LEGAL CASE MINE

 INJURIA SUNE DAMNO Injuria means infringement of the legal right or unauthorised interference with the right conferred by the law. Damnum means substantial harm, loss or damage in respect of money, comfort, health or the like.  Thus Injuria sine damno means violation of the legal right without causing any substantial harm, loss or damage to the plaintiff. In such cases there is no need to prove that as a consequence of an act, tye plaintiff has suffered any harm. The only thing which is to be proved is that the plaintiff's legal right has been violated.  Ashby v. White, is a landmark case which is needed to be mentioned while understanding about Injuria sine damno. In this case the defendant, a polling officer, didn't let the plaintiff cast his vote. Although there was no substantial harm to the plaintiff as the candidate whom the plaintiff wanted to vote won the election, but the Holt, CJ. observed that if the plaintiff has the right, he must have the necessary means to...

BAILMENT 1. Delievery of goods for some purposes. There should be the transfer of possession of goods from one person to another. Delievery need not to be actual, it may be sometime constructive or symbolic delivery as provided under section 149 of Indian Contract Act, 1872. It is to be noticed that according to section 71vof Indian Contract Act, the finder of the goods is also deemed to be the bailee of those goods. In Jagdish Singh Tarikha v. Punjab National Bank, when the gold ornaments and jewellery was delivered to the bank, it was locked, sealed and properly wrapped and the receipt describing the contents of the box was given to bank. When the box reached delhi, it was found that it was not in the condition in which it was delivered. The court ordered for the compensation by the bank to the plaintiff.  If a person, without a formal agreement, assumes the custody or someone's goods, it is sufficient to constitute bailment as in the case of Ultzen v. Nicols, where the waiter wh...

RIGHTS OF SURETY AGAINST PRINCIPAL DEBTOR Rights of subrogation (section 140)  According to section 140 of Indian Contract Act, when the surety made the necessary payment or make performance of all what he is liable for, he is invested with all the rights which the creditor has against the principal debtor. In the other words, the surety steps into the shoes of the creditor and by the action against the principal debtor, could recover all what can be recovered by the creditor from the principal debtor. He can be indemnified by the principal debtor for all what he rightly paid and aslo he is entitled to the benefit of all the securities, creditor has against the principal debtor at the time of contract of suretyship is entered into.  Right of indemnity against the principal debtor (section 145).  According to section 145, after the payment of liability by the surety, due to the the default of principal debtor, the surety can recover from the principal debtor all what he ha...

DISCHARGE OF SURETY Section 130 (revocation by the surety).  This section permits the revocation when it is a continuing guarantee as regards to the future transactions only. However when the transaction has already been made, surety's liability with regard to that transaction cannot be revoked by a subsequent notice. When the consideration is single and indivisible, the revocation as to the future transactions is not possible. For instance in the case of guarantee for a servant on employment. ( Lloyds v. Harper, Gopal Singh v. Bhawani Prasad). In Sita Ram Gupta v. Punjab National Bank, the court held that the provisions of the agreement can override section 130 of the Indian Contrct Act and the guarantor can give away his right provided under section 130 of Indian Contract Act.  Section 131 (death of the surety).  This section provides that the guarantee as regards to the future transactions automatically terminates when the surety dies, untill and unless contrary to thi...

LIABILITY OF SURETY According to section 128 of the Indian Contract Act, the liability of the surety is coextensive with that of the principal debtor, unless otherwise provided by the contract. This means that on the default of the principal debtor, the creditor could recover from the surety, all what he could recover from the principal debtor. If the liability of the principal debtor be reduced or extinguished, by any reason, the same would apply towards the liability of the surety. In Narayan Singh v. Chattisgarh, the court held that if the liability of the principal debtor is scaled down by the amended decree or otherwise extinguished in whole or in part, the liability of the surety would also pro tanto be reduced or extinguished.  If the principal debtor's liability is affected by the illegality, so is also that of the surety.  RIGHT OF CREDITOR TO SUE SURETY BEFORE EXHAUSTING ALL HIS REMEDIES AGAINST THE PRINCIPAL DEBTOR It has already been noted that section 128 of India...

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN INDEMNITY AND GUARANTEE  Number of parties : There are two parties in contact of indemnity, whereas there are three parties involved in the Contract of guarantee.  Number of Contracts involved : Contract of indemnity involves only one Contract i.e. between indemnifier and indemnified, whereas contract of guarantee involves three Contract i.e. one between creditor and principal debtor, second between creditor and surety and third between surety and principal debtor.  Purpose or object : The contract of guarantee presupposes soke obligation on the the principal debtor and is made to provide security to the creditor, whereas the contract of indemnity is made to protect indemnity holder/promisee against some likely losses.  Liability : In the contract of guarantee, the liability of the surety is secondary one, whereas in the contract of indemnity, the liability of the indemnifier is primary one.  Arter the discharge of liability : In the cont...

