Tag: Civil Appeal

Mere Use of Word “Arbitration” Doesn’t Bind Parties: Key Business Contract Lesson from Supreme Court
20Jan By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

Mere Use of Word “Arbitration” Doesn’t Bind Parties: Key Business Contract Lesson from Supreme Court

The Supreme Court held that Clause 8.28 did not constitute a valid arbitration agreement under Section 7 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. The clause lacked essential attributes, such as finality and a binding decision by a neutral tribunal, as it ultimately permitted parties to seek remedies in civil courts if unresolved. Facts Of The Case: The appellant, M/s Alchemist Hospitals Ltd., entered into a Software Implementation Agreement with the respondent, M/s ICT Health Technology Services India Pvt. Ltd., on 1st November 2018 for upgrading its hospital-information software. Following implementation, the appellant alleged persistent technical failures and operational issues with the respondent's "HINAI Web Software," leading to the system being rolled back i...
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Supreme Court: Death of Appellant Before Hearing Renders Appellate Judgment Void
20Jan By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

Supreme Court: Death of Appellant Before Hearing Renders Appellate Judgment Void

The Supreme Court held that a decree passed in favor of deceased appellants, whose legal heirs were not substituted, is a nullity. Consequently, the original trial court decree revives and is executable, as a null appellate decree cannot supersede a valid prior decree. Facts Of The Case: The legal heirs of Arjunrao Thakre filed a civil suit challenging the re-allotment of his agricultural land to defendants 3 to 5. The trial court decreed the suit in 2006, declaring the plaintiffs as owners and the subsequent allotment illegal. Defendants 4 and 5 appealed. During the pendency of this first appeal, both appellants died—defendant 4 in 2006 and defendant 5 in 2010—but their legal heirs were never brought on record. Unaware of the deaths, the first appellate court heard and partl...
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Supreme Court Ends Confusion, Sets Uniform Rule for Accident Payouts
20Jan By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

Supreme Court Ends Confusion, Sets Uniform Rule for Accident Payouts

The Supreme Court held that the application of a "split multiplier" in motor accident compensation cases is impermissible. Relying on the structured formula from Sarla Verma and Pranay Sethi, the Court ruled that compensation must be calculated using a single multiplier based solely on the victim's age, as superannuation does not constitute an exceptional circumstance justifying a deviation from this settled method. Facts Of The Case: On 3rd August 2012, T.I. Krishnan, aged 51, died in a road accident on the Pala-Thodupuzha Road when his car was hit by a rashly driven bus. His surviving family—his wife and children—filed a claim petition before the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal (MACT), Pala, seeking compensation. The Tribunal, in April 2014, awarded approximately ₹44 lakhs, determining...
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Registered Release Deeds Are Binding: Supreme Court Sets New Precedent in Family Partition Case
19Jan By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

Registered Release Deeds Are Binding: Supreme Court Sets New Precedent in Family Partition Case

The Supreme Court held that unregistered partition deeds can be used collaterally to prove severance of joint family status and subsequent separate possession. Valid registered release deeds by coparceners are immediately effective to sever their interest, not contingent on being "acted upon," and can create an equitable estoppel against future claims. Facts Of The Case: The case involves a partition suit concerning the joint family property of Pillappa, who died in 1969. The plaintiffs, his sons and daughters, sought division of Schedule A properties (ancestral) and Schedule B properties (purchased jointly in the names of defendant no. 5, a son, and defendant no. 6, a son-in-law). Defendant no. 5 contested, claiming a prior partition between him and plaintiff no. 1 in 1972 via an ...
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“Nothing Short of Harassment”: Supreme Court Allows Man to Rebuild Old House, Imposes ₹10 Lakh Fine on SDMC
19Jan By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

“Nothing Short of Harassment”: Supreme Court Allows Man to Rebuild Old House, Imposes ₹10 Lakh Fine on SDMC

The Supreme Court upheld that municipal bylaws and the Master Plan permitting mixed land use are enabling, not compulsory. Property owners cannot be forced to convert residential use to commercial use. A deemed sanction for purely residential reconstruction plans is valid if the applicant chooses not to avail the option for commercial activity. Facts Of The Case: The respondents, owners of an 85-year-old dilapidated residential house in Delhi, applied for sanction to demolish and reconstruct it in 2010. The Municipal Corporation failed to decide, leading the owners to obtain a deemed sanction from the Appellate Tribunal under the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act. The Corporation challenged this order successively before the Additional District Judge, the Delhi High Court (via writ and rev...
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Understanding the Supreme Court’s Verdict on Interstate Bus Permits and State Schemes
19Jan By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

