulding machines, also produced a part called "Tie Bar Nuts" which it initially classified under tariff item 68 (the residuary category). The Central Excise department directed re‑classification under item 52 (bolts and nuts) and the Collector of Central Excise i…

The Supreme Court examined a dispute between tenants (appellants) and former landholders (respondents) over tenanted agricultural lands in former inam estates after the Andhra Pradesh (Andhra Area) Estates (Abolition and Conversion into Ryotwari) Act, 1948 came into force. The landholders claimed the lands were private…

The Bihar State Electricity Board (BSEB) entered into a supply agreement with Green Rubber Industries that included a clause obligating the consumer to pay minimum guaranteed charges irrespective of actual consumption. The firm requested disconnection in June 1981, consumed no electricity, but was billed for the minimu…

The Gram Panchayat owned 1,200 bighas of land that was consolidated and allotted to others under a scheme confirmed in 1974. The Panchayat filed an application under Section 42 of the East Punjab Holdings Act in 1977 to set aside the scheme, but the application was beyond the six‑month limitation prescribed by Rule 18.…

Vinaya Kumar Shukal, the owner of a plot let to Lakhat Ram in 1957 at a rent of Rs.170 per annum, sought fixation of a new rent under Section 29-A of the U.P. Urban Buildings (Regulation of Letting, Rent and Eviction) Act, 1972 after a building was erected on the land. The Delegated Authority rejected the application, …

Pundalik was elected Director of the District Central Co‑operative Bank, Chandrapur on 18 August 1986 while he was in arrears on a loan from the bank. The Maharashtra Co‑operative Societies Act, 1960 (section 73FF) disqualifies a defaulter from being elected or continuing as a committee member, and the Act came into fo…

The plaintiff, Fateh Bahadur Singh, sued Jang Bahadur (the second respondent) and two non‑tenure‑holders, Kalawati and Mithlesh Kumari, for specific performance of a sale agreement for a plot of land. The lower courts held that the plaintiff was entitled to specific performance, treating the sales to the appellants as …

Captain Subash Kumar, master of the Panamanian‑flagged MV Eamaco, was charged under section 363 of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958 for alleged negligence in failing to launch lifeboats when the ship sank 232 nautical miles from India. The appellant contended that the Act did not apply because the vessel was foreign, th…

The appellants, sons of K.S. Vaiyapuri Chettiar, claimed ownership of six house doors in Town Survey No. 666/2 based on sale deeds executed in the 1940s and a decree for specific performance. The respondents, occupying the doors, argued that they held the property by long‑term permissive leases and had acquired title b…

An FIR was lodged alleging that the appellants stone‑pelleted an informant’s house, causing damage and injuring three women. The Judicial Magistrate discharged two appellants (Vijya Bai and Jiya Bai) of all charges and limited the remaining three appellants (Sohan Lal, Padam Chand and Vishnu) to a charge under s. 427 I…

V. R. Vora, a tenant of a room owned by the Bombay Port Trust, was served a quit notice under Section 106 read with Section 111(h) of the Transfer of Property Act, terminating his lease effective 28 February 1975. While the notice period was running, the Major Port Trusts Act, 1963 (a Central Act) was applied to the Po…

The Kerala Municipal Council framed a West Road scheme in 1976 which lapsed because it was not published within two years. After the Trichur Urban Development Authority (TUDA) was created in 1981, it failed to act, leaving land owners, including the petitioners, unable to obtain construction permission. The State Gover…

S.K. Das, a commission agent dealing in grains and other commodities in Chirgaon, was levied weighing dues under market bye‑laws framed by the Town Area Committee (TAC) of Chirgaon. He challenged the demand of Rs.1892.26 in a writ petition, arguing that the bye‑laws were ultra vires, that the dues were a fee (not a tax…

Bhavani Tea and Produce Co. Ltd., a plantation company, owned 3,151.20 acres in the Western Ghats and sought a declaration that none of its land should vest in the State under the Kerala Private Forests (Vesting & Assignment) Act, 1971. The Tribunal and the Kerala High Court identified certain plots as private forests …

P.S. Sahni occupied a flat in Shyam Cooperative Housing Society under a written agreement dated 11 June 1969 that was labeled a "leave and licence" and expressly stated that the licensee would not claim tenancy. The Society and the licensor terminated the licence on 10 March 1972, after which Sahni refused to vacate an…

The company Rajratha Naranbhai Mills Ltd. was ordered to be wound up on 26 June 1967 and the liquidator invited creditors to prove claims for priority under s.530(1)(a) of the Companies Act, 1956. The Sales Tax Officer claimed priority for sales tax and penalties, arguing that the assessment orders and demand notices w…

