“In Halsbury’s Laws of England (5th Edition – Volume 60, Para 105) principle of Contra Proferentem rule is stated thus: “where there is ambiguity in the policy, Court will apply the Contra Proferentem rule. Where a policy is produced by the insurers, it is their business to see that precision and clarity are attained and, if […]
Read more "The Contra Proferentem Rule II"It is widely known, Dashrath Rupsingh Rathod v. State of Maharashtra, (2014) 9 SCC 129 gave rise to further ‘territorial jurisdiction conundrum’. In Bridgestone India, 2015 (13) SCALE 155 decided on 24.11.2015, “in order to overcome the legal position declared by Court in Dashrath,” attention was drawn to The Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Second Ordinance, 2015. […]
Read more "Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Second Ordinance, 2015"Where an agreement is ambiguous, the preferred meaning should be the one that works against the interests of the party who provided the wording. The principle is Contra Proferentem, also known as ‘interpretation against the draftsman’. Such rules are rarely if ever of any assistance when it comes to construing commercial contracts. The principle may […]
Read more "The Contra Proferentem Rule I"“It is well settled that in a case where there is a repealing clause to a particular Act, it is a case of express repeal, but in a case where doctrine of implied repeal is to be applied, the matter will have to be determined by taking into account the exact meaning and scope of […]
Read more "The Principle, Rule, Doctrine of Implied Repeal I"‘Stare Decisis’ is a Latin phrase which means “to stand by decided cases; to uphold precedents; to maintain former adjudication.” SC in Paragraph 26-A, Indra Sawhney, (1992) 3 SCC 217 observed, in law, certainty/consistency/continuity are highly desirable features. Doctrine of Stare Decisis is not an ‘imprisonment of reason‘. Concepts are good servants but bad masters. […]
Read more "Stare Decisis, Not Logic Intolerant"To convict for the offence punishable under Section 304-B, the following essentials must be satisfied: (i) The death of a woman must have been caused by burns or bodily injury or otherwise than under normal circumstances; “Section 304B IPC does not categorize death as homicidal or suicidal or accidental. This is because death caused by […]
Read more "Landmark Judgment on Dowry Deaths"My Lord, Is there a Fundamental Distinction between a “Repeal” and an “Omission” in that in the case of a “Repeal” the Statute is obliterated from the very beginning whereas in the case of an “Omission” what gets omitted is only from the date of “Omission” and not before? No. We do not find any […]
Read more "Lawyer Profiles II: Repeal v. Omission"It is well settled, if a contract is in several parts, some of which are legal and enforceable and some are unenforceable, lawful parts can be enforced provided they are substantially severable and not merely textually divisible [Shin Satellite, (2006) 2 SCC 628]. Court must consider the question whether the parties could have agreed on […]
Read more "Substantial Severability v. Textual Divisibility"It is well settled that a “means and includes” definition is exhaustive in nature and that there is no scope to read anything further into the said definition. Hon’ble Justice Nariman has yet again quoted P. Kasilingam v. PSG College of Technology, 1995 Supp (2) SCC 348 to re-establish the proposition [See, State Bank of […]
Read more "A “Means and Includes” Definition III"“We are conscious of the principle that the word ‘or’ is normally disjunctive and ‘and’ is normally conjunctive. However, there may be circumstances where these words are to be read as vice-versa to give effect to manifest intention of Legislature as disclosed from the context. Of course, these two words normally ‘or’ and ‘and’ are […]
Read more "Disjunctive, Conjunctive I"My Lord, Per Incuriam? “In Mamleshwar Prasad, (1975) 3 SCR 834, Krishna Iyer, J., succinctly laid down what is meant by the per incuriam principle. He stated: “We do not intend to detract from the rule that, in exceptional instances, whereby obvious inadvertence or oversight a Judgment fails to notice a plain statutory provision or […]
Read more "Per Incuriam I"Hon’ble Justice Vikramajit Sen turns 65 on the last day of this year and retires duly. I shall forever associate him with ‘precedents’. What binds and what holds is a recurrent theme in several of his Judgments. Rashmi Metaliks, (2013) 10 SCC 95: SC often has to “face lengthy arguments in each case because of the […]
Read more "Sen J I"“As has been stated by us above, ‘means’ ‘and includes’ is a legislative device by which the ‘includes’ part brings by way of extension various persons, categories, or things which would not otherwise have been included in the ‘means’ part. If this is so, obviously both parts cannot be read conjunctively. What is in the […]
Read more "A “Means and Includes” Definition II"It is always interesting to note References to a Larger Bench, ones especially made on account of ‘difference’ of opinions amongst Equal Bench Strengths. Eventually, it is flocculation of law of the land; per incuriam decisions stand filtered, retaining still its historical significance. Which SC Judge is known to have scripted, most number of per incuriam decisions? […]
Read more "Referred to Larger Bench II (Answered): Suits of Borrower Against Banks"In Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation v. Rajendra Bhimrao, (2001) 10 SCC 51 a Two-Judge Bench [Babu and Raju JJ] held, “the rules of the game, meaning thereby the criteria for selection, cannot be altered by the authorities concerned in the middle or after the process of selection has commenced.” In K. Manjusree, (2008) 3 SCC 512 […]
Read more "Referred to Larger Bench I: The Rules of The Game Principle"Oft-Repeated Statement, Supreme Court Judges: “STATUTES SHOULD BE CONSTRUED NOT AS THEOREM OF EUCLID… WORDS MUST BE CONSTRUED WITH SOME IMAGINATION OF THE PURPOSES WHICH LIE BEHIND THEM“. Theorem of Euclid not purposively imagined? A strange notion has been harbored all these years that mathematics is purely mechanical. Euclid’s Theorem: “THERE ARE INFINITELY MANY PRIMES”. Without a […]
Read more "Euclid’s Theorem I"Hon’ble Justice Nariman has the penchant for stating what is ‘settled’. Sitting Judges have something to learn from the confidence of his authorship. “It is well settled that the provisions of a statute must be read harmoniously together.” “However, if this is not possible then it is settled law that where there is a conflict […]
Read more "‘Settled’ Principles of Interpretation"In 1818, Abraham Thornton, acquitted on a charge of murdering Mary Ashford, on being rearrested, claimed a trial by combat. The prosecution stated that a law ought to become invalid if it was not used for centuries. The Court, however, had to “administer the law as they found it, and not as they wished it […]
Read more "Desuetude"It is rare for an Advocate to be directly appointed as a Judge of Hon’ble Supreme Court of India. It is even more rare, he/she shall become a Judge in a day. I am inclined to believe, Hon’ble Justice R.F. Nariman is still an Advocate in his heart. The manner in which he quotes precedents […]
Read more "A “Means and Includes” Definition I"The omission to cite an authority of law is not a ground for review. It is Counsel’s error to have not brought to notice of Court, relevant precedents. Citing of authority, therefore, often offers problems to the Bar. There is sometimes the question of how many cases to cite. “Especially since, we have not yet […]
Read more "The Proverbial Chickens of Destiny"
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