(901) PATEL INFRASTRUCTURE PVT. LTD. AND OTHERS Vs. JASWINDER KAUR AND OTHERS[PUNJAB AND HARYANA HIGH COURT] 04-03-2025 Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 — Section 149(2)(a)(ii) — Fake Driving Licence — Breach of Policy Condition — Burden of Proof — Due Diligence by Owner — Recovery Rights — The burden lies squarely on the Insurance Company to plead and prove that the owner of the insured vehicle committed a willful breach of the policy condition by knowingly employing a driver with a fake licence or by failing to exercise reasonable due diligence while employing the driver — Merely proving that the driver’s licence was f India Law Library Docid # 2423897
(902) RAJENDER PARSHAD AND OTHERS Vs. STATE OF HARYANA AND OTHERS[PUNJAB AND HARYANA HIGH COURT] 04-03-2025 Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 — Section 17-A — Sanction for Enquiry/Investigation — Judicial Review — Scope — An order granting sanction under Section 17-A is subject to review regarding its legality and validity by the criminal courts — An order refusing sanction may attract judicial review by superior courts — While granting sanction is an administrative act, it necessitates serious application of mind by the competent authority to the material facts and evidence collected during the prel India Law Library Docid # 2423898
(903) JEEWANA DEVI Vs. SARWANI DEVI AND OTHERS[HIMACHAL PRADESH HIGH COURT] 04-03-2025 Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC) — Sections 319, 313 and 437-A — Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) — Sections 325, 504 and 506 — An appellate court will not lightly interfere with a judgment of acquittal, especially when the trial court's view is a possible one based on the evidence, and material inconsistencies or improvements in the prosecution's case can weaken its reliability — The High Court dismissed an appeal against the acquittal of accused persons charged under Sections 325, 504, and 506 read India Law Library Docid # 2423862
(904) FUMAN SINGH Vs. STATE OF HIMACHAL PRADESH[HIMACHAL PRADESH HIGH COURT] 04-03-2025 Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 — Section 15 — A positive test for the presence of morphine and meconic acid in poppy straw is sufficient to establish that it is derived from the plant of Papaver Somniferum-L under the NDPS Act, and the non-association of independent witnesses in a chance recovery is not necessarily fatal to the prosecution case, provided the testimonies of official witnesses are consistent and reliable after careful scrutiny — High Court dismissed an appeal India Law Library Docid # 2423864
(905) TACON INFRASTRUCTURE PVT. LTD. Vs. NATIONAL HIGHWAYS AUTHORITY OF INDIA AND OTHERS[DELHI HIGH COURT] 04-03-2025 Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 — Section 9 — Courts should not restrain the invocation of an unconditional bank guarantee unless there is a clear case of fraud or special equities leading to irretrievable injustice, as bank guarantees are independent contracts — The High Court dismissed a petition under Section 9, seeking to restrain the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) from invoking a bank guarantee — The court reiterated the settled law that unconditional bank guarantees are India Law Library Docid # 2424031
(906) MAHIPAL SINGH AND OTHERS Vs. ASHOK KUMAR KAUSHIK AND ANOTHER[DELHI HIGH COURT] 04-03-2025 Delhi High Court (Original Side) Rules, 2018 — Chapter VII, Rule 5 — Under the Chapter VII, Rule 5, only the Court, and not the Registrar, has the power to close the right to file a replication after the initial period and a permissible extension granted by the Court — The High Court allowed a chamber appeal against orders passed by the Joint Registrar that had closed the plaintiff's right to file a replication — The court interpreted Rule 5 of Chapter VI, and held that the power to close the ri India Law Library Docid # 2424032
(907) X Vs. STATE AND ANOTHER[DELHI HIGH COURT] 04-03-2025 Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 — Section 8 — Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) — Section 354 — In cases of sexual offences, while the sole testimony of the prosecutrix can form the basis of conviction under the POCSO Act and the IPC, courts must carefully assess its credibility and look for corroboration if it does not inspire confidence, as per precedents like Sadashiv Ramrao Hadbe v. State of Maharashtra — The High Court dismissed a criminal appeal against a trial court's acquittal India Law Library Docid # 2424033
