Lawwatch : Legal Resources for Aspiring Advocates

Guardianship of Child Comes under Family Court, but of Child’s Property Comes under District Court

By K Rajasekharan 26 July 2025Family, Marriage & Divorce

The guardianship of a minor person or its custody, Comes under Family Court. It has the jurisdiction to deal with such cases, under explanation to Section 7(1) (g) of the Family Courts Act.

Power To Recall Witness Vests with Court, not to the Parties

By K Rajasekharan 24 July 2025Civil law1 Comment

The Supreme Court (SC), in Shubhkaran Singh v. Abhayraj Singh [2025 INSC 628], held that under Order 18 Rule 17 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (CPC), only the court—not the parties—has the power to recall a witness.

SC Can even Quash Rape Charges Based on the Facts

By K Rajasekharan 22 July 2025Criminal law

The Supreme Court (SC), in Madhukar & Others v The State of Maharashtra & Another. [ 2025 INSC 819], says the court has power under Section 482 the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC) to quash criminal proceedings related to even rape, in exceptional circumstances, based on the facts of the case to secure ends of justice.

Secretly Recorded Conversations of Husband and Wife Admissible in Matrimonial Disputes

By K Rajasekharan 21 July 2025Family, Marriage & Divorce

A secretly recorded telephonic conversation of the spouse is admissible as evidence in matrimonial proceedings, says the Supreme Court (SC), in Vibhor Garg v Neha [2025 INSC 829], while setting aside the judgment of the Punjab & Haryana High Court..

Relief Granted by the Civil Court should be Related to Pleading & Prayers

By K Rajasekharan 20 July 2025Civil law

The Para 16 of the SC judgement in Bachhaj Nahar v Nilima Mandal & Others [AIR 2009 SC 1103] states that it is fundamental that in a civil suit, relief to be granted can be only with reference to the prayers made in the pleadings and therefore, it would be hazardous to hold that in a civil suit whatever be the relief that is prayed, the court can on examination of facts grant any relief as it thinks fit.

Conditions for Granting Mandatory Injunction u/s 39 of the SRA

By K Rajasekharan 20 July 2025Property & Succession

The Supreme Court (SC), in Estate Officer, Haryana Urban Development Authority and Ors. v. Nirmala Devi [2025 INSC 843] states that a grant of mandatory injunction under Section 39 of the Specific Relief Act, 1963 (SRA) is discretionary, and can be granted only upon the breach of an enforceable legal obligation.

Cheque Cases can be Filed against Partners without Arraigning the Partnership

By K Rajasekharan 19 July 2025Negotiable Instruments

A complaint under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, can be maintained against individual partners of a firm even if the firm itself is not named as an accused, says the Supreme Court (SC) in Dhanasingh Prabhu v Chandrasekar & Another [2025 INSC 831].

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

By K Rajasekharan 17 July 2025Articles

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

By K Rajasekharan 15 July 2025Property & Succession

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.

Different Stages of a Civil Suit : An Overview

By K Rajasekharan 12 July 2025Civil law

Every suit shall be instituted by presenting a plaint in duplicate to the court which has jurisdiction to try the suit and is the lowest in grade competent to try it. The detailed rules, governing the presentation of a plaint, are included in Order VI and VII of the Civil Procedure Code, 1973 (CPC).

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

By K Rajasekharan 9 July 2025Family, Marriage & Divorce

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].