Court : Supreme Court of India
Reported in : AIR1954SC181; [1954]1SCR391
Mukherjea, J.1. This appeal is directed against a judgment and decree of an appellate bench of the Calcutta High Court dated the 12th of March, 1951, reversing, on appeal, the decision of a single Judge of that court passed in Suit No. 1112 of 1946. 2. The suit, out of which this appeal arises, was commenced by the Central National Bank Limited, the appellant before us, in the Original Side of the Calcutta High Court, for a declaration that the bank acquired the rights of a pledge in respect of two blocks of shares in two companies, to wit, the Indian Iron and Steel Company Ltd. and the Steel Corporation of Bengal Ltd. and was entitled to sell the shares in enforcement of the pledge. There was a claim for recovery of possession of these shares and also for damages alleged to have been suffered by the plaintiff by reason of wrongful denial of its title by the defendant bank. 3. The shares, to which the dispute relates, are 800 in number and admittedly they were the property of one Radhi...
Tag this Judgment!Court : Supreme Court of India
Reported in : [1954]1SCR454
Bose, J.1. This is an unusual application asking for a transfer of certain contempt proceedings from the Pepsu High Court to any other High Court and, in the alternative, asking that at least the matter should not be heard by two of the Judges of that High Court who are named. This at once raises a question about our jurisdiction to order such a transfer. 2. The learned counsel for the applicant relied on Procedure Code. Briefly his reasoning was this. Section 527 authorises the transfer of any 'case' from one High Court to another whenever it is made to appear to the Supreme Court that such transfer is expedient for the ends of justice. The word 'case' is not defined but 'offence' is defined in section 4(o) to mean 'any act or omission made punishable by any law for the time being in force.' Contempt is punishable under the Contempt of Courts Act, 1952, therefore it is an offence punishable by a law which is in force; consequently, it is an offence. Being an offence it is triable unde...
Tag this Judgment!Court : Supreme Court of India
Reported in : AIR1954SC335; (1954)IMLJ389(SC)
Bhagwati, J.1. The appellant and one mohamed ibrahim alias kottai thambi were apprehended when crossing Into the indian union from the french territory of pondicherry on the night of the 23rd march, 1952, at 1 a.m. the appellant was found conveying dutiable goods namely 2 blocks of gold weighing 307 7/8 tolas in all by tying them in a special cloth pouch around his waist and concealing them under his clothes and he was aided and abetted in that act by mohamed ibrahim.The appellant was charged with having committed an offence of conveying the said dutiable goods from the french territory of pondicherry into the indian union (madalapet village) by land by a route other than the authorised route prescribed under the land customs act, i.e., offence under section 7(1)(b) of the land customs act, and mohamed ibrahim was charged with having committed an offence under section 7 (1) (c) of the land customs act.2. They were put up on the 24th march, 1952, before the stationary sub-magistrate, cu...
Tag this Judgment!Court : Supreme Court of India
Reported in : AIR1954SC190; [1954]1SCR371
Mahajan, J.1. This appeal under article 132(1) of the Constitution of India is directed against a judgment of the High Court of Calcutta (H. K. Bose J.) dated the 9th January, 1953, dismissing an application under article 226 of the Constitution. 2. The facts giving rise to the appeal are these : By a notification dated 13th May, 1952, the Regional Transport Authority, Calcutta Region, invited application from persons who had licences for driving motor cabs, or who possessed knowledge of motor mechanism, for the issue of permits for small motor taxi cabs of not below 10 H.P. and not above 19 H.P. The said notification also invited representations against the issue of such permits. A number of associations and persons including the Calcutta Taxi Association and the Bengal Taxi Association, accordingly made representations objecting to the issue of such permits. These objections were heard by the Regional Transport Authority on 5th July, 1952, and were ultimately rejected on 21st August,...
Tag this Judgment!Court : Supreme Court of India
Reported in : AIR1954SC193; [1954]1SCR378
Das, J.1. This is an appeal by special leave by the State of West Bengal from the judgment and decree passed on the 9th March, 1950, by a Division Bench of the Calcutta High Court affirming the judgment and decree pronounced by Sinha J. on the 4th August, 1949, in exercise of the ordinary original civil jurisdiction of that court. The question for consideration in this appeal is whether on a proper interpretation of articles 8 and 9 of the Indian Independence (Rights, Property and Liabilities) Order, 1947, the appellant can be held liable for payment of rent and taxes for a period prior to the 15th August, 1947, in respect of a premises which had been taken on lease by the undivided Province of Bengal. 2. The relevant facts are shortly these. By an indenture of lease dated the 22nd February, 1947, the respondent demised to the Governor of the undivided Province of Bengal the first, second and third floors of premises No. 73, Dharmatolla Street, in the town of Calcutta for a term of thr...
