Well-Known Principles of Interpretation

“Court’s task is to ascertain the intention of the parties by examining the words they used and giving them their ordinary meaning in their contractual context. It must start with what it is given by the parties themselves when it is conducting this exercise. Effect is to be given to every word, so far as […]

Contracts of Insurance I

“Contracts of insurance are governed by the principle of utmost good faith. The duty of mutual fair dealing requires all parties to a contract to be fair and open with each other to create and maintain trust between them. In a contract of insurance, the insured can be expected to have information of which she/he […]

Section 12(5) of The Arbitration Act III

“Section 12(5) is a new provision which relates to the de jure inability of an Arbitrator to act as such. Under this provision, any prior agreement to the contrary is wiped out by the non-obstante clause in Section 12(5) the moment any person whose relationship with the parties or the Counsel or the subject matter […]

Four Crore Apartment

“Araya Complex”, Sector 62, Golf Course Extension Road, Gurugram Respondent/Flat Purchaser – Apartment Buyer’s Agreement – Appellant/Builder. Appellant/Builder, Failed! Respondent/Flat Purchaser, NCDRC, Consumer Complaint. “Respondent – Flat Purchaser could not be compelled to take possession at such a belated stage. The inordinate delay in handing over possession of the flat clearly amounts to ‘deficiency of service’. A […]

Malaria in Mozambique

“Court is tasked with determining whether a death due to malaria occasioned by a mosquito bite in Mozambique, constituted a death due to accident. Debashis Bhattacharjee was working as a Manager of a Tea Factory at Cha-De-Magoma, District: Gurue, Province: Zambezia, Republic of Mozambique. In order to constitute an accident, the event must be in […]

Arbitrariness in Arbitration Clauses

“It shall be essential, a party invoking Arbitration shall specify amount claimed and shall furnish a ‘deposit-at-call’ for 10% of amount claimed. In event of an award in favour, deposit shall be refunded to him in proportion to amount awarded w.r.t. amount claimed and balance, if any, shall be forfeited and paid to other party.” […]

The Law on Compensation for Breach of Contract IV

“One neat question arises before this Court, which is, whether, when parties are governed by contract, a claim in quantum meruit under Section 70 of The Indian Contract Act, 1872 would be permissible. Section 70 occurs in Chapter V of The Contract Act. An early Judgment reported as Moselle Solomon v. Martin & Co., ILR […]

Referred to Larger Bench XV: Gracious Compassion

Original Scheme – Appointment on Compassionate Grounds Substituted Scheme – Ex Gratia Payment ________ State Bank of India, (2010) 11 SCC 661 + MGB Gramin Bank, (2014) 13 SCC 583 Governing Scheme: Original Scheme or Substituted Scheme? Answer/Principle: ‘Inconsistent’, ‘Irreconcilable’. Canara Bank, (2015) 7 SCC 412 ________ “Bench of Appropriate Strength.” Hon’ble Justice U.U. Lalit […]

Section 16 of The Hindu Marriage Act / Compassionate Appointment I

“The policy of compassionate appointment is premised on the death of an employee while in harness. The death of an employee is liable to render the family in a position of financial hardship and need. Compassionate appointment is intended to alleviate the hardship that the family of a deceased employee may face upon premature death […]

Section 2(e) of The Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972

07.01.2019 My Lord, Teachers are Employees under Section 2(e) of The Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972? “No. Clearly Not. See, Ahmedabad Pvt. Primary Teachers’ Association, (2004) 1 SCC 755.” – Hon’ble Justice Abhay Manohar Sapre, Birla Institute of Technology v. State of Jharkhand, [Civil Appeal No. 2530 of 2012]. _____ 09.01.2019 My Lord, Teachers are […]

Relief of Specific Performance

“The material questions, which are required to be gone into for grant of the relief of specific performance, are first, whether there exists a valid and concluded contract between the parties for sale/purchase of the suit property; second, whether the plaintiff has been ready and willing to perform his part of contract and whether he […]

The Law on Compensation for Breach of Contract III

“Every breach of contract gives rise to an action for damages. Innocent party is to be placed, so far as money can do so, in the same position as if the contract had been performed. The aforesaid proposition remains to hold the field. This rule is more qualified when it comes to the real estate […]

Section 482 of The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 III: Deception at Inception

“There can be no doubt, a mere breach of contract is not in itself a criminal offence. However, as held by this Court in Hridaya Ranjan Prasad, (2000) 4 SCC 168 the distinction between mere breach of contract and cheating, which is a criminal offence, is a fine one. Breach of contract would amount to […]

The Nature of Judicial Power: 36 Rafale Fighter Jets

“The issues arising relate to procurement of 36 Rafale Fighter Jets for Indian Airforce. It is our considered opinion/view, extent of permissible judicial review in matters of contracts, procurement, etc. would vary with subject matter of contract and there cannot be any uniform standard or depth of judicial review which could be understood as an […]

Section 7(5) of The Arbitration Act III

“The Bill of Lading makes it clear that the ‘merchant’ expressly agrees to be bound by all the terms, conditions, clauses and exceptions on both sides of The Bill of Lading whether typed, printed or otherwise. The Arbitration Clause is Clause 25, printed and annexed to The Bill of Lading. Respondent has expressly agreed to […]

Section 14(3)(c)(iii) of The Specific Relief Act, 1963

“The Specific Relief (Amendment) Act, 2018 amended Section 14. In the present case, we are not called upon to examine the effect of this amended provision. The issue before this Court is whether Section 14(3)(c)(iii) is a bar to a suit by a developer for specific performance of a development agreement between himself and the […]

Medical Negligence and Consumer Law I

“A surgeon cannot and does not guarantee that the result of surgery would invariably be beneficial, much less to the extent of 100% for the person operated on. The only assurance which such a professional can give or can be understood to have given by implication is that he is possessed of the requisite skill […]

Moral Turpitude I

Dio non fa mai retromarcia con il suo amore Offences involving ‘moral turpitude’ were in discussion recently in Union Bank of India v. C.G. Ajay Babu, [Civil Appeal No. 8251 of 2018]. You may read Section 4(6)(b) of The Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972. ‘Moral turpitude’ describes conducts which are: inherently vile, depraved; immodest; shameful and wicked [Pawan Kumar, (1996) 4 SCC 17 and Sushil […]

The Writ of Quo Warranto I

“Writ of Quo Warranto cannot be issued on basis of assumptions, inferences or suspicion regarding factum of fulfillment of eligibility criteria. Being an extraordinary power, ordinarily such a Writ ought to be issued only on basis of indisputable facts leading to a singular conclusion – incumbent was in fact or in law disqualified to occupy […]

Section 7(5) of The Arbitration Act II

Supreme Court considered the ‘incorporation by reference’ issue in M.R. Engineers and Contractors Private Limited v. Som Datt Builders Limited, (2009) 7 SCC 696 (2 Judges). An important proposition in M.R. Engineers was a distinction Court made between “standard form contracts” and other contracts. Relying on observations in Russel on Arbitration, (23rd Edition, 2007) Court held, an Arbitration […]

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Contract Law