Case Briefs Archives

New Suit, New Mediation: Calcutta HC Reaffirms Mandatory Section 12A Compliance Under the Commercial Courts Act

The Court reiterated the golden rule of law that when a specific statutory provision to do certain act is codified under the statute, such an act must be and should be done in the same manner as codified under the statute or not at all. Any other mode is expressly forbidden in law.

Unfreezing of Wine Trader's Bank Account

Case Briefs High Courts

A Purchaser’s ₹1,000 UPI Payment Froze a Trader’s Entire Bank Account: AP HC Says That’s Unlawful; Orders Unfreezing

The Court directed that the petitioner’s bank account be unfrozen holding that freezing the account at the instance of the cyber cell, on the basis of a single UPI transaction of ₹1000 from vendee, without notice and without following due process of law was unsustainable, contrary to law and illegal.

Case Briefs District Court

Multiple FIRs with substantially similar allegations? Delhi District Court grants bail; says arrest not a mechanical sequel to FIR

The Court observed that arrest is not designed to operate as a punitive measure nor as an instrument for demonstrating the authority of the investigating agency.

Case Briefs High Courts

Not a matter of State charity, but an unassailable constitutional right; Tenure based Senior Residents/Tutors cannot be denied Maternity Benefits: J&K and Ladakh HC

The Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court ruled that maternity benefits cannot be curtailed based on the nature of employment and that withholding salary during maternity leave unfairly penalises motherhood.

Case Briefs High Courts

Confined at Home for Three Months: Manipur HC Secures Woman’s Return to Delhi to Marry on Her Own Terms

A 29-year-old woman was allegedly kept from leaving her own home for nearly three months, her phone and laptop taken away, after traveling to Manipur for what she believed were wedding preparations.

domicile certificate continuous residence requirement

Case Briefs High Courts

Two-Year Educational Break Due to Parent’s Transfer Cannot Break Continuous Residence Requirement; Gujarat HC Directs Issuance of Domicile Certificate

The Court held applicable rules did not prescribe a mandatory requirement of 10ten years’’ continuous physical residence, and such a condition could not be introduced or enlarged through executive or administrative instructions.

Case Briefs Supreme Court

Can an Office Memorandum Create a Perpetual Ex Post Facto Environmental Clearance Regime? Supreme Court Answers

The Court observed that environmental adjudication requires reconciling 2 competing constitutional aspirations, the fundamental right of present and future generations to live in a pollution-free environment and the developmental aspirations of a nation comprising nearly one-sixth of humanity.

Case Briefs Tribunals/Commissions/Regulatory Bodies

CCI penalises HP India and authorised resellers for bid rigging and cartelisation in Government e-Marketplace tenders

The Commission held that an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), even though not itself participating as a bidder in public procurement, can incur liability under Section 3(3) read with Section 3(1) of the Competition Act, 2002 where it actively facilitates coordination amongst competing downstream resellers through exchange of commercially sensitive information, selective issuance of Manufacturer Authorisation Forms (MAFs), allocation of customers, coordination of bids and arrangement of cover bids. The Commission further held that the conduct of HP India and the resellers amounted to a contravention of the provisions relating to anti-competitive agreements and bid rigging under the Act.

round-the-clock access to constitutional courts

Case Briefs Supreme Court

E-Filing, Vacation Officers, Midnight Hearings: Supreme Court says System Already Ensures Round the Clock Access to Urgent Constitutional Remedies

Supreme Court held that the existing judicial framework, including e-filing, virtual hearings and urgent listing mechanisms, adequately ensures round-the-clock access to constitutional remedies in cases involving imminent threats to life, liberty and other fundamental rights.

Ex-Husband Wrongly Named as Father on Birth Certificate

Case Briefs High Courts

Child Conceived During Separation, But Ex-Husband’s Name Went on the Birth Certificate: Bombay HC Orders Correction to Biological Father

The Court held that with adequate material like a DNA test and joint acknowledgment of parentage, Section 15, Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969 permits correction of the birth certificate to replace the former husband’s name with that of the biological father.

Case Briefs High Courts

Delhi High Court restrains use of “ZEPTO FINANCE”; says deceptively similar marks prima facie infringe ZEPTO trade marks and cause public confusion

Delhi High Court granted interim protection to “ZEPTO” trade marks, restraining the defendants from using “ZEPTO FINANCE” and other deceptively similar marks.

Case Briefs Supreme Court

Section 14 IBC Moratorium Applies Only to Corporate Debtor: Supreme Court

The Court held that the moratorium under Section 14 IBC protects only the corporate debtor and does not bar consumer proceedings against promoters, directors, landowners or other non-corporate debtor respondents.

Case Briefs Foreign Courts

A Person’s Caste Has No Place in an FIR: Pakistan SC issues directions banning caste, conversion status references in FIRs, arrest memos

The Court opined that practices of prefixing or suffixing names with caste identifiers in official police records perpetuate a social ill that the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan explicitly and unequivocally aims to eradicate.

Tinder relationship false promise of marriage

Case Briefs High Courts

A Sour Relationship Isn’t a False Promise: Uttaranchal HC Quashes Rape Charge Over Tinder Match

It was alleged by the applicant that the social website named “Tinder app” is not a matrimonial site, but is a popular site among youngsters, and the said website is meant for making friends.

National Commission for Scheduled Castes powers

Case Briefs Supreme Court

Whether NCSC can adjudicate service disputes and issue binding directions under Article 338 of the Constitution? Supreme Court Answers

The Court stated that National Commission for Scheduled Castes has powers to requisition documents and receive evidence, but it does not have the power to make an order in furtherance of that evidence.

Punjab National Bank illegal money transfer email hacking

Case Briefs Tribunals/Commissions/Regulatory Bodies

A Senior Citizen NRI’s Hacked Email and an Unverified Transfer of USD 92,420: PNB Held Liable and Directed to Pay Unrecovered Amount with Interest

A senior citizen NRI’s email was hacked, and Punjab National Bank wired USD 92,420 to Singapore on email instructions alone, without verification or authentication. The Adjudicating Officer held the bank liable for the unrecovered balance, with interest.

Exclusive jurisdiction clause indicates seat of arbitration

Case Briefs Supreme Court

Exclusive jurisdiction clause can indicate seat of arbitration: Supreme Court dismisses SLP against Delhi HC order appointing Sole Arbitrator

The Court dismissed a special leave petition challenging the Delhi High Court’s order appointing a Sole Arbitrator under Section 11, Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. The Court upheld the view that an exclusive jurisdiction clause, in the context of arbitration proceedings, can be construed as indicative of the seat of arbitration.

Case Briefs Supreme Court

What the Supreme Court Actually Directed on NEET Paper Leak Protest Violence

The Court directed that all CCTV footage, drone footage, body-worn camera recordings, videography, wireless communication records, and PCR lodge collections related to the students’ protest be preserved.

Case Briefs Supreme Court

Section 38 BNSS Confers Right to Meet, Not Continuous Presence of Advocate During Interrogation: SC Modifies Police Custody Conditions

The Court modified the impugned condition and directed that an advocate would be permitted to remain at a place from where he could see the respondent but would not be permitted to intervene in the investigation “at any cost”.

Case Briefs High Courts

IBC Moratorium Not a Safe Harbour Against Section 138 NI Act Prosecution; Directors Can’t Escape Cheque Dishonour Liability: Punjab and Haryana HC

The High Court object of the moratorium is merely to postpone civil debt enforcement and not to shield an accused from criminal accountability arising out of dishonour of cheques.