Free Legal Aid::

It states that those persons who have annual income of less than the amount prescribed by the
respective State Government, if the case is before any court other than the Supreme Court, and less
than Rs. 5 Lakhs, if the case is before the Supreme Court, are eligible for free legal aid.

Constitutional provision:

Article 39A of the Constitution of India provides that State shall secure that the operation of the legal
system promotes justice on a basis of equal opportunity, and shall in particular, provide free legal aid, by
suitable legislation or schemes or in any other way, to ensure that opportunities for securing justice .

Article 21: “Protection of Life and Personal Liberty:

No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by
law.”

Case: Khatri v state of Bihar 1981:

It said that the state govt cannot avoid their constitutional obligation to provide free legal services to the
poor accused by pleading financial or administrative inability.

Case: Sukh Das vs UT of Arunachal Pradesh

Judgement:

The appellant thereupon preferred an appeal before the High Court contending that he was not
provided free legal aid for his defence and the trial was, therefore, vitiated. The High Court upheld the
conviction of the appellant on the ground that no application for legal aid was made by him before the
Addl.

Case : Hussainara Khatoon vs state of Bihar .

Judgement:

Honorable Supreme Court of India held that the State cannot deny the constitutional right of speedy
trial and equal access to justice shouldn't be denied on any grounds. This, case motivated various
lawyers to boost their voice against the denial of rights which are fundamental in nature

RIGHT TO PRIVACY

The right to privacy is an element of various legal traditions that intends to restrain governmental and
private actions that threaten the privacy of individuals

The Supreme Court held that the right to privacy is a fundamental right flowing from the right to life and
personal liberty as well as other fundamental rights securing individual liberty in the constitution.

Case: kharak singh v State of up 1962:

The right to privacy was invoked in this case to challenge the surveillance of an accused person by the
police. Kharak Singh was arrested for dacoity but was released due to a lack of evidence.

Case:Union of civil liberties vs union of India .

Case: R rajgopal vs tamilnadu 1995

( RIGHT TO BE LET ALONE).

A citizen have right to safeguard their privacy of parents, marriage etc..

Right against Self incrimination:::

In India, under Article 20 (3) of the Constitution, the defendant has the right against self-incrimination,
but witnesses are not given the same right. A defendant must be informed of their rights before making
any statements that may incriminate them. It is a protection against compulsion.

Case - MP Sharma vs Satish Chandra 1954

the 8-judge bench of the Supreme Court held that the drafters of the Constitution did not intend to
subject the power of search and seizure to a fundamental right of privacy.

Case: State of Bombay vs kathi kaalu oghag 1951

Judgement:

An accused person cannot be said to have been compelled to be a witness against himself simply
because he made a statement while in police custody, without anything more.

Self incrimination must means conveying information based upon the personal knowledge of the person
giving the information and connot include merely the mechanical process of producing document in
court which may through lie on any point in controversy but which donot contain any statement of the
accused based on his personal knowledge .

Case : State of Gujarat vs shyam Lal Choksi 1965

The accused person cannot be asked produced documents in his possession.

Case: Selvi vs Karnataka

Lie detector test , brain mapping, narco analysis test.

What constitutes compulsion:::

Compulsion is an essential ingredient but if a person makes a confession without any inducement,
threat or promise Article 20(3) does not apply. The accused may waive his/her right against self-
incrimination by voluntarily making an oral statement or producing documentary evidence,
incriminatory in nature.

Case: Nandani satpathi vs P.L Dani

NEGLIGENCE::::::

Negligence was defined as the omission to do something which a reasonable man would do or doing
something which a prudent or reasonable man would not do.

Case : Blyth vs Bermingham, 1856

Essential:.

1 Duty Of Care

It means that every person owes, a duty of care, to another person while performing an act. Although
this duty exists in all acts, but in negligence, the duty is legal in nature and cannot be illegal or unlawful
and also cannot be of moral, ethical or religious nature.

2)The Duty must be towards the plaintiff

A duty arises when the law recognizes a relationship between the defendant and the plaintiff and
requires the defendant to act in a certain manner toward the plaintiff. It is not sufficient that the
defendant owed a duty of care towards the plaintiff but it must also be established which is usually
determined by the judge

3)Breach of Duty to take care

It’s not enough for a plaintiff to prove that the defendant owed him a duty of care but he must also
establish that the defendant breached his duty to the plaintiff

4)Actual cause or cause in fact

In this scenario, the plaintiff who is suing the defendant for negligence has the liability to prove is that
the defendant’s violation of duty was the actual cause of the damages incurred by him.