(908) RAKESH SHARMA @ RAKESH AND OTHERS Vs. ASHOK AND OTHERS[DELHI HIGH COURT] 04-03-2025 Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 — Section 173 — Enhancement of Compensation — For determining compensation in motor accident claims involving the death of a minor under the Section 173, the notional income should be assessed based on the minimum wages payable to a skilled worker, with additions for future prospects as per National Insurance Company Limited vs. Pranay Sethi & Ors., especially after the deletion of the Second Schedule of the Act — The High Court allowed an appeal seeking enhancement of c India Law Library Docid # 2424034
(909) DR SHASHI BHUSHAN Vs. UNIVERSITY OF DELHI AND ANOTHER[DELHI HIGH COURT] 04-03-2025 University of Delhi — Ordinance XI — A candidate on a waitlist for a public employment has no indefeasible right to appointment when a selected candidate joins and subsequently resigns, as the resignation creates a fresh vacancy that generally requires a fresh advertisement and selection process — The High Court dismissed a Letters Patent Appeal against a Single Judge's order that had refused to direct the University of Delhi to appoint the appellant, a waitlisted candidate, to an Assistant Prof India Law Library Docid # 2424035
(910) GOKUL SINGH MANDOT Vs. STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH AND OTHERS[MADHYA PRADESH HIGH COURT (INDORE BENCH)] 04-03-2025 Service Law — Departmental Enquiry vs. Criminal Trial — Effect of Acquittal — Where departmental proceedings and a criminal trial are based on the same set of facts, involving identical or substantially similar allegations and evidence, an acquittal in the criminal trial, particularly one based on merits where the prosecution evidence (including the testimony of the complainant/victim) is found untrustworthy or disbelieved, carries significant weight — In such circumstances, upholding a finding India Law Library Docid # 2424082
(911) NEHA LOKRE Vs. INDORE MUNICIPAL CORPORAITON AND OTHERS[MADHYA PRADESH HIGH COURT (INDORE BENCH)] 04-03-2025 Administrative Law — Delegation of Powers — Effect of Order Passed by Delegatee — When a statutory authority (the Municipal Commissioner) delegates its power to a subordinate officer (the Building Officer) pursuant to a provision enabling such delegation, the order passed by the subordinate officer in exercise of that delegated power is, in law, deemed to be the order of the delegating authority itself — The delegatee acts for the delegator, and the power exercised remains that of the delegator. India Law Library Docid # 2424083
(912) DR. NIRANJAN SHARMA Vs. STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH AND OTHERS[MADHYA PRADESH HIGH COURT (INDORE BENCH)] 04-03-2025 Administrative Law — Service Law — Recruitment — “Change of Rules of the Game” — Distinction between Eligibility Criteria and Selection Procedure/Methodology — The principle prohibiting the “change of rules of the game” primarily applies to altering fundamental eligibility criteria after the commencement of the recruitment process — Modifying the procedure or methodology for selection or shortlisting, especially to address unforeseen practical difficulties and ensure fairness, may be India Law Library Docid # 2424084
(913) ORIENTAL INSURANCE CO LTD. Vs. SMT. SUSHILA AND OTHERS[DELHI HIGH COURT] 04-03-2025 Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 — Section 173 — Compensation for the death of a minor in a motor accident should be calculated based on the minimum wages of a skilled person at the time of the accident, with additions for future prospects as per National Insurance Company Limited v. Pranay Sethi & Ors., and a relevant multiplier — The High Court allowed an appeal by an insurance company in a motor accident claim concerning the death of an 11-year-old, modifying the compensation awarded by the Tribunal India Law Library Docid # 2424088
