Supreme Court Directs State Governments To Implement S. 136A Motor Vehicles Act For Electronic Monitoring Of Road Safety

The Supreme Court today (September 2) directed all state governments to take immediate steps to implement Section 136A of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, which pertains to the electronic monitoring and enforcement of road safety. The Court also directed all state governments to ensure compliance Rule 167A(A) of Central Motor Vehicle Rules by issuing challans on the basis of footage from...

Consumer Protection Act - Dominant Purpose To Be Looked Into To Ascertain Whether Transaction Was Commercial: Supreme Court

While dealing with the issue whether a real estate company that purchased a flat for the personal use of its Director is a "consumer" under Section 2(7) of the Consumer Protection Act, the Supreme Court recently reiterated that deciding the intended use of the purchased goods (personal or commercial) would depend on the facts and circumstances of each case."It is the dominant intention of...

Husband Convicted For Causing Dowry Death Cannot Inherit Deceased Wife's Property Under Hindu Succession Act: Bombay High Court

A husband convicted for causing the dowry death of his wife stands disqualified from inheriting the property of the deceased wife as provided under Section 25 of the Hindu Succession Act, the Bombay High Court held recently.Single-judge Justice Nijamoodin Jamadar rejected the argument of the Testamentary Department which opined that a person convicted for causing dowry death (under section...

Biological Siblings Can't Claim Heirship Of Adopted Child; Adoption Severs Ties With Biological Family: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court has recently observed that when a child is adopted, all ties of the child with his or her biological family is deemed to be severed and replaced by those created by the adoption in the adoptive family. Justice GK Ilanthiraiyan thus noted that the biological family of the adopted child cannot be called the legal heirs of the adopted child and have a claim...

Hindu Succession Act | Hindu Woman Can Claim Full Ownership Of Property Under S.14(1) Only If She Possesses It : Supreme Court

The Supreme Court held that for a female Hindu to claim absolute ownership of an undivided property of a Hindu Undivided Family(HUF), she should have been in possession of the property.The bench comprising Justices BR Gavai and Sandeep Mehta, after referring to the statutory scheme and precedents, observed :“It is clear that for establishing full ownership on the undivided joint family...

Services Rendered By Advocates Come Under Contract Of Personal Service: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court (today on May 14) held that the Services rendered by an advocate would come under the “a contract of personal service” as opposed to a “contract for service”. In layman terms, 'a contract of personal service' relates to an arrangement where an individual is hired for rendering his/ her services. However, in the case of “contract for service” the services...

Judgment Bringing Doctors Under Consumer Protection Act Requires Reconsideration : Supreme Court

In a major development, the Supreme Court on Tuesday ( May 14) said that its 1995 judgment in the case of Indian Medical Association v VP Shantha, which brought medical professionals under the Consumer Protection Act, required reconsideration. A Bench of Justices Bela Trivedi and Pankaj Mithal held so while deciding an appeal that raised the issue of whether advocates can be held...

Advocates Not Liable Under Consumer Protection Act For Deficiency Of Services : Supreme Court

In a crucial development, the Supreme Court on Tuesday (May 14) held that advocates cannot be held liable under the Consumer Protection Act 1986 (as re-enacted in 2019) for deficiency of services. The Court held that professionals have to be treated differently from persons carrying out business and trade.As a corollary, the Court held that complaints against advocates alleging deficiency...

Hindu Woman Without Own Income Can Enjoy Property Given By Deceased Husband, But Can't Have Absolute Rights Over It: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday observed that a Hindu woman without having her own income has complete rights to enjoy, throughout her lifetime, the property received by her from the deceased husband but cannot have “absolute rights” over it. “In the case of Hindu women, who may not have their own income, receiving a life estate given to them by their husbands—who may...

Mere Failure To Transfer Vehicle Registration Will Not Invalidate Sale/Gift Of Vehicle: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has observed that mere failure to get a transferred vehicle registered in the name of the new owner will not mean that the sale/gift transaction will get invalidated. The Court made this observation in the context of deciding whether the non-disclosure of three vehicles allegedly owned by the family members of Arunachal Pradesh MLA Karikho Kri in the election affidavit...

Children From Void Marriage Can't Be Denied Share In Their Parent's Property : Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Friday (January 19) held that the children born out of a void and voidable marriage shall be considered as legitimate children and be treated as an extended family of the common ancestor for the purpose of deciding a valid share in the property of the common ancestor. Reversing the findings of the High Court, the Bench of Justices MM Sundresh and SVN Bhatti noted that...

Police Must Inform 'Hit & Run' Accident Victims About Compensation Scheme, Centre Must Consider Increasing Amount : Supreme Court

Taking note of the dismal rate of grant of compensation under the scheme formulated by the Central Government for the victims of 'hit and run' accidents, the Supreme Court has issued a slew of directions.As per the mandate of Section 161 of the Motor Vehicles Act 1988, the Central Government has framed the Compensation of Victims of Hit and Run Motor Accidents Scheme, 2022 which is effective...