5)Proximate cause

Proximate cause means “legal cause,” or the cause that the law recognizes as the primary cause of the
injury. It may not be the first event that set in motion a sequence of events that led to an injury, and it
may not be the very last event before the injury occurs. Instead, it is an action that produced
foreseeable consequences without intervention from anyone else.

6)Consequential harm to the plaintiff

Proving that the defendant failed to exercise reasonable care is not enough. It should also be proved
that the failure of the defendant to exercise reasonable care resulted in damages to the plaintiff to
whom the defendant owed a duty of care.

Defenses available in a suit for negligence

1)Contributory negligence by the plaintiff

Contributory negligence means that when the immediate cause of the damage is the negligence of the
plaintiff himself, the plaintiff cannot sue the defendant for damages and the defendant can use it as a
defense.

2) An Act of God

An Act of God is a direct, violent and sudden act of nature which by any amount of human foresight
could have been foreseen and if foreseen could not by any amount of human care and skill have been
resisted.

3) Inevitable Accident

An inevitable accident can also be called as a defense of negligence and refers to an accident that had
no chance of being prevented by the exercise of ordinary care, caution, and skill. It means a physically
unavoidable accident.

1. A legal duty to exercise due care on the part of the party complain of towards the party complaining .

Case; Donoghue vs Stevenson

Reasonable foreseen

Case: Bookar vs wenborn

Case: Cates vs mongini Bros

Case: Fardon vs Harcourd Rivington

Case: Walton vs Stone

2. Breach of duty

a. Impotance of object to be attained

Case : Latimer vs AEC Ltd..

b. Magnitude of risk

Case: Nirmala vs TamilNadu electricity Board.

c. Amount of consideration offered

3. Damage ::

Res Ipsa loquitur(Thing speaks for itself)

Case: Municipal corporation of Delhi vs Subagh Banti

Case : Byrne vs Boadle

Res Ipsa Loquitur :::

It is a Latin phrase that means the thing speaks for itself. In the law of torts, it is a very popular doctrine.
In cases, where the evidence is itself sufficient to prove the guilt of the defendant, the maxim is used
there. So, the maxim points out any circumstantial evidence or an object which itself shows that an act
has been committed. It shows that if the defendant was not negligent, the accident would not have
happened.

In the law of torts, to prove somebody's negligence, the burden of proof is on the plaintiff which means
the person who is the victim of the tort. It becomes really difficult to prove that the defendant was at
fault and also to gather evidence against his act or omission. If the plaintiff is not able to prove
negligence on the part of the defendant, the defendant cannot be made liable. So, the principle of Res
Ipsa Loquitor came into force under which a plaintiff can use circumstantial evidence to establish
negligence.

CONTRIBUTORY NEGLIGENCE ::

Contributory negligence basically means ignorance from both the parties involved. If a person is driving
a car without any breaks met with an accident with another person who was driving on the wrong side
of the road. This results in contributory negligence. It’s a defence available to the defendant in case of
contributory negligence which prevents the plaintiff to get compensation.

Contributory negligence is the ignorance of due care on the part of the plaintiff to avoid the
consequences of the defendant’s negligence. This concept is loosely based on the maxim- “Volenti non
fit injuria” (injury sustained voluntarily). It means If a person is not taking due diligence in order to avoid
consequences resulting out from the negligence of the defendant the liability of negligence will be on
both of them.

Principles of contributory negligence

If the plaintiff is himself negligent for taking due care in order to avoid consequences and becomes the
direct cause of the damages, he is not entitled to receive any compensation.

If both the plaintiff and the defendant have taken reasonable measure and ordinary care to such extent
where they both wanted to avoid such consequences then the plaintiff can’t sue the defendant.

Case: Rural Transport Service vs Bezlum BB

LAST OPPORTUNITY RULE OR LAST CHANCE RULE:

The last opportunity rule may be stated as: “When an accident happens through the combined
negligence of two persons, he alone is liable to the other who had the last opportunity of avoiding the
accident by reasonable care.

Case: Davies vs Mann

Case: Redliff vs L&N WRRY

Formation of Contract::::::

Section: 10

Section 10 of the act mentions about what agreements are contracts. It states that all the agreements
are contracts if they are madeby a free consent of parties (i.e. their free will) who are competent to
contract,

for a lawful consideration and

for a lawful object, and

are not expressly declared to be void

Agreement :

1.Valid

2. Void

Contract= Agreement+ Enforceability.

All Contacts are Agreement

All agreement are not Contract.

