Legal Snippets

Date: 13 April, 2021 by Dikshita Singla, UILS, Panjab University MEANING Lease means when a person rents his property to another through a means of contract in return for a payment for a certain period. e.g. A leases his house to B for 6 months for periodic payment of Rs. 12000 per month. The term “lease” is defined under Section 105 of The Transfer of Property Act, 1882 - “ A lease of immovable property is a transfer of a right to enjoy such property, made for a certain time, express or implied, or in perpetuity, in consideration of a price paid or promised, or of money, a share of crops, service or any other thing of value, to be rendered periodically or on specific occasions to the transferor by the transferee, who accepts the transfer on such terms ”. ESSENTIALS OF A VALID LEASE Competent Parties - To constitute a valid lease both the lessor and the lessee must be competent parties. For both the parties to be competent they must be: The lessee must have attained the age of eighteen years. The lessor must have the rightful authority to make the lease. Both the parties must be of sane mind to constitute a valid lease agreement. Subject matter involved - The subject matter to be leased must be an immovable property like a flat, house or commercial space. Movable property cannot be leased. Consideration - There must be some kind of consideration involved in the contract. Without a valid consideration, it would be considered as an invalid lease. The consideration is generally in the form of premium plus rent but sometimes it can be varied by the discretion of both parties. Period- A lease for an immovable property shall be made for 11 months. In case the duration exceeds 12 months or more then a lease agreement can only be made by a registered instrument as per Section 107 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882. Acceptance of the contract - To constitute a valid contract, both parties must accept the contract without any form of undue influence, coercion. Once the lessee accepts the contract, the lease becomes valid. RIGHTS OF A LESSOR Right to accretions - In case any addition is made in the property during the tenure of the contract then the lessor is entitled to any such addition in the property. Right to collect rent - The lessor is entitled to collect rent or any form of consideration as stated while the formation of the contract. RIGHTS OF A LESSEE To charge for repair - If the lessor refuses to make any repairs in the property which he is bound to do in that case the lessee can make such repairs by his personal expenses. To compensate for the expenses, the lessee can charge the same from the lessor. Right to remove fixtures - The lessee can remove any fixture in the property during the existence of the lease, but after the expiry of the lease deed the lessee must leave the property in the same condition as he received it. Right to assign his interest- The lessee has the authority to sub-lease the property to a third party or the lessee can completely transfer his interests. Lessor must disclose all the relevant facts and try to avoid interruptions while the lessee is leased the property. A lessee is supposed to take reasonable care of the property and at the timely payment of the rent to the lessor. SOURCES: https://blog.ipleaders.in/45943-2/ https://www.legalbites.in/lease-introduction-concept/

Date: 12 April, 2021 by Nishtha Girdhar, UILS, Panjab University In Corpus Juris Secundum , the term “abet” has been defined as “to aid, to assist or to give aid; to command, to procure, or to counsel; to countenance; to encourage, counsel, induce, or assist, to encourage or to set another on to commit.” The term “abetment” in criminal law thus indicates that there is a distinction between the person abetting the commission of an offence (or abettor) and the perpetrator of the offence or the principal offender. ABETMENT UNDER THE IPC Under the IPC, 1860, abetment is constituted by: Instigating a person to commit an offence; or Engaging in a conspiracy to commit it; or Intentionally aiding a person to commit it. The essence of abetment is the active and intentional assistance of a person to the perpetrator of an offence. It is imperative to note that the offence of abetment by instigation relies on the intention of the individual who abets and not upon the act which is finished by the individual who has abetted. 1.ABETMENT OF A THING: SECTION 107 Abetment by Instigation: The word “instigate” literally means to provoke or bring about by persuasion to do anything. The act of instigating a person could take any form. There must be a proximate causal connection between instigation and the act committed as a result. Abetment by Criminal Conspiracy: Commission of abetment by engaging with one or more persons in a conspiracy to commit an offence constitutes the offence of abetment by conspiracy. Abetment by Intentional Aiding: Intentional aid consists of any of the following three components: Doing an act directly assisting the commission of the crime, or Illegally omitting to do a thing which one is bound to do, or Doing an act that may facilitate the commission of the crime by another. CASE LAW : Shri Ram v State of Uttar Pradesh , AIR 1975 SC 175 It was held that mere knowledge on part of a person that his act would facilitate the commission of an offence does not make him an abettor. 2. ABETTOR: SECTION 108 The section lays down the definition of an abettor as being a person who abets: The commission of an offence Commission of an act which if committed by such a person would be an offence 3. PUNISHMENT FOR ABETTMENT: SECTIONS 109-114 Section 109: This section is applicable in case no separate provision is made for the punishment of such an abetment. In such a case, it is punishable with the imprisonment prescribed for the main offence. Section 110: Section 110 comes into play when the act has been committed with an intention different from the intention of the abettor abetting the commission of such act. The liability of the individual abetted isn’t influenced by this section. Section 111: This section enunciates the principle of constructive liability. When an act is abetted, and a different act is done, the abettor is liable for the act done, in the same manner, and to the same extent as if he had directly abetted it. Section 112: According to this section if the act abetted is done along with another act which is the probable consequence of abetment, then the abettor is liable to be punished for each of the offences. Section 113: This section deals with the case where the act done are the same as the act abetted, but with a different effect. Section 114: A charge under Section 114 will lie when the abettor is present during the commission of the offence which he has abetted to take place. 4. QUANTUM OF PUNISHMENT WHERE OFFENCE IS PUNISHABLE WITH LIFE IMPRISONMENT OR DEATH: SECTIONS 115 -116 Section 115: In cases where no offence has been committed in consequence of the abetment, the punishment so prescribed is imprisonment of up to 7 years and a fine. Where offence has been committed in consequence of the abetment, the abettor is liable to be punished with a term of up to 14 years and a fine. Section 116: Section 116 provides for the punishment of abetment for the offence which is punishable with imprisonment for life. 5. PUNISHMENT FOR CONCEALING DESIGN TO COMMIT OFFENCES: SECTIONS 118-120 Sections 118-120 deals with a special form of abetment by way of concealing of design to commit crimes. They deal with concealment before the commission of the crime. CONCLUSION Thus, as a substantive offence, abetment seeks to make not only the perpetrator but also the accomplice or abettor liable for the commission of an offence which stands in consonance with principles of natural justice.