Tag this Judgment!Court : Supreme Court of India
Reported in : (1954)56BOMLR459; (1954)ILLJ1SC; (1954)IMLJ83(SC); [1954]1SCR384
Ghulam Hasan, J.1. These consolidated appeals by the three appellants arise out of the judgment and order of the High Court of judicature at Bombay (Bavdekar and Dixit JJ.), whereby the High Court confirmed the convictions of the appellants recorded by the Presidency Magistrate, Fifth Court, Greater Bombay, under section 27 of the Industrial Disputes (Appellate Tribunal) Act (No. XLVIII of 1950) but reduced their sentences from six months' rigorous imprisonment to three months' simple imprisonment and set aside against each of the appellants the sentence of fine of Rs. 1,000. The appellants are the President and the Secretaries of the Mill Mazdoor Sabha, a union of textile workers in Bombay registered under the Indian Trade Unions Act. It appears that there are about 2,10,000 textile workers working in Bombay and about 35 per cent. of them belong to three different labour unions. The first is called 'Rashtriya Mill Mazdoor Sangh' which is recognized as a 'representative union' under th...
Tag this Judgment!Court : Supreme Court of India
Reported in : AIR1954SC75; 1954(2)BLJR213; (1954)IMLJ60(SC); [1954]1SCR360
Bose, J. 1. This appeal arises out of a vendee's suit for specific performance of a contract of sale dated 7th February, 1942. The vendor is the first defendant whom we will call the Nawab as that is how he has been referred to in the courts below. He is not in Pakistan and his property has been taken over by the Custodian, U.P. The plaintiff is the vendor and the second and third defendants, who appeal, are subsequent purchasers. 2. The only question which we are asked to decide here, except for certain subsidiary matters, is whether the agreement of 7th February, 1942, was a concluded one. The plaintiff's case is that on that date the Nawab agreed to sell the plaint property to him for Rs. 62,000 and accepted Rs. 10,000 as earnest money the same day. Later, namely on 4th April, 1942, the Nawab sold the same property to the appellants for a sum of Rs. 72,000. The plaintiff states that the appellants had notice of his prior agreement. 3. The appellants' case that the plaintiff's so cal...
Tag this Judgment!Court : Supreme Court of India
Reported in : AIR1954SC61; 1954(2)BLJR89; (1954)56BOMLR447; [1954]1SCR339
Mukherjea, J. 1. This appeal is directed against a judgment and decree of the Bombay High Court, dated the 31st March, 1949, confirming, on appeal, the decision of the Civil Judge, Senior Division, at Broach, in Special Suit No. 9 of 1941. 2. The facts of the case, though a bit long, are not in controversy at the present stage and the entire dispute between the parties centers round certain points of law relating to the rights of the reversions, in whose favour a deed of surrender was executed by a Hindu widow, to recover possession of the properties, belong to the last male owner, during the lifetime of the widow from persons who acquired title to the same by adverse possession against the widow. 3. To appreciate the contentions that have been raised by the parties before us, it will be convenient to give a brief narrative of the material facts in their chronological order. A reference to the short genealogical table given below will show at once the relationship between the parties t...
Tag this Judgment!Court : Supreme Court of India
Reported in : AIR1954SC69; [1954]1SCR407
Bhagwati, J. 1. This is an appeal on a certificate under article 133(1) of the Constitution from a judgment and decree passed by the Appellate Bench of the High Court of Calcutta, modifying on appeal the judgment and decree passed by Mr. Justice Bose on the original side of that court. 2. One Dwarka Nath Ghose was the owner of considerable movable and immovable properties. On the 10th June, 1891, he made and published his last will and testament whereby he dedicated to his family idol Shree Iswar Sridhar Jew his two immovable properties, wit, premises No. 41 and No. 40/1 Grey Street in the city of Calcutta. He appointed his two sons Rajendra and Jogendra executors of his will and provided that his second wife Golap Sundari and the two sons Rajendra and Jogendra should perform the seva of the deity and on their death their heirs and successors would be entitled to perform the seva. 3. Dwarka Nath died on the 16th March, 1892, leaving him surviving his widow Golap Sundari and the two son...
Tag this Judgment!Court : Supreme Court of India
Reported in : AIR1954SC44; (1954)IMLJ41(SC)
Mukherjea, J. 1. The facts giving rise to this appeal are, for the most part, uncontroverted and the dispute between the parties centers round the short point as to whether a contract for sale of land to which this litigation relates, was discharged and came to an end by reason of certain supervening circumstances which affected the performance of a material part of it. 2. To appreciate the merits of the controversy, it will be necessary to give a brief narrative of the material facts. The defendant company, which is the main respondent in this appeal, is the owner of a large tract of land situated in the vicinity of the Dhakuria Lakeawithin Greater Calcutta. The company started a scheme for development of this land for residential purposes which was described as Lake Colony Scheme No. 1 and in furtherance of the scheme the entire area was divided into a large number of plots for the sale of which offers were invited from intending purchasers. The company's plan of work seemed to be, t...
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