SUJATA V MANOHAR

Dr. A.K. Ghosh, a senior officer of the Cholera Research Centre, fraudulently claimed House Rent Allowance (HRA) for ten years by presenting municipal certificates that overstated the rental value of his own house, which in reality was below 10% of his salary. An internal audit uncovered the fraud, leading to a departm…

Hindustan Times Ltd purchased a residential building and later demolished it to erect a multi‑storeyed commercial building. The company paid Rs 36,96,516 as an additional premium for the commercial use of the extra built‑up area and added this amount to the cost of the new building, claiming depreciation under Sections…

The Income Tax Department seized gold ornaments from the premises of Babula Agarwal under Section 132 of the Income‑Tax Act, 1961. Babula claimed the ornaments belonged to his step‑mother and ultimately to the plaintiff, Parmeshwari Devi Sultania, who filed a petition with the officer for their return but was rejected.…

The appellant, a mortgagor of a property under a usufructuary mortgage, filed a redemption suit seeking to pay the mortgage amount of Rs.18,000. The trial court passed a preliminary decree on 22 November 1960 directing redemption on deposit of the mortgage money, payment of mesne profits, and a provision for claiming i…

The appellants, owners of properties in Delhi, challenged notices issued under Section 126 of the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957 that revised the rateable value of their properties on the basis of actual rent received. The Court examined how to determine rateable value when the rent is not subject to the Delhi R…

Gurmush Prakash Bishnoj was appointed a member of the Haryana Public Service Commission (HPSC) on 4 March 1980 and served until 28 August 1984, after which he became Chairman of the HPSC until 27 August 1990. He received a pension of Rs.1,800 per month for his service as Chairman and claimed an additional pension for h…

Bharat Commerce & Industries Ltd. appealed against the Commissioner of Income Tax, arguing that interest paid on delayed advance tax (under Sections 139 and 215) for AY 1972‑73 and interest paid on delayed tax under the Voluntary Disclosure of Income and Wealth Act, 1976 for AY 1977‑78 and 1978‑79 should be allowed as …

The Rajasthan Government created District Rural Development Agencies (DRDAs) as societies funded entirely by the State to implement various poverty‑alleviation schemes. Employees, including Class‑III and Class‑IV staff, were appointed on temporary six‑month contracts under the State Rural Development Agency Employees S…

The contractors M.K. Shah Engineers and Chabaldas & Sons were engaged by the State of Madhya Pradesh to construct the Barna Main Dam. Their contracts contained an arbitration clause requiring a prior decision by the Superintending Engineer (SE) and a 28‑day notice to challenge it before arbitration could be invoked. Th…

The Moharrirs/peons of Municipal Council Hatta filed an application under Section 22 of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 seeking overtime pay for four extra hours worked daily during February‑March 1982‑83. The Labour Court allowed the application, but the High Court dismissed the Municipal Council's petition. On appeal, th…

The consumer complained that a bottle of "Lehar Pepsi" he purchased was adulterated with fungus, leading to a complaint under the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954. The Special Judicial Magistrate summoned Pepsi Foods Ltd. and others, but the appellants challenged the summons in the High Court, which dismissed …

The Supreme Court revisited the implementation of its earlier Mandal judgment, which required the exclusion of socially advanced persons (the "creamy layer") from reservations for Other Backward Classes (OBCs). The State of Kerala had repeatedly failed to comply with the Court's directions despite multiple extensions, …

The case concerned the validity of amendments to the Indian Meteorological Service (Group A) Recruitment Rules of 1978 and 1983, which broadened the field of consideration for promotion to the post of Meteorological Grade‑I (MG‑I) by equating service experience across different grades (MG‑II and Assistant Meteorologist…

A press communique issued from Rashtrapati Bhawan on 23 January 1992 announced that the President would confer the Bharat Ratna posthumously on Subhash Chandra Bose. Petitioners filed a writ petition seeking recall, cancellation and revocation of the award, and also demanded information on Bose's whereabouts. The Gover…

The appellants, a firm, voluntarily disclosed undisclosed income for the years 1958-65 before any tax authority detection and filed a statement of affairs. The Assessing Officer initiated penalty proceedings under Section 271(1)(c) of the Income Tax Act, imposing a penalty of Rs. 4,90,365, which was upheld by the Incom…

