civil law

The central universities draft Bill has run into trouble, with the Union Law Ministry refusing to vet it in the present form. After the Law Ministry recently returned the Bill to the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry with certain objections and observations, delay in the progress of the proposed 16 central universities has become inevitable. This delay is not being taken kindly with..

The Bombay High Court today asked the N H Wadia Trust to submit a draft of the advertisement to be published regarding an auction of a prime piece of land owned by it to the Prothonotary within one week. Division bench of Justices S B Mhase and Ashutosh Kumbhakoni said that the fresh auction of the land was only to find out the market price of the land. The Prothonotary would record the bids..

The Supreme Court has refused to interfere with the Jammu and Kashmir govt's decision to revoke the transfer of land to Amarnath Shrine Board but directed the authorities to provide security to pilgrims stranded in the state. "We cannot revoke a cabinet decision," a Bench headed by Justice Altamas Kabir said while declining to go into the question of directing the administration to lift the ..

The European Commission has introduced a settlement procedure for cartels which will allow the Commission to settle cartel cases through a simplified procedure. Under this procedure, parties, having seen the evidence in the Commission file, choose to acknowledge their involvement in the cartel and their liability for it. In return for this acknowledgement, the Commission can reduce the fine impose..

The Centre has moved the Supreme Court challenging the petition filed by several rice exporters in various High Courts against its ban imposed on the export of rice in the light of steep rise in inflation in the country. The government has prayed to the apex court to transfer to itself the 44 petitions filed in various High Courts against the ban order. The move came after four exports were ..

This is an old subject but recently some fresh observations have been made by the Supreme Court in the case of Mauri Yeast India Pvt. Ltd vs State of UP. The issue involved in this case under the UP Trade Tax Act, 1948, was about the classification of yeast under the heading chemical. However, while arguing the case the question arose about the burden of proof that it was a chemical. Revenue ar..

The Reserve Bank has expanded the definition of wilful defaulters by including Companies that try to dispose off mortgaged properties without the knowledge of the lenders. According to the revised definition, a wilful default will include “a unit which has defaulted in meeting its payments/repayment obligation to the lenders and has also disposed of or removed the movable fixed assets or immov..

Small investors, who often suffer on account of delays in getting their grievances redressed, may cheer. The scope of consumer courts, that are known for providing faster justice on issues touching the life of normal citizens, are set to be expanded to provide small investors easier redressal to their grievances. The new Companies Bill, which is likely to be placed before Parliament this monsoo..

The Indian Direct Selling Association (IDSA), the premier body governing 16 of the largest direct selling companies in the country, wanted the Government to enact a law to prevent multi-level marketing companies from taking gullible public for a ride. Addressing a press conference here today, IDSA Chairman David R Stanley said a legislation was necessary to lay down the guidelines and functioni..

Amid a fresh controversy between Ambani brothers over Anil Ambani’s MTN deal, it is learnt that the Reliance Industries’ letter to MTN contains daunting legalese and states that if the deal does go through between Anil Ambani and MTN, then RIL can claim damages from both parties. This is a logical legal conclusion of the family settlement, said the RIL official on condition of anonymity. The offic..

Maharashtra Government on Wednesday announced the stamp duty amnesty scheme whereby property purchasers who did not pay stamp duty on purchase agreements can regularise the sale by paying duty with a nominal penalty. Under the scheme, flat-owners who did not pay stamp duty on their home-purchase agreements will get a chance to regularise their purchase by paying up the stamp duty within a spec..

The Supreme Court has held Tata Teleservices 'Walky' and Reliance Communication's 'Unlimited Cordless' as limited mobile phones; hence they are liable to pay Access Deficit Charge to BSNL for interconnection. A bench headed by Justice H S Kapadia, while dismissing Tata Teleservices and Reliance Communication's petitions, has upheld telecom tribunal TDSAT's order of September 2005 that held th..

A bill to enhance the amount of compensation to victims of air accidents or for damages caused to baggage or cargo, bringing it on par with the global level, was adopted by the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. The Carriage by Air (Amendment) Bill, tabled last year, was adopted by a voice vote after Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said the legislation would enable payment of better compensation to..

The Centre's anxiety to push through the controversial Sethusamudram Shipping Canal project was apparently visible when it urged the Supreme Court to hear its plea for vacating the interim order on "Rama Setu" within a restricted time-frame. "The arguments on vacating the interim order should be completed within a restricted time-frame," said senior advocate Fali S Nariman, who has been roped..

Proviso to Section 9(3) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 provides that in the case of non-transport vehicle, the licensing authority may exempt the applicant from the test of competence to drive a vehicle, if he/she possesses a driving certificate issued by any institution recognized in this behalf by the State Government. In the comprehensive proposal for amendment of the Act, introduced in the Ra..