Legal Reference Library

In R (on application of Hicks and others) v Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis-United Kingdom, four appellants were part of a larger group of claimants, but it was agreed before the Court of Appeal that their cases should be treated as test cases. They were arrested in separate incidents at various places in central London on the grounds that their arrest was reasonably believed by the arresting officers to be necessary to prevent an imminent breach of the peace. Administrative Court rejected the broad complaint that the police adopted an unlawful policy for the policing of the royal wedding. After close examination of the facts of the individual arrests, it also held that the arresting officers had good grounds to believe that the arrests were necessary in order to prevent the likelihood of an imminent breach of the peace. Claim that the police acted unlawfully as a matter of domestic law therefore failed. Court of Appeal also concluded that, Appellants were arrested and detain...

In M/s Alcon Electronics Pvt. Ltd. Vs. Celem S.A. of FOS 34320 Roujan, the issue before the Hon'ble Supreme Court OF India were the following :- (1) Whether the order passed by the Foreign Court falls within the Exceptions to Section 13 of the CPC? (2) Whether the order passed by the Foreign Court amounts to a “decree” and the same is executable? (3) If answer to issue No. 2 is in affirmative, whether the decree for costs would fall within the ambit of Explanation 2 of Section 44A (3) of CPC and makes it inexecutable? (4) Whether interest on costs would fall within the ambit of Explanation 2 of Section 44A of CPC? (5) Whether the interest on costs can be executed in India in view of deletion of Section 35(3) of CPC? In reply the Hon'ble Court held that - 1) The principles of comity of nation demand us to respect the order of English Court. Even in regard to an interlocutory order, Indian Courts have to give due weight to such order unless it falls under any of the ex...

Putting to rest controversy hovering around the entitlement of both husband and wife to allotment of separate residential sites, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has ruled that expression “applicant” included “spouse”. The judgment is significant as it means term applicant would cover wife, even if the application for allotment is submitted by the husband alone and vice-versa. Either the husband, or the wife, can be allotted a dwelling unit and not both in terms of specific eligibility condition. The ruling came in a case where the allotment to wife was cancelled as her husband too was an allottee. The court was told only husband, wife or dependent family members could be allotted a plot in a particular urban estate as per eligibility clause 11 of the brochure-cum-application form. The Bench ruled: “We were only required to interpret clause 11… and as we have concluded, on its true and purposive construction, the expression `applicant’ would include and represent; his/her spouse, n...

The Bombay High Court last week allowed the petition of Italian firm Sideralba SPA seeking the execution of a foreign award in its favour against Mumbai firm Shree Precoated Steels Ltd. There was a series of disputes between the Italian firm, the Mumbai firm, its sister concern in UAE and insurer New India Assurance over dispatch of steel items, some of which were damaged while the ship with the consignment from Mumbai was damaged at Djibouti. The high court rejected the arguments of the Mumbai firm resisting the execution of the award stating that "the findings of facts rendered by the arbitral tribunal cannot be interfered with in this court and it cannot refuse to enforce the foreign award by adjudicating upon the disputes between the parties on merits… According to Swiss law applicable to the parties, the award has achieved finality." The judgment cited several Supreme Court judgments in respect of execution of foreign awards and concluded that enforcement could be refuse...