Date: 10th February, 2021 by Ambica Sharma, VIPS, Dwarka INTRODUCTION A seller is under an obligation to deliver the goods sold and the buyer is under an obligation to pay the requisite amount or quid pro quo under the contract of sale. This is a reciprocal promise defined as under Section 2(f) of the Indian Contract Act, 1872. When a buyer refuses or fails to pay the requisite amount to the seller, the unpaid seller has certain rights. These remedies can be against: Buyer Goods According to Section 45(1) of Sale of Goods Act, 1930, the seller is considered as an unpaid seller when: When the whole price has not been paid and the seller has an immediate right of action for the price. When Bills of Exchange or other negotiable instrument has been received as conditional payment, and the pre-requisite condition has not been fulfilled by reason of the dishonour of the instrument or otherwise. For instance, X sold some goods to Y for $50 and received a cheque. When it was presented for payment, it was dishonoured. X is an unpaid seller. Seller also includes a person who is in a position of a seller i.e. agent, who had himself paid or is responsible for the price. RIGHTS AGAINST BUYER Suit for the price When the buyer has wrongfully neglected or refused to pay as per the terms and conditions of the contract, the seller may sue him as per the Section 55(1) because once the property has been passed the buyer is bound to pay the price. Suit for damages In case there is a wrongful refusal on the part of the buyer for acceptance of goods and payment of money, the seller can sue him for damages of non-acceptance as per Section 56. In the case of M. Lachia Shetty V. Coffee Board ( AIR 1981 SC 162), a dealer who bid at an auction of coffee, the offer was accepted, but he refused to carry out the contract, consequently, coffee was re-auctioned at next best bidding price and the dealer who refused to perform the contract had to pay the difference as loss to the board. Suit for interest As stated under Section 61, where there is a specific agreement between buyer and seller with regards to interest on the price of goods from the date on which payment becomes due, the seller may recover interest from a buyer. But if no such agreement then, the seller may charge interest from the day he notifies the buyer. Repudiation of the contract before the due date According to Section 60, the rule of anticipatory breach of contract applies, wherein, if buyer renounces the contract before the date of delivery, the seller can consider the contract as withdrawn and can sue for damages of the breach. RIGHTS AGAINST GOODS Lien Lien is a right which seller can exercise if the buyer fails to pay the price of goods, under this right seller can retain the possession of goods as an agent or bailee for the buyer. The seller can retain his possession as per Section 47 under the following circumstances: In case the buyer is insolvent. When the term of goods sold on credit is expired. Goods sold without any stipulation as to credit. Stoppage When the goods have been transferred to carrier or bailee for the purpose of transmission to the buyer, who has become insolvent, the seller has the right to stop the goods in transit in order to protect himself against any loss that may arise due to insolvency. Under Section 50, there are four requirements for stopping the goods in transit: Unpaid seller. Buyer insolvent. Property should have passed to the buyer. Property should be in the course of transit. Resale Exercising the right of lien or stoppage does not withdraw the agreement but reselling of goods does. The unpaid seller can exercise this right under following conditions and circumstances- 1- Seller before reselling the goods needs to send a notice to the buyer. 2- If there is any loss in the resale of goods he can claim the loss from the buyer. 3- Seller gives fair ownership to the buyer after the resale. It does not matter if a notice of resale is given or not to the defaulted buyer. 4- Sometimes the seller reserves exclusive right to resale the goods if the buyer makes a default in payment, in such cases the buyer cannot ask for profit on resale. For instance, R V Ward V. Bignall ([1967] 1 QB 534), there was a contract of sale of two cars, vanguard and zodiac for 850$. The buyer deposited 25$ but afterwards did not pay the price despite a reasonable notice. The seller then tried to resell but could only find a vanguard for 359$. He then claimed damages for 475$ representing the balance of price and 22$ as advertising expenses. Court held that once the seller resells the goods the contract is annulled and he cannot claim the money but he can ask for advertising expenses and a shortfall in the price of the vanguard.