CONSTITUENT ELEMENTS OF CRIME Mens Rea :  One of the important essential of a crime is mens rea i.e. guilty mind. It could be defined as the blameworthy mental condition, whether constituted by intention knowledge or otherwise. Court in Staple v. United States defined mens rea as a state of mind indicating culpability which is required by the statute as an element of crime.  In Brend v. Wood, Lord Goddand C.J. ruled that unless the statute expressly or by implication rules out the principle of mens rea as a constituent of a crime, the court shall not found the person guilty of offence against criminal law, unless he has a guilty mind. Supreme Court of India on many occasions reiterated the decision of Lord Goddand in  Brend v. Wood. While opining about the rule of interpretation of penal provisions, Supreme Court in State of Gujarat v. D. P. Pandey  laid down that whenever an offence is made by a statute, the element of mens rea should be understood as silently requi...

SECTION 9, HINDU MARRIAGE ACT - RESTITUTION OF CONJUGAL RIGHTS.  Section 9 of HINDU MARRIAGE ACT (HMA) talks about one of the remedy under act. It provides for the restitution of conjugal rights in cases where it feels satisfied that the respondent has unreasonably withdrawn from the society of the petitioner. The contention of the legislature which can be concluded from here is the principle that hindu marriage is the sacrament which binds the two parties into never ending bond.  Andhra Pradesh High Court in T. Sareetha v. T. Venkatta Subbaiah,  held that section 9 of HMA is violative of Article 14 i.e equality before law, and Article 21, which of includes right to privacy, of the Indian constitution. The court placed its reliance om the two landmark judgements of the supreme court namely Kharak Singh v. State of U.P. and Govind v. State of M.P.  In Govind's case the Supreme Court ruled that Article 21 encompasses right to privacy and human dignity. Both the cases h...

FORMS OF MARRIAGE While defining marriage under Hindu Law, supreme court in BIPINCHANDRA JAISINGHBHAI SHAH V. PRABHAVATI stated marriage as a sacrament, a holy alliance   for the performance of religious duties. According to the shastras, Hindu marriage is the last of the ten sacraments for purification enjoyed by an hindu. Dharma Shastra such as vedas and muni smriti mentioned 8 different types of marriages which although are not specifically provided in Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, but are appraised as customs which are given the status under section 3(a) of Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (HMA)  These 8 forms of marriages are even recognised by Supreme Court of India in Koppisetti Subbharao v. State of Andhra Pradesh.  These 8 forms are divided into 2 categories, approved and unapproved, constituting 4 in each category.  The 4 approved forms of marriage are :  Brahma : It is considered as the most supreme form of marriage in which the father of the daughter gift orname...

DEMOCRACY The word democracy is derived from the greek word 'demos' meaning 'people' and 'kratos' meaning 'authority or power'. There is no universal definition of democracy that has been given till now. However, according to Oxford languages dictionary, democracy is defined as a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of the state, typically through elected representatives. Apart from the dictionary, some political scientists and thinkers also defined democracy in thier own languages. According to Lincon, democracy is a government of the the people, for the people and by the people. Similarly Seelay defined democracy as a form of government in which everyone has a share. Some writers and thinkers also tried to define the democracy while complaining about it as Cranston defines it as, democracy is nothing but different doctrines in different people mind. Similarly C.D. Burns stated it to be, 'few words have been more ...

EXTENT AND OPERATION OF THE INDIAN PENAL CODE Section 1 talks about the tittle and extent and scope of the code. Section 2 talks about criminal liability on the person within the territory of India. Section 3 and 4 discuss about the punishment imposed for the offences committed without and beyond India. Section 5 works as a saving clause.  SECTION 1  Title and extent of operation of the code  : Section 1 declares the name of the code to be Indian Penal Code and that it will operate throughout the territory of India.  SECTION 2  Territorial Jurisdiction  : Section 2 deals with the intra territorial operation of the code. The section asserts the principle of criminal liability on the basis of place or locality where the crime is commited. For this section to be in force, it is necessary that the offence should be committed within the territory of India, irrespective of the fact where the offender may be. Supreme court in Mobarak Ali Ahmed v. state of Bombay, ...

DEFINITION AND CLASSIFICATION OF THE CONSTITUTION.  Definition of the constitution :  State which is a political organization is governed by the group of people, commonly known as government which generally constitute Legislative, Executive and Judiciary. These organs of the government cannot rule on thier own will and thus needs certain set of rules and principles which defines thier authority. These set of rules and principles is known as constitution. The Constitution is referred to as the governing wheel of the state without which anarchy would prevail in administration of the state. In this regard Thomas Paine rightly said, 'Government without the Constitution is power without the right'. Defining Constitution, different thinkers give thier opinion as to what constitution is. Aristotle giving very traditional view define constitution as, 'the way of life the state had chosen for itself.' T.C.F. Strongs opined, The Constitution is said to be the collection of princi...