Understanding the Supreme Court’s Verdict on Interstate Bus Permits and State Schemes

The Supreme Court ruled that an inter-state reciprocal transport agreement under Section 88 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, does not override an approved nationalization scheme under Chapter VI. A notified route for a State Transport Undertaking prevails, prohibiting private operators from plying on any overlapping portion, even if part of an inter-state route. Facts Of The Case: The case centered on disputes arising from an Inter-State Reciprocal Transport (IS-RT) Agreement of 2006 between Madhya Pradesh (MP) and Uttar Pradesh (UP). The agreement reserved certain inter-state routes for the Madhya Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (MPSRTC). After MPSRTC reportedly stopped operations, private operators obtained temporary permits from MP's transport authority to p...
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Arbitration Award Final: Supreme Court Dismisses MMTC’s Post-Decree Objections
17Jan By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

Arbitration Award Final: Supreme Court Dismisses MMTC’s Post-Decree Objections

This Supreme Court judgment reaffirms that objections to the execution of an arbitral award under Section 47 of the CPC are maintainable only within a very narrow compass, limited to grounds of jurisdictional infirmity or voidness. The Court emphasized that allegations of fraud or breach of fiduciary duty by a party’s own officers, raised after the award has attained finality, do not constitute such grounds unless they render the award a nullity. The business judgment rule protects decisions that fall within a range of reasonableness. Facts Of The Case: The dispute arose from a Long Term Agreement (LTA) dated 07.03.2007 between MMTC Limited and Anglo American Metallurgical Coal Pvt. Limited for the supply of coking coal. The agreement included an option for MMTC to extend the con...
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Right to Education Act Upheld: Supreme Court Reinstates Teachers Who Qualified TET Later
17Jan By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

Right to Education Act Upheld: Supreme Court Reinstates Teachers Who Qualified TET Later

The Supreme Court held that teachers appointed before 31st March 2015 were granted a grace period until 31st March 2019 to acquire the mandatory Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) qualification under the amended RTE Act. Since the appellants had cleared TET well before this deadline, their subsequent termination solely for lacking the certificate at the initial appointment was illegal and set aside. Facts Of The Case: The case concerns the appellants, Uma Kant and another, who were appointed as Assistant Teachers at Jwala Prasad Tiwari Junior High School, Kanpur, in March 2012. Their appointments were made pursuant to an advertisement from July 2011. At the time of their appointment, the mandatory Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) qualification, introduced by a National Counci...
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Clarity in Tender Documents is Key: Supreme Court Quashes Bid Rejection Over Ambiguous Term
16Jan By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

Clarity in Tender Documents is Key: Supreme Court Quashes Bid Rejection Over Ambiguous Term

The Supreme Court held that a tender condition must be explicitly stated. The rejection of a bid for not submitting a solvency certificate from a District Magistrate was invalid, as the tender notice did not specify this requirement. Authorities cannot reject a bid on grounds not stated in the tender documents. Facts Of The Case: The dispute arose from a tender floated by the Krishi Utpadan Mandi Parishad (Mandi Parishad) to lease a banquet hall and terrace lawn for ten years. The appellant, Kimberley Club Pvt. Ltd., submitted its bid alongside other parties, including the fifth respondent, who emerged as the successful bidder. The Mandi Parishad rejected the appellant's technical bid on a specific ground: the 'haisiyat praman patra' (solvency certificate) it submitted was issued b...
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Arbitrator’s Inaction for 4 Years Leads to Award Being Quashed: Supreme Court Ruling
16Jan By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

Arbitrator’s Inaction for 4 Years Leads to Award Being Quashed: Supreme Court Ruling

In appeals arising from a delayed and unworkable arbitral award, the Supreme Court held that inordinate and unexplained delay in pronouncement can vitiate an award if it explicitly and adversely impacts its findings, rendering it contrary to public policy or patently illegal under Section 34 of the Arbitration Act. The Court further clarified that such an unworkable award, which fails to resolve disputes and irreversibly alters parties' positions, is liable to be set aside, and in exceptional circumstances, the Court may exercise its jurisdiction under Article 142 of the Constitution to do complete justice. Facts Of The Case: The case originated from a Joint Development Agreement (JDA) dated 17.12.2004 between respondent landowners and a developer (later amalgamated into the ...
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