Common Law

Service of Summons of the Court, or service of any other Notice or legal document postulate elementary principles of natural justice, i.e., a Person is thereby put to Notice, that if he neglects to take due steps upon receipt of the Summons / Notice, prejudicial legal action or Orders of the Court may be passed against him. Service of Summons is the first step after the institution of the Suit. After the institution of the Suit, the Plaintiff is immediately require to tender draft Summons before the concerned dept of the Court, wherein the said office cause to affix the Seal of the Court, put up the future date on which the Defendant is called upon to appear and answer the claim of the Plaintiffs; and also cause it to be signed by the concerned Judge or any other officer of the Court empowered in this behalf; and cause it to be returned to the Plaintiffs, for it to be served upon the Defendants, either by Regd post / Speed post, or through Serving officer of the Court / Bail...

Pleadings, the backbone of a Litigation The pleadings in the ordinary sense may mean the Statement of Claim, filed by the Party approaching the Court of law, for the redressal of breach of their rights. In the legal sense, the Pleadings is defined in the CPC, 1908, as Plaint and the Written Statement, meaning thereby, the statement of Claim filed by the Party approaching the Court of law, and the reply thereto filed by the defending Parties. Nature of Reliefs claimed, lies at the heart of any litigation. These “Reliefs claimed” also decides the jurisdiction of the Court / Tribunal, as whether it is competent for them to grant such Reliefs. Further, every Relief which is being claimed presupposes the existence of certain facts, which are required to be pleaded and proved. These may be called material facts of the case. Narration of material “Facts of the Case” forms the  “backbone”  of any litigation, which really decides the “fate” and “length” of the concerned l...

Are Members of Housing Society “Consumers” !! 1.     The 1993 Amendment in Consumer Protection Act: In 1993 the “Housing Construction” Services were brought under the purview of Consumer Protection Act 1986. The Consumer Courts, in this backdrop, extended their jurisdiction to common services provided by Housing societies to their members. There is a basic fallacy in Consumer Courts assuming jurisdiction to Complaints filed by Members against their Housing Societies, alleging deficiency in services. 2.     The object of Consumer Protection Act: A fair and comprehensive reading of the relevant provision of Consumer Protection Act, 1986, more particularly the Preamble of the Act, the definitions of Consumer, Manufacturers, Restrictive Trade practices, Unfair trade practices, as defined under the said Act, it would reveal that Consumer Courts were conceived for the better protection of interests of common man, from Enterprises who are engaged in t...

Attribute and meaning : Every litigation presupposes the existence of a “cause of action”, that is to say, infringement of a right, thereby giving a right to move the Court of law, for the enforcement and realization of that infringed right. For the right to move the court of law, the aforesaid right sought to be enforced, should have already come into existence, and there should be an infringement of it, or there must be serious and imminent threat of its infringement. Legally speaking, the cause of action means, a bundle of facts which taken with the law applicable to them, gives the person a right to relief against another person. It also means every such fact, which if traversed, it would be necessary for the first person to prove in order to support his right to the judgment of the Court. [AIR 2012 SC 3912; AIR 1989 SC 1239] Dimensions: Broadly, the Cause of action has two dimensions, one, making averments of such material facts in the proceeding, which are suffici...

What is Property tax !! The property tax is a kind of impost / tax levied by Local bodies / Municipalities, upon lands and buildings, situate in their territorial jurisdiction. Due to the peculiar nature of tax, the property tax are regarded as “rate”, and not as “tax” or “fee”. The Apex Court in a case before it (AIR 1963 SC 1742), had the occasion to distinguish the rate from tax or fee, wherein it was stated that rate is an hybrid of tax and fee, as it has the elements of both, and is more in the nature of compensation paid for the services availed, although not directly attributable to the measurable benefits of the services availed.   Under the scheme of our Constitution, the Municipalities are institution of self governance, independent of the Executive govts., although being subject to direct superintendence by the respective State govts. And being institutions of self governance, the Municipalities are empowered to levy taxes, to discharge their legal obligations...