Can an Accused Send a Reply to a Magistrate’s Summons without Appearing Before the Court?

17 July 2025Posted inArticlesNo Comments
An accused cannot send a reply in the form of a letter to a summons issued by a Magistrate court, in the same way a defendant might file a defence in a civil case. Instead, the accused is expected to appear in the court on the specified date and time, either personally or through a lawyer, and enter a plea or make an application as appropriate.

Women have Equal Right in Undivided Coparcenary Property Even After the Enactment of JFSAA

15 July 2025Posted inProperty & SuccessionNo Comments
In N P Rajani v Radha Nambidi Parambath [2025:KER:49346], the High Court of Kerala declared that the daughter of a Hindu, who dies after 20.12.2004, in the State of Kerala is entitled to equal share in the ancestral property (but not in the individual property) if no partition has taken place prior to the date, in spite of the enactment of the JFSAA in 1975.

Courts Need not Order DNA Test to Determine Paternity even If Mother Agrees

9 July 2025Posted inFamily, Marriage & DivorceNo Comments
Even if a mother agrees to get done the DNA profiling test of her child to ascertain its paternity, the courts must still act as the 'custodian' of the rights of the child and consider the pros and cons of the said test before calling upon the minor to undergo the test, says the Bombay High Court in SKP v KSP [2025: BHC-NAG:6350].

Uncultivable Paddy Lands can be Removed from Data Bank: HC

7 July 2025Posted inUncategorizedNo Comments
In Dr Satheeshsankaranarayanannamboothiri v State of Kerala [2025:KER:40084] the Kerala High Court decided that a property that remains irreparably fragmented by government acquisition, lies landlocked by roads and fallow with the scattered vegetation, and continues to remain unsuitable for cultivation, cannot be classified as paddy or wetland under the Kerala Conservation of Paddy and Wetland, 2008 & its Rules.

Arrears of Rent up to Notice Period alone can be Claimed u/s 11 (2) (b) of the Kerala Rent Control Act

6 July 2025Posted inLease & Rent ControlNo Comments
An order under Section 11(2)(b) of the Kerala Buildings (Lease and Rent Control) Act, 1965 (BRC Act) should specify the period in which the rent fell in arrears till the date of demand notice and the monthly rent payable, says the High Court of Kerala in Thomas Stephen v Fort in Infra Developers Pvt Ltd [MANU/KE/1521/2017].

Sale of Minor’s Property under Guardians & Wards Act

6 July 2025Posted inProperty & SuccessionNo Comments
Any property or a share in any joint property owned by a minor, cannot be sold or disposed of by other means, by the natural guardian of the minor, without taking permission from the court. The disposal of property of a minor or creating a charge on it, by the natural guardian under Hindu law is governed by Section 8 of HMGA and Section 29 of the HMGA.

Unregistered Sale Agreements are Admissible as Evidence in Suits for Specific Performance

28 June 2025Posted inProperty & Succession
Unregistered sale agreements, while not transferring ownership, are admissible as evidence in a suit for specific performance to establish the existence of a contract. This admissibility is governed by the interplay between Section 17 and Section 49 of the Registration Act. However, such agreements cannot be used to claim ownership or title to the property without a decree for specific performance, as held by the High Court of Kerala in Shaju v. Victory Granite Bricks Pvt. Ltd. & Another [2025:KER:45599].