Deep Association of Money and Politics

The fear of reprisal and vindictiveness does not evaporate. The so-called protection exists only on paper. – Hon’ble Justice Sanjiv Khanna, Association for Democratic Reforms v. Union of India, [Writ Petition (Civil) No. 880 of 2017]. Constitution guarantees a right to informational privacy of political affiliation. Can such right be extended to contributions to political […]

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Adani Group of Companies

‘Acceptance of a Brief by a Lawyer’ in 2007 cannot be construed to reflect ‘bias’ or even a ‘likelihood of bias’ in 2023. There is an absence of proximity both in terms of time and subject matter. Writ Petitions filed before this Court raised concerns over precipitate decline in investor wealth and volatility in share […]

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Referred to Larger Bench XXV Answered Again: Doctrine of Separability of Arbitration Agreement

Curative Petition (C) No. 44 of 2023 Review Petition (C) No. 704 of 2021 Civil Appeal No. 1599 of 2020 _____ Approach of Majority in N.N. Global 2 would render unstamped agreements void ab initio and not void. _____ We enter into contracts or agreements several times in our interactions with others. To hold an […]

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Referred to Larger Bench XXVIII Answered: Chloro Controls

Vladimir Nabokov and T.S. Elliot eulogized Ulysses as a divine work of art. Virginia Woolf and Aldous Huxley criticized Ulysses for being technical and boring. It is celebrated by some, reviled by many others. Yet, its legacy continues. The Doctrine of Group of Companies. It provides, an Arbitration Agreement which is entered into by a Company within a Group […]

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Non Est Factum

The plea of non est factum basically means, ‘it is not my deed’. In Re: Saunders v Anglia Building Society, (1970) 3 ALL ER 961. A. The person pleading non est factum must belong to “class of persons, who through no fault of their own, are unable to have any understanding of the purpose of […]

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Referred to Larger Bench XXV Answered: Doctrine of Separability of Arbitration Agreement

Intercontinental Hotels Group (India) Private Ltd. v. Waterline Hotels Pvt. Ltd., 2022 SCC OnLine SC 83 on issue of insufficiently/incorrectly stamped documents, proceeded to appoint an Arbitrator under Section 11(6) of The Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 – considering, time-sensitivity. A sufferance of stamp deficiency is a curable defect.   Arbitration Act does not specifically […]

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Compound Interest

A wide variety of rival submissions have been presented before us on whether Consumer Fora had been justified in awarding and approving ‘compound interest’. An attempt to seek ‘compound interest’ in such real estate dealings did not meet with approval of this Court and in Ireo Grace Realtech Pvt. Ltd. v. Abhishek Khanna, (2021) 3 […]

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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. […]

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Air Purifier

The question would arise, whether invention claimed in ‘Air Decontamination Assembly’ [Application No. 201741016833] is no more than a workshop improvement/mere application of an old contrivance? Can it be described as a lucky accident? In opinion of this Court, subject invention is not a mere addition to a well-known combination. It has some new features […]

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Rana Ayyub

The Prevention of Money-Laundering Act, 2002 provides for a two-pronged approach, one for dealing with ‘proceeds of crime’ and other for dealing with persons guilty of offence of money-laundering. As articulated in Kaushik Chatterjee v. State of Haryana, (2020) 10 SCC 92 jurisdiction of a Criminal Court is determined by (i) offence and/or (ii) offender. […]

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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 […]

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Simplicity in Invention

Windsurfing International Inc. v. Tabur Marine Ltd., [1985] RPC 59; England and Wales Court of Appeals in Pozzoli Spa v. BDMO SA, [2006] EWHC 1398 (Ch); F Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. v. Cipla Ltd., 2016 (65) PTC 1 (DEL); Bristol-Myers Squibb Holdings Ireland Unlimited Company v. BDR Pharmaceuticals International Pvt. Ltd., (2020) SCC OnLine Del 1700; […]

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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 […]

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Star

HTC Corporation v. L.V. Degao, 2022 SCC OnLine Del 953 has held, where there are two registered trademarks, registration of the later trade mark may be refused or cancelled: (i) when deception or confusion results, (ii) there is a dishonest user, (iii) subsequent use is without due cause, (iv) there is bad faith, or (v) […]

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Burden of Proof

It is trite to refer to tenets laid down in Palermo and Vienna Conventions. There has been a consensus, acquisition-possession-use-concealing or disguising illicit origin of illegitimately obtained money to evade legal consequences would be money-laundering. However, growth of jurisprudence in this law did not stop or end…    _____ We hold, Section 24 of The […]

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Non-Signatories to Arbitration III

The principle for binding Non-Signatories as laid down in Chloro Controls India Pvt. Ltd. v. Severn Trent Water Purification Inc., (2013) 1 SCC 641 was applied in context of a Domestic Arbitration in Ameet Lalchand Shah v. Rishabh Enterprises, (2018) 15 SCC 678. Three-Judge Bench of this Court in Cheran Properties Ltd. v. Kasturi & […]

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Abandonment

It is fundamental, whenever a material alteration takes place in terms of the original contract, on account of any act of omission or commission on part of one party, it is open to the other party not to perform the original contract. This will not amount to abandonment. Moreover, abandonment is normally understood in context […]

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Question of Law

Phrases – such as: ‘question of law’ – are open textual expressions, used in statutes to convey a certain meaning which Legislature would not have intended to be read in a pedantic manner. When words allow narrow as well as wide interpretations, Courts have developed art and technique of finding correct meanings by looking at […]

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