Common Law

So, what is a Consumer Protection Act !! As the name would suggest, it sought to furnish an (advanced) legal framework, to protect us as Consumers, from being cheated, from defective, inferior, duplicated or hazardous, goods and services. To start with, now a Complaint can be filed electronically; and the hearings, on request, can be conducted through Video Conferencing. Another notable feature that can be elicited is that, by virtue of Section 65, now Notices to the parties, especially to the opposite parties, can be served by electronic means. It follows that Notices can even be served through Email and Whatsapp. These are extraordinary provisions. The Mediation is formally inducted in the adjudicating process, notwithstanding settlement option was otherwise always available to the litigating parties. Another important issue that has been addressed in the new regime is, aptly defining the pecuniary jurisdiction of these Tribunals. Now it has been specifically stated (u/ss 34, 47 ...

  Summary Suits are contemplated under Order XXXVII (Order 37) of Civil Procedure Code of 1908, a very powerful and expeditious remedy (in theory) provided under the law for recovering moneys, which are routinely trapped in commercial transactions. The very purpose of enacting Summary Suits is to give strength to commerce and industry by inspiring confidence in commercial population that their money claims would be expeditiously decided and their claims will not hang on for years blocking their money for a long period. The Summary procedure is a powerful weapon in the hands of Court to shut out frivolous defenses which are raised in commercial causes with a view to prolong the litigation. Summary Suits are maintainable upon negotiable instruments, like bills of exchange, including cheques, hundies and promissory notes; and are also maintainable in cases where the person seeks to recover a debt or liquidated demand in money, arising out of a (a) written contract (Includes comm...

Whilst various grounds are available under the law, the Orders of the Court / Tribunals / Authorities, may be tested at the touchstone of two broad benchmarks – one – the Jurisdictional errors and second – errors in findings on facts. First, let us look at Jurisdictional benchmarks. Jurisdiction essentially means legal powers to act. 1.     The Jurisdiction starts with proper constitution of the Members of the Tribunal / Court / Authority. Therefore, the Order of the Court, etc must emanate from a validly constituted Tribunal. One of the important aspect of constitution of Tribunal is, the judge should not have a pecuniary or personal interest in the lis (Litigation) which is presented before it for adjudication, nor should have a bias in favour or against any of the litigant who are before it for decision on their lis. The second important aspect is the statutory compliance to its constitution, if there is any. 2.     Second critical aspect...

Section 11 of Maharashtra Ownership of Flats Act, 1963, (MOFA) r/w Rule 9 of MOFA Rules, 1964, obligates upon Developers to execute conveyance in favour of the Society within four months from the date on which the co-operative Society is duly constituted. The Conveyance to Housing Societies and other Societies, is a pressing issue in Mumbai; and rest of India may not be an exception. The Developers do not Convey land to in favour of Societies to retain control over the administration of the Building; and probably to claim further development rights over the said land, which may accrue in future. The Hon’ble Bombay High Court in the Case of Ratna Rupal CHS [2011 (5) BCR 561, also referred in 2015 (5) MhLJ 318, 2016 (5) MhLJ 102] have made some very interesting observations: Para 10: The Conveyance had to be executed within the specified period. The conveyance was not executed for a number of years. The Plaintiff (Society) must be taken to have had full title in the en...

The Summary Conduct of Commercial Arbitration Proceedings Rules, 2019 Chapter No. Particulars Page Number 1 Applicability of Rules 2 Commencement of Arbitration 3 Appointment of Arbitrators 4 Challenge to Jurisdiction of Arbitrator 5 Interim Reliefs 6 Pleadings 7 Failure to File Pleadings 8 Personal Hearings 9 Passing of Award 10 Arbitrator’s Fee 11 Powers of Arbitrator 12 Service and Notice of Arbitration proceedings 13 Protection of action to Arbitrator 14 Presumption of Waiver 15 Misc. Provisions 16 Draf...