Principles of Natural Justice VIII / The Revival of Ray XCI

RBI has been issuing ‘Master Directions’ on diverse issues since 2016. Every proceeding which involves civil consequences or adversely affects a citizen should be in accordance with Principles of Natural Justice. Erusian Equipment & Chemicals Ltd. v. State of West Bengal, (1975) 1 SCC 70 held, since blacklisting affects privileges of a blacklisted person, fundamentals […]

Claim of Juvenility V / Review of Death Penalty XXXV

This is an application under Section 9(2) of The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015. As regards maintainability, Vinod Katara v. State of Uttar Pradesh, 2022 SCC OnLine SC 1204 explained rationale for raising belated claim of juvenility. It has crossed our mind, whether a boy of 12 years could commit […]

SC Resolves Conflict Between NI Act & IBC

Rainbow Papers Limited sought loans from Tourism Finance Corporation of India Limited and issued post-dated cheques which stood dishonoured. Criminal Complaint was filed before Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Saket Courts, New Delhi. Neeraj Paper Agencies Limited requested initiation of Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process against Rainbow Papers Limited. The scope of nature of proceedings are quite different. […]

Drugs & Cosmetics

It was permissible for Registered Medical Practitioner-S. Athilakshmi to practice medicine when not performing her duty as an Associate Professor and Head of Dermatology Department in Government Omandurar Medical College, Chennai. Drugs Inspector sought to prosecute S. Athilakshmi under Section 18(c) of The Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940. S. Athilakshmi had not ‘stocked’ medicines for […]

The Proof of Valid Wills V

The presumption under Section 90 of The Evidence Act, 1872 is inapplicable when it comes to proof of Wills which have to be proved in terms of Sections 63(c) of The Succession Act, 1925 and Section 68 of The Evidence Act, 1872 [M.B. Ramesh v. K.M. Veeraje Urs, (2013) 7 SCC 490]. There are often […]

Magic Formula

My Lord, Political Question? No. Justice Y.V. Chandrachud, as Lordship then was, speaking in Indira Nehru Gandhi v. Raj Narain (1975) Suppl. SCC 1 held, “principle of separation of powers is not a magic formula.” Irrespective of consequences, an honest person would, ordinarily, unrelentingly take on high and mighty and persevere in righteous path. Appointment […]

Primacy of Views IV: The Odisha Lokayukta Act, 2014

Division Bench of High Court set aside an Order of Odisha Lokayukta, in exercise of power conferred under Section 20(1) of The Odisha Lokayukta Act, 2014, to initiate a preliminary inquiry on a complaint received from Mr. Ranjan Kumar Das [Deputy Superintendent of Police, Vigilance Cell Unit, Bhubaneswar] indicating alleged corruption of Dr. Pradip Kumar […]

Unchartered Ocean of Policy Decision VI

R.K. Garg v. Union of India, (1981) 4 SCC 675 laid down, laws relating to economic activities should be viewed with greater latitude than laws touching civil rights such as freedom of speech, religion, et cetera. Bhavesh D. Parish v. Union of India, (2000) 5 SCC 471 observed, while dealing with economic legislation, Court would […]

Unchartered Ocean of Policy Decision V / The Demonetization Recommendation

Shri P. Chidambaram submits, result of demonetization was disastrous. But, if Notification No. 3407(E) [08.11.2016] had a nexus with objectives to be achieved, Notification No. 3407(E) [08.11.2016] would not be bad in law merely because some citizens suffered through hardships. It will not be proper for Court to enter into an area which should be […]

Comparative Advertising III

‘GLUCON-D TANGY ORANGE’ v. ‘DABUR GLUCOPLUS-C ORANGE’ The TV commercial identifies ‘orange glucose’ as ‘product category’. But, is it disparaging in nature? Disparagement is an act of belittling someone’s goods or services with a misleading remark. The TV Commercial does not disparage any ‘orange glucose’ drink. Disparagement cannot be a far-fetched inference. It would […]

