Court : House of Lords
Decided on : Dec-10-2008
LORD SCOTT OF FOSCOTE My Lords, 1. I have had the advantage of reading in draft the opinions on this appeal of my noble and learned friends Lord Rodger of Earlsferry and Baroness Hale of Richmond and am in full agreement that, for the reasons they give, this appeal should be dismissed. There are two matters, however, on which I want to add a few words of my own. In doing so I gratefully adopt and need not repeat Baroness Hale’s outline of the facts and of the relevant legislative background to the issues. 2. The first matter on which I want to comment is the locus standi of the respondent, the adult daughter of Mrs Savage, the deceased, to have instituted the action that has led to this appeal. Following Mrs Savage’s self-inflicted death, an inquest was held into the causes and circumstances of her death. The inquest was held in public, the investigation by the coroner into the circumstances and causes of the death was a full one - no one has suggested that it was in any re...
Tag this Judgment!Court : House of Lords
Decided on : Dec-10-2008
LORD HOFFMANN My Lords, 1. I have had the advantage of reading in draft the speech of my noble and learned friend Lord Hope of Craighead. For the reasons he gives, with which I agree, I too would dismiss these appeals. LORD HOPE OF CRAIGHEAD My Lords, 2. On 10 January 2003 Shaun Riley was working in the course of his employment with the first appellant, Chargot Ltd, at Heskin Hall Farm, near Chorley in Lancashire. Extensive works were being carried out on the farm, which was owned by the Ruttle Group of companies. The second appellant, Ruttle Contracting Ltd, a member of the group, was the principal contractor. The third appellant, George Henry Ruttle, was a director of the first appellant. He was also the second appellant’s managing director. The works included the construction of a car park. This required the excavation from the site of a quantity of topsoil. A dumper truck was then used to move the spoil over a distance of about 500 yards to a depression in a field, beside whi...
Tag this Judgment!Court : Delhi
Decided on : Dec-11-2008
Reported in : 156(2009)DLT129
Shiv Narayan Dhingra, J.1. The above four petitions give rise to a common question about the jurisdiction of Civil Court and are being disposed of jointly by this common order. The learned ADJ where the petitioners filed suit under Section 6 of the Specific Relief Act observed in his order dated 16.10.2006 that in view of the provision of Section 185 of the Delhi Land Reforms Act, Civil Court would have no jurisdiction to entertain the suit and returned the plaint. The petitioners aggrieved by the order have preferred these Civil Revisions under Section 115 CPC.2. Brief facts relevant for the purpose of deciding these petitions are that the petitioners are member of Defendant Society (respondent No. 3 herein). This Society purchased 44 acres of land in Village Neb Sarai, Mehrauli from various landholders viz. respondents No. 4-7. The society developed this land into a housing and cultural center. Residential plots were demarcated, boundary walls were erected, roads, sewerages, culverts...
Tag this Judgment!Court : Supreme Court of India
Decided on : Dec-12-2008
Reported in : AIR2009SC944; 2009CriLJ7872; 2008(16)SCALE158; 2009AIRSCW1; 2008(6)LHSC4417
S.B. Sinha, J.1. This appeal is directed against a judgment and order dated 14.5.2004 passed by the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad in Criminal Appeal No. 1472 of 1981 whereby and whereunder the appeal preferred by the appellant herein against a judgment of conviction and sentence dated 30.6.1981 passed by Sri R.K. Mishra, III Additional Sessions Judge, Shahjahanpur in Sessions Trial No. 418 of 1980 holding that the appellant was guilty for commission of offences under Sections 148, 452 and 302 read with Section 149 of the Indian Penal Code and sentencing him to undergo rigorous imprisonment for 18 months, 18 months and life imprisonment respectively, was dismissed.2. Appellant was prosecuted in respect of commission of offences, the incident whereof took place on or about 15.8.1979 at about 9.30 p.m. in the house of one Mewa Ram. Janamashtami festival was being celebrated on that night. Dinesh Kumar and Girish Kumar, the sons of the informant Mewa Ram, Smt. Ramlali, his wife, so...
Tag this Judgment!Court : Supreme Court of India
Decided on : Dec-12-2008
Reported in : AIR2009SC1411; 2009(3)KarLJ529; 2008(16)SCALE1; 2009AIRSCW871; 2009(1)LHSC385
S.B. Sinha, J.1. Appellant is before us, aggrieved by and dissatisfied with a judgment of conviction and sentence dated 7.6.2004 passed by a Division Bench of the High Court of Karnataka at Bangalore in Criminal Appeal No. 32 of 1999 reversing a judgment of acquittal dated 15.9.1998 in S.C. No. 30/91 passed in his favour by the 1st Additional Sessions Judge, Mysore.2. There is a small village `Rammanahalli' situate near the town of Mysore. It has two streets called `Kelaginakeri' and `Melinakeri'. A cinema tent was put therein. There were two groups in the village residing in one or the other said streets. One group intended the owner of cinema/theatre to exhibit films starring Dr. Rajkumar and the other group asked them to exhibit the films starring Sri Vishnuvardhan. They had been asking the proprietor of the theatre to release the films in which their favourite stars were acting. The occurrence took place at about 8.00 a.m. on 9.12.1990.3. The prosecution case is as under:Maruchhaia...