INDIAN CONSTITUTION - FEDERAL OR UNITARY The structures of the constitution are generally federal or unitary. Federal constitution is the one in which there is clear division of power, i.e. power or authority is equally divided among different levels of government. On the other hand, unitary constitution is the one in which power is centralised or in other words, centre is more powerful and have overriding powers over the state government.  In context of Indian constitution, the word federal is mentioned nowhere in the Constitution. This always gives rise to the debate whether Indian constitution is federal or not.  Federal features of the Indian constitution :  Division of power  : Seventh schedule contains three list, i.e. union list, state list and concurrent list. These lists prescribed certain subjects to be dealt with by centre and state governments respectively. This shows the principle of divisional of power.  Bicameral legislature  : The Indian par...

INDIAN CONSTITUTION SALIENT FEATURES Lengthiest Constitution of the world : The Indian constitution is the lengthiest and detailed constitution in the world. It had taken many provisions from around the world with Government of India Act, 1935 as a parent act which was also one of the lengthy document. Looking at the diversity of the country it is necessary to draft such a long Constitution which contains special  provisions such as provisions for minority, backward classes and special statuses to some states like assam etc. Moreover India has a single constitution for union as well as state and symbolises unity.  A secular state :  India is a secular state means the state does not have any relegion. All the regions will be treated equally. Article 26 of the constitution provides for the right to manage one's own relegion. The Apex court in S.R. Bommai v. UOI clearly stated that 'in matters of state, relegion has no place', and aslo authoritatively held secularism as fhe...

EVOLUTION/HISTORY OF INDIAN CONSTITUTION Till 1858 India was under the rule of East India Company (EIC) which was ruling by its Governor General and Council.  In 1858 British Government overtook the control of the territory from EIC after our unsuccessful attempts of 1857.  Then, Indian Council Act, 1861 was passed to bring about some changes in council but Indians still didn't got any place in them.  In 1885, Indian National Congress (INC) was established with a purpose to draft the Constitutional design of India under British Government.  Several presentation were made but not much attention was given to indian people participation in government and to the basic rights of Indians.  The Indian Council Act, 1892 was passed which made some provisions for participation of Indian in legislative council but not in executive. This left the people unsatisfied.  To pacify people, in 1909 an act was passed popularly known as Minto-Morley Reforms . It made changes i...

CRIPPS MISSION RECOMMENDATIONS Indian union shall be made an independent dominion. After cessation of hostilities, new elected body to be set up to frame the constitution of India.  Indian states should also participate in the body The Constitution made shall be accepted by Her Majesty's Government subject to the conditions that provinces have the free choice in relation to the accession to Indian Union and if not accepting accession then free to adopt thier constitution on the pattern of Indian constitution. Apart from this, a treaty to be signed between British government and Constitution making body to deal with disputes in process of transferring power. Electoral college to be formed by provincial legislatures which in turn elect members of Constitution making bady. Indian states to also send their proportional representatives.  Till the framing of Constitution, british government to look after the defence of Indian Union.  Congress accepted the proposal but with some...

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA ACT, 1935 HISTORY The dissatisfaction of people from Government of India Act, 1919 and their non cooperation to the act led to the appointment of Reform Enquiry Committee in 1924 under the chairmanship of Sir Alexander Muddiman.  Majority Commission suggested for fair trail to the act while minority focuses on formation of Royal Commission to suggest constitution reforms.  Royal Commission known as Simon commission was appointed in 1927.  In 1930, it submitted its report suggesting no change in the federal constitution. Nehru committee report was present showing the demand of people of federal and responsible government and also the willingness of Indian princes to join in the federation.  3 round table conferences were held in England. First two were failed. In the last one, white paper was issued.  The paper provided for federation with autonomous provinces and the creation of responsible government at the centre as well as at the provinces...

THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA ACT, 1919 The drawbacks of  Minto-Morley Reforms  resulted in Government of India Act, 1909.  Montagu and Lord Chelmsford  studied the political problem of india and submitted their report known as Montagu-Chelmsford Report on basis of which this act of 1919 was passed.  It was the first comprehensive constitutional document of India. It aims to provide maximum autonomy for self government. It made considerable changes in the power of council, central and provincial governments. Classification of subjects were done into central and provincial subjects by "Devolution Rules".  Subject of common and general interest and residuary subject were classified as central subjects. Subjects of local importance were classified as provincial subjects.  THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT Central executive : Governor General and council (GGC) directs, control and superintended the government. Although the decision is taken by the majority among the counc...

MINTO-MORLEY REFORMS  FEATURES :  The number of legislative members in central legislature were increased from 16 to maximum 60. Some state legislatures had also seen similar increase Though non elected members continued to be in the majority, an elaborated policy was laid down for indirect elections of the members of the provincial councils who represents diverse Interest groups of the society The non official member of the provincial councils elected the members for the central legislature.  The power of legislature was extended to serious discussions on budget. Members can move resolution for alteration although government is not bound by that, even if passed.  Matters related to military, political, provincial affairs, foreign relations, indian states and sub-judice matters were excluded from discussions.  The president of legislative council can however disallow a question on the grounds of public interest or om the grounds that the natter is to be raised i...