The Revival of Ray XC

Constitution Bench in Sukhdev Singh v. Bhagatram Sardar Singh Raghuvanshi, (1975) 1 SCC 421 held, the words ‘rules’ and ‘regulations’ are used in an Act to limit powers of a statutory authority; any action of such bodies in excess of their power or in violation of restrictions placed is ultra vires; statutory bodies cannot use […]

Quia Timet III

Learned Counsel for Appellant-Defendant states, Learned Single Judge has erred in not considering: Respondent-Plaintiff had bypassed Section 12A of The Commercial Courts Act, 2015, which prescribes pre-institution mediation as a mandatory requirement. Respondent-Plaintiff is not only a prior adopter but also a prior registrant and allegation of suppression is irrelevant. Court is in agreement, packaging […]

Quia Timet II / The Drastic Power of Rejecting a Plaint VII

My Lord, Allegations in Plaint are Sufficient? No. In assessing whether a quia timet plaint can be rejected outright [Order 7, Rule 11], Teva Pharmaceutical Industries v. Natco Pharma Limited, (2014) 212 DLT 321 cautions, a quia timet action must not be speculative, merely alleging without factual basis. The statement of claim must allege […]

Writ Jurisdiction in Contractual Arena II / The Revival of Ray LXXXVIII

In Banchhanidhi Rath v. State of Orissa, (1972) 4 SCC 781 this Court declared, if a right is claimed in terms of a contract such a right cannot be enforced in a Writ Petition. In Har Shankar v. Dy. Excise and Taxation Commr., (1975) 1 SCC 737 a Constitution Bench of this Court observed, Writ […]

The Doctrine of Blue Pencil

An insurance contract by its very nature mandates disclosure of all ‘material facts’ by both parties. Manmohan Nanda v. United Insurance, (2022) 4 SCC 582 summarizes same. A contract meant to cover a shop situated in a basement had an exclusion clause which specified, the contract did not cover the basement. Tata AIG General Insurance […]

The Proof of Valid Wills IV / Non-Reportable Mirzapur

Ishwarbhai Madhavbhai Patel served in the Armed Forces from 1961 till his retirement in 1976. In 1990, Ishwarbhai is said to have started ‘Protection and Security Services’. Ishwarbhai breathed his last on 17.01.2021. It was at this stage, a Will, dated 28.05.2018, came to light. Elder Son-Appellant and Wife-Respondent No. 3, Partners, were excluded and […]

No Turn

It is evident, Plaintiff has a registered trade mark – ‘NO TURN’. Plaintiff has been in continuous use of this trade mark since 15.01.2008. Defendant is the prior user of the mark since 2007. The use of the mark by Defendant is intermittent and not voluminous so as to establish the defence under Section 34 […]

One Mark, One Source, One Proprietor

‘Classic Trinity Test’ of ‘Goodwill, Misrepresentation and Damages’ [Reckitt and Colman Products Ltd. v. Borden Inc, [1990] 1 All ER 873] – Satisfied. _____ Both parties claim proprietary rights and utilize the mark ‘GeoCrete’ in respect of identical goods. To permit concurrent use, in factual situation noted, would cause public confusion and result in violation […]

Ex Debito Justitiae II

The principle of ‘ex debito justitiae‘ has been emphasized. No man should suffer because of mistakes of Court. To err is human and Courts including Apex Court are no exception. It has been held, rules of procedure are handmaidens of justice and not mistresses of justice. The principle of ‘ex debito justitiae‘ cannot be given […]

Lord Hale’s Ghost Returns

The concept of dignity forms the very foundation to the Constitution and the rights enshrined in it [Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala, (1973) 4 SCC 225]. _____ Statutes are considered to be ‘always speaking’ [Dharni Sugars and Chemicals Ltd. v. Union of India, (2019) 5 SCC 480]. Court’s power to purposively interpret a statutory […]

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Civil Procedure