Tag this Judgment!Court : Rajasthan
Decided on : Dec-12-2008
Reported in : RLW2009(3)Raj2195
R.S. Chauhan, J.1. Like the Biblical story of David and Goliath, this is a case of an individual pitted against the colossal State. Having bought some properties at Pushkar, an ancient and a holy city in Rajasthan, the petitioner has been running a hotel in the name and style of 'Hotel Pushkar Palace' since 1981. There were certain legal battles fought between the petitioner and the Municipality Board ('the Board', for short), Pushkar-the respondent No. 3 before this Court. The Board lost these battles. The Board claims to have served a notice on the petitioner on 22.4.06 directing him to remove the illegal constructions/encroachments made by him, within three days. But notwithstanding the said notice, on 22.4.06 itself, the Board demolished a part of the hotel and sealed thirty-eight rooms of the hotel. When the petitioner protested against the illegal action of the Board, the Board issued yet another notice on 28.4.067 Stunned by the demolition, aggrieved by the notice dated 28.4.06,...
Tag this Judgment!Court : Rajasthan
Decided on : Dec-15-2008
Reported in : RLW2009(2)Raj1711
Mahesh Bhagwati, J.1. Challenge in this appeal is to the judgment dated 4th May 1987, rendered by the Sessions Judge, Jhalawar whereby the accused appellant Mangi Lal was convicted in the offence under Section 334 of IPC and released on probation of good conduct.2. The factual matrix of the prosecution case is that in the evening of 22nd April, 1983, the complainant PW/1 Harlal, the appellant Mangi Lal and Kedar Lal ASI left for Gadhi (Madhya Pradesh) in connection with the investigation of case No. 21/83 under Section 379 of IPC. They had to take along with them the complainant Bapu Lal also of that case. So, they first reached at village Semly Chauhan to collect him. It is alleged that at the instance of Bapu Lal they haulted at Semly Chauhan to have the dinner. It is alleged that during conversation Har Lal and the appellant Mangi Lal entered into jokes. After some time the appellant Mangi Lal got angry and started threatening to kill him with knife. It is stated that when they were...
Tag this Judgment!Court : Supreme Court of India
Decided on : Dec-19-2008
Reported in : JT2009(1)SC562; 2009(1)SCALE551; (2009)3SCC35
S.B. Sinha, J.1. These appeals are directed against a judgment and order dated 7.5.2003 passed by a Division Bench of the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, Lucknow Bench, Lucknow whereby and whereunder an order dated 22..12.2000 passed by the Central Administrative Tribunal in Original Application No. 151 of 1995 as also the office memorandum dated 22.12.2000 were set aside and the appellants herein were directed to consider the case of absorption of the respondents in terms of the scheme by considering the question of relaxation with respect to their length of experience in accordance with the provisions of Clause 9 thereof. It was furthermore directed that benefit with respect to breaks shall also be given to the petitioners as had been done in the case of other researchers who had been absorbed.2. The basic fact of the matter is not in dispute.Appellant is a society registered under the Societies Registration Act. It has laboratories situated in different parts of the country. ...
Tag this Judgment!Court : Delhi
Decided on : Dec-19-2008
Reported in : 156(2009)DLT172
Gita Mittal, J.1. This writ petition has been filed by Aditya Khanna assailing the action of the respondents in revoking his passport bearing No. F 4812183 without issuance of a notice to show cause and grant of an opportunity to represent against the proposed action. The action is assailed also on the ground of malafide and that no order has been communicated to him till date.2. Certain public allegations into the administration and management of the United Nation Oil for Food Programme in Iraq were made. As a result, the United Nations Security Council appointed an independent high level inquiry headed by Mr. Paul Volcker, a former chairman of the United States Federal Reserve to look into the administration and management of the programme in Iraq. On 27th October, 2005 the Volcker Committee submitted its fifth and final substantiative report setting out the manner in which Iraq had manipulated the programme to dispense contracts on the basis of political preference and to derive ill...
Tag this Judgment!Court : Karnataka
Decided on : Jul-02-2008
Reported in : AIR2008NOC2790(FB); ILR2008(3)KAR2895; 2008(4)KarLJ593; 2008(4)KLJ593; 2008(5)AIRKarR261; AIR2008NOC2790(FB)
ORDERN. Kumar, J.1. The destiny of India is now being shaped in her classrooms. In a world based on science and technology it is education that determines the level of prosperity, welfare and security of the people. On the quality and number of persons coming out of our schools and colleges will depend our success in the great enterprise of national reconstruction whose principal objective is to raise the standard of living of our people. The task is neither unique nor is it quite new. But its magnitude, gravity and urgency have increased immensely and it has acquired a new meaning and importance in the context of liberalisation, globalisation and privatisation. If the pace of national development is to be accelerated there is need for a well defined, bold and imaginative educational policy and for determined and vigorous action to vitalize, improve and expand education.2. Education is to be used as a powerful instrument of social, economic and political change and therefore has to be ...
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