Om Prakash Puri and partners, who operated the Trinca's restaurant in Calcutta, were assessed an ad‑hoc luxury tax of Rs.2,40,000 under Sections 3 and 4 of the West Bengal Entertainments and Luxuries (Hotels and Restaurants) Tax Act, 1972 (as amended 1974). They challenged the tax on the grounds that it was discriminat…

Hiraji Tolaji Bagwan, a protected lessee of agricultural land, challenged the eviction proceedings initiated by Shakuntala, who claimed to be landlady after a partition of the ancestral property on 29 June 1959. The Supreme Court examined whether a partition of joint family (ancestral) land could lawfully give a share …

Spences Hotel Pvt. Ltd. and others, owners of an air‑conditioned hotel and restaurant, challenged the West Bengal Entertainments and Luxuries (Hotels and Restaurants) Tax Act, 1972 which levied a flat luxury tax of Rs 100 per 10 sq m of air‑conditioned floor space. They argued that the tax violated Article 14 of the Co…

The Mathura Refinery Mazdoor Sangh, representing about 900 casual labourers employed under the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1971, sought parity in wages and conditions with regular refinery employees. Some workers had contracts directly with the refinery through co‑operative societies, while others w…

The case concerned a gift of land made by Kehar Singh in 1947 to his second wife, Basant Kaur, as maintenance. After the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, the widow’s step‑grandsons claimed the gift gave her only a limited estate under Section 14(2) and that the estate could not be enlarged. The High Court held the gift fell…

The appellant, N.D. Jain, owned land that was acquired by the Agra Town Improvement Trust under the U.P. Town Improvement Act, 1919. He received only a nominal compensation and no solatium, prompting him to seek a reference before the Nagar Mahapalika Tribunal, which increased the compensation but still denied solatium…

The appellant, Gokak Patel Volkart Ltd., filed criminal complaints under Section 630(1)(b) of the Companies Act, 1956 and Section 406 IPC against former employees who, after retirement, failed to vacate company quarters. The trial magistrate dismissed the complaints as time‑barred under the six‑month limitation prescri…

British India Steam Navigation Co., Ltd. chartered the vessel Steliosm to ship 4,445 bags of cashew nuts for Shanmughavilas Cashew Industries, but only 3,712 bags were delivered. The respondent sued the appellant in the Cochin Sub‑ordinate Court for the shortage; the trial court decreed in favour of the respondent and …

S.M.D. Kiran Pasha, a municipal councillor, was detained under the Andhra Pradesh Prevention of Dangerous Activities Act, 1986, after alleging political vendetta. He filed a writ petition under Article 226 challenging the detention, but the High Court dismissed it, insisting he first surrender and seek habeas corpus. T…

The State of Uttar Pradesh sought to recover differential excise duty on excess wastage of military rum that was exported by the respondents, Delhi Cloth Mills, under a lower export duty rate. The respondents argued that the duty on excess wastage could not be levied, and the Allahabad High Court quashed the demand. Th…

A commercial vessel, M.V. Jag Darshan, was detained and rummaged by customs officers at Paradip Port, leading to the seizure of contraband goods. The Deputy Conservator of Paradip Port Trust, the second respondent, ordered the vessel to be moved to a distant anchorage, interrupting the rummage and allowing the contraba…

Industrial Chain Concern sued Indian Overseas Bank for Rs.26,383.49, alleging that the bank negligently allowed its manager, Sethuraman, to open a fictitious account in the firm's name, deposit stolen drafts and cheques, and collect the proceeds. The bank contended it acted in good faith, declined an overdraft facility…

The appellant, J.K. Aggarwal, a Company Secretary of Haryana Seeds Development Corporation Ltd., faced a disciplinary inquiry that could lead to his dismissal. He sought permission to be represented by a lawyer under Rule 7(5) of the Haryana Civil Services (Punishment and Appeal) Rules, 1952, but the inquiry authority …

The Municipal Board of Bareilly imposed octroi on mineral oils in 1969, invoking rules framed in 1963 that removed the earlier exemption. Bharat Oil Company challenged the levy, arguing that Rule 131 of the 1925 Octroi Rules, which exempted mineral oil, still barred the Board. The Supreme Court examined whether the 196…

The U.P. Residents Employees Co‑operative Housing Society, which had acquired about 70 acres of land between 1973‑75, challenged the acquisition of its land by the New Okhla Industrial Development Authority (NOIDA) under notifications issued under the Land Acquisition Act after the enactment of the U.P. Industrial Area…

Anandi Bai held a shop in Jaipur under an 11‑month lease that was terminated by a notice under Section 106 of the Transfer of Property Act, but she continued in possession and paid rent, becoming a statutory tenant. She died in September 1966 and her heirs (the appellants) were sued for ejectment by the landlord, who a…