M/s. Sahney Paris Ltd. manufactured self‑starter motors for motor vehicles and submitted a classification list placing them under Tariff Item 68 of the Central Excise Tariff. The Assistant Collector and subsequent authorities re‑classified the items under Tariff Item 30, treating them as electric motors, and levied exc…

The Coir Board, a statutory body established under the Coir Industry Act, 1953, dismissed several temporary clerks and typists who claimed that their termination was governed by Chapter V‑A of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. The Kerala High Court held that the Board qualified as an "industry" under the Act, making t…

Rati Pal Saroj, an Under Secretary of the UPSC, was offered an IAS appointment which he accepted but could not join as a probationer because he was not relieved from his previous post. A CBI FIR later alleged his involvement in a conspiracy to tamper with his examination answer sheets. The Government withdrew the appoi…

The dispute arose between two branches of the Modi family over the division of assets and companies following a 1989 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). Clause 9 of the MOU referred any implementation disputes to the Chairman of the Industrial Finance Corporation of India (IFCI), whose decision was final and binding. Th…

The S.R.M.M.CT.M. Tiruppani Trust, a charitable trust for temple repairs and related activities, resolved in 1963 to accumulate its income for ten years and filed Form 10 under Section 11(2) of the Income‑Tax Act. In the assessment year 1970‑71 it realised Rs 8 lakhs from an advance to a firm, which it used to purchase…

Kishorilal Bablani qualified for the IAS in 1974 and was placed in Class II service because the number of Class I vacancies was allegedly miscomputed. He claimed that 97 Class I posts should have been notified, not 40, and sought appointment under the 50% direct‑recruit/50% promotee quota. The Central Administrative Tr…

The case concerned the appointment of Dr. Kumar Bar Das as Professor (SBI Chair) at Utkal University. The advertisement required "about ten years experience of teaching and/or research". The Selection Committee, after evaluating his combined teaching (7 years 7 months) and research (1 year 5 months) experience, recomme…

The State of Punjab ordered the repatriation of constables who had been deputed to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) for many years, directing them to return to their parent police departments as constables or head constables. The respondents challenged the order, arguing that they should retain the higher ra…

The Gram Panchayat of village Kakran challenged an order of the Additional Director of Consolidation dated 23 May 1996, which granted a portion of Bachat land to the second respondent after he filed an application under Section 42 of the East Punjab Holdings (Consolidation and Prevention of Fragmentation) Act, 1948. Th…

The Nizam of Hyderabad, Sir Mir Osman Ali Khan, executed two deeds of trust in 1953 creating wakf‑al‑aulad for his granddaughter Oalia Kulsum and his daughter‑in‑law Anwar Begum, with benefits flowing to their descendants and ultimately to a holy shrine. After his death in 1967, the estate duty authorities treated the …

Gomathi Ammal, a Hindu female, died intestate. Her husband and only son had predeceased her, and the appellant, the widow of that pre‑deceased son, filed a suit for declaration of ownership of the deceased's properties. The High Court held that the appellant was not an heir because at the time of the husband's death th…

Continental Construction Ltd., a civil construction company with overseas projects, paid remuneration to its directors, some of whom were also employees posted outside India. The Income‑Tax Officer disallowed amounts exceeding the Rs 72,000 ceiling per director under sections 40(c) and 40A(5)(a) of the Income‑Tax Act, …

Two homoeopathic colleges, Bhartiya Homoeopathy College, Bharatpur and Yuvraj Pratap Senior Memorial Homoeopathy Medical College, Alwar, were affiliated to the Rajasthan Board of Homoeopathic Medicine and conducted B.H.M.S. examinations through the Board until 1994. The State Government, following a Supreme Court decis…

The case concerned a scheme for the administration of the Devarajaswamy Temple at Kancheepuram, originally settled in 1909 under Section 92 of the Code of Civil Procedure and modified in 1941 under the Madras Hindu Religious Endowments Act, 1927. In 1982 the Deputy Commissioner of Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowme…

The Allahabad Jal Sansthan created the post of Finance Officer in 1978 without prior State Government approval and promoted the appellant to that post in 1986. In 1992 the State Government ordered his reversion to Accounts Officer, alleging that the post creation and promotion were irregular under Section 27 of the U.P…

The U.P. State Sugar Corporation Ltd., a government‑owned company, sought to sell eight loss‑making sugar units. Its net‑worth had fallen by more than 50%, making it a potentially sick industrial company under the Sick Industrial Companies (Special Provisions) Act, 1985. The corporation sent a letter dated 7‑11 May 199…