(914) RADICO KHAITAN LIMITED Vs. HARISH CHOUHAN[DELHI HIGH COURT] 04-03-2025 Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 — Section 11(6) — An arbitration clause contained in an invoice unilaterally issued by one party can constitute a valid arbitration agreement, if the conduct of the parties demonstrates an intention to be governed by it, such as accepting goods and making payments — The High Court allowed a petition under Section 11(6), for the appointment of a sole arbitrator — The court held that the arbitration clause printed on the invoices issued by the petitioner was India Law Library Docid # 2424089
(915) GIRIRAJ PUGALIA Vs. ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX, CIRCLE-1, INCOME TAX DEPARTMENT, BIKANER[RAJASTHAN HIGH COURT] 04-03-2025 Income Tax Act, 1961 — Section 153C — Assessment of Income of Any Other Person — Satisfaction based on Seized Material — Electronic Records & Corroboration — For initiating proceedings under Section 153C against a person other than the searched person (‘other person’), the Assessing Officer must be satisfied that any books of account, documents, or assets seized or requisitioned pertain to, or contain information relating to, such ‘other person’ which has a bearing on their total income — Inform India Law Library Docid # 2424175
(916) SANJAY KUMAR Vs. STATE OF RAJASTHAN AND OTHERS[RAJASTHAN HIGH COURT] 04-03-2025 Service Law — Recruitment — Eligibility — Educational Qualification — Cut-off Date — The requirement for a candidate to possess the requisite educational qualification for a post must be satisfied by the cut-off date specified in the relevant service rules or, in their absence, the date specified in the recruitment advertisement — Where the advertisement explicitly stipulates a cut-off date, candidates who acquire the qualification after this date are ineligible for consideration, unless the rul India Law Library Docid # 2424160
(917) VISHAL Vs. STATE OF RAJASTHAN[RAJASTHAN HIGH COURT] 04-03-2025 Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 — Section 439 — Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 — Section 37 — Bail — Right to Speedy Trial — The fundamental right to a speedy trial, implicit in Article 21 of the Constitution, weighs significantly in bail considerations, even under statutes with stringent conditions like the NDPS Act — Protracted pre-trial detention resulting from trial India Law Library Docid # 2424163
(918) SHYAMSUNDER Vs. BHAGWATILAL AND OTHERS[RAJASTHAN HIGH COURT] 04-03-2025 Civil Procedure Code, 1908 — Order21 — Execution of Decree — Construction by Executing Court — Reference to Judgment and Pleadings — An executing court, while precluded from going behind the decree, possesses the jurisdiction and duty to ascertain the true effect and meaning of the decree — For the purpose of construing the terms used in the decree, the executing court can, and in appropriate cases should, refer to the judgment, pleadings, and proceedings leading up to the decree — An objection India Law Library Docid # 2424184
(919) BHAVAL SYNTHETICS (INDIA) LTD. Vs. ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX (ACIT) AND OTHERS[RAJASTHAN HIGH COURT (JAIPUR BENCH)] 04-03-2025 Income Tax Act, 1961 — Section 147, Proviso & Section 148 — Reassessment — Limitation — Assessment completed under Section 143(3) — Notice issued after expiry of four years — Applicability of Exception — The limitation period of four years from the end of the relevant assessment year for initiating reassessment under Section 148, as provided in the first proviso to Section 147 (applicable where assessment was previously made under Section 143(3)), does not apply if income chargeable to tax has e India Law Library Docid # 2424257
(920) CHANDRABHAN JANARDHAN YADAV AND OTHERS Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA[BOMBAY HIGH COURT] 04-03-2025 Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 — Section 37 — Bail in Commercial Quantity Cases — Twin Conditions and Procedural Compliance — While Section 37 of the NDPS Act imposes stringent twin conditions (reasonable grounds to believe accused is not guilty and unlikely to re-offend) for granting bail in cases involving commercial quantities, negating bail as the rule, this does not absolve the investigating agency from strictly complying with the mandatory procedures prescribed under India Law Library Docid # 2424294