Raja Radio Co imported Class‑E high‑temperature resisting material consisting of presspahn paper laminated with polyester film and paid customs duty under heading 39.01/06 of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975, together with counter‑vailing duty under tariff item 17(2). The company later claimed a refund, arguing that the go…

The Uttar Pradesh Avas evam Vikas Parishad (the Housing Board) allotted flats under a self‑financing scheme but delayed possession, later demanding an escalated price and 18% interest from the allottees. The Allahabad High Court upheld the price escalation but held the interest excessive, directing the Board to relax i…

The appellants, representing teachers and staff of aided non‑government schools in Madhya Pradesh, challenged orders of the Regional Provident Fund Commissioner directing contributions to the Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) for the period 1 August 1982 to 1 December 1988, alleging that the Madhya Pradesh Ashaskiya Siks…

An ex‑serviceman (respondent No. 1) was re‑employed by the ESI Corporation as a Lower Division Clerk. His salary was fixed at the minimum of the prescribed pay scale under Government Order (G.O.) dated 8 February 1983, and he was also entitled to his full military pension. He contended that, for the purpose of assessin…

The Supreme Court examined amendments made by the Madhya Pradesh Government to the 1973 Recruitment Rules for Assistant Teachers under the Operation Black Board Scheme, which introduced a proviso allowing the State to prescribe selection criteria and procedures in specific circumstances and set the qualification as Bas…

In the 1995 Vidhan Sabha election for the Lakhisarai constituency, respondent No.1 was declared elected. The appellant, Ashwini Kumar Sharma, filed an election petition under Section 100(1)(d)(iii) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, alleging irregularities and illegalities in the counting of votes, includin…

The U.P. Cooperative Federation Ltd. terminated Ram Singh Yadav's employment on the ground of wilful absence without giving the one‑month notice or salary in lieu required by Regulation 19 of the U.P. Cooperative Societies Employees' Service Regulations, 1975, and without conducting a disciplinary enquiry as mandated b…

The case concerned members of the Reserved Trained Pool (RTP) of the Posts and Telegraphs Department who, after being absorbed as regular employees, claimed the benefits granted to casual labourers under the 1989 Casual Labourers (Grant of Temporary Status and Regularisation) Scheme. The Central Administrative Tribunal…

The Rajasthan State advertised a post in 1992 requiring a technical qualification (B.S.T.C. or equivalent) to be possessed by the application deadline of 29 June 1992. Hitendra Kumar Bhatt applied but did not have the qualification on that date; his results were declared only on 6 August 1992. He obtained an interim or…

Purna Chandra Nanda, a Veterinary Extension Officer, was posted as Dairy Overseer in 1969 and claimed promotion to Dairy Supervisor, subsequently serving as Farm Manager. He sought equal pay for equal work, arguing that the Farm Manager post, being interchangeable, entitled him to the pay scale of a Class II Gazetted o…

The HAL Employees Union appealed against a lock-out imposed by the employer from 4/5 June 1978 to 18 June 1978, during which wages were deducted. The Industrial Tribunal had held the lock-out to be both legal and justified, and therefore no wage claim arose. The appellant argued that the strike preceding the lock-out w…

The appellant, initially appointed as a Store Munshi in a work‑charged establishment, was later regularised and promoted to Store Keeper in the regular cadre. A rationalisation scheme dated 5 September 1988 was introduced to align pay scales and promotional avenues of work‑charged employees with those in the regular ca…

The appellants, the widow of K. Moosa Hajj and others, claimed possession of land belonging to the Sree Lakshmi Narasimha Temple, asserting rights based on an original 1921 agreement for 3½ cents and a later purchase certificate covering 10‑3/10 cents. The temple's Executive Officer filed a suit for eviction, and while…

In the 1995 Bihar Legislative Assembly election for the Bokaro constituency, the Returning Officer rejected the nomination papers of two workers, a Khalasi and a Meter Reader employed by Bokaro Steel Plant, on the ground that they were "managing agents" of the plant and thus disqualified under Section 10 of the Represe…

The State of Kerala issued notifications under Section 71 of the Kerala Revenue Recovery Act, 1968 to enable banks and the Kerala Financial Corporation to recover agricultural loans through a speedy summary procedure. The respondents argued that even if the loans were time‑barred under the Limitation Act, the Act’s pro…