Essential::

1.Valid offer (2 a);

The term ‘offer’ is also called a proposal, which has been defined in Section 2(a) as “a person’s
willingness to do or to abstain from doing something, to obtain the assent of that other to such act or
abstinence”. It is the first step towards the formation of an agreement. For an offer to be valid in the
eyes of the law, it must be communicated to the offeree (i.e., the party on the receiving end of the
offer). It must be clear and precise to receive the consent of the other party to form an agreement.

2. Valid acceptance (2b);

Section 2 (b) of the Indian Contract Act, 1872 defines acceptance as, “when the person to whom the
proposal is made signifies his assent thereto, the proposal is said to be accepted.” Valid acceptance
must be unconditional and must be communicated

3. Lawfull Consideration (2d);

Consideration is something in exchange for something, i.e., mutual benefits. It is formally defined as
“When, at the desire of the promisor, the promise or any other person has done or abstained from
doing, or does or abstains from doing, or promises to do or to abstain from doing, something, such act
or abstinence or promise is called a consideration for the promise”. Consideration must be something
that has value in the eyes of the law

4. Lawfull object;

It is necessary that the objective that a contract is legal. A court will not enforce a contract that is illegal
or contrary to public policy. Illegal contracts are prohibited either by statute or by common law. For
instance, if two people enter into a contract for active euthanasia, the contract would be declared void
by a court of law

5. Capacity to Contract sec. 11,12 ;

An agreement is said to be a valid contract when parties entering into that agreement are competent to
contract, which means that a person must be above the age of majority, of sound mind and must not be
disqualified by law

6. Free consent sec.14 ;

Consent is said to be so caused when it would not have been given but for the existence of such
coercion, undue influence, fraud, misrepresentation or mistake.

7. Agreement not expressly declared to be void;

Section 25 of the act which says that all those agreement which are without consideration are void,
unless it is in writing and registered or is a promise to compensate for something done or is a promise to
pay a debt barred by limitation law.

Doctrine of Frustration:::

The general rule of contracts states, that the parties to a contract have to fulfill their obligations under
the contract and in case of breach, the party breaching the contract has to compensate the other for the
damages caused. The doctrine of frustration is an exception to this rule.

The doctrine of frustration basically talks about the impossibility of performance of the contract. It
means a contract cannot be executed because of an incident beyond the control of parties. The
performance of such a contract becomes frustrated i.e. it becomes complicated, impossible or even
illegal. The frustration of contract can be due to any unforeseen, impossible events and events out of
control of the parties.

Sec . 56

1. Initially impossibility

2. SUBSEQUENT IMPOSSIBILITY

LES NON COGIT AD IMPOSSIBLIA

(The law does not compel man to do which is impossible)

BREACH:

A breach of contract is when one party breaks the terms of an agreement between two or more parties.
This includes when an obligation that is stated in the contract is not completed on time—for example,
you are late with a rent payment—or when it is not fulfilled at all, such as a tenant vacating their
apartment owing six months’ back rent.

Actual breach:

When one party refuses to fully perform the terms of the contract.

Anticipatory breach:

When a party states in advance that they will not be delivering on the terms of the contract

Sec .39

When a party to a contract has refused to perform, or disabled himself from performing, his promise in
its entirety, the promisee may put an end to the contract, unless he has signified, by words or conduct,
his acquiescence in its continuance.

Illustrations

(a) A, a singer, enters into a contract with B, the manager of a theatre, to sing at his theatre two nights
in every week during the next two months, and B engages to pay her 100 rupees for each night's
performance. On the sixth night A wilfully absents herself from the theatre. B is at liberty to put an end
to the contract.

REMEDIES FOR BREACH:

Recession of Contract

When one of the parties to a contract does not fulfil his obligations, then the other party can rescind the
contract and refuse the performance of his obligations.

Sue for Damages

Section 73 clearly states that the party who has suffered, since the other party has broken promises, can
claim compensation for loss or damages caused to them in the normal course of business.

Sue for Specific Performance

This means the party in breach will actually have to carry out his duties according to the contract. In
certain cases, the courts may insist that the party carry out the agreement.

Injunction
An injunction is basically like a decree for specific performance but for a negative contract. An injunction
is a court order restraining a person from doing a particular act.

Quantum Meruit

Quantum meruit literally translates to “as much is earned”. At times when one party of the contract is
prevented from finishing his performance of the contract by the other party, he can claim quantum
meruit.

Case : Hadley vs baxendale

According to the rule of Hadley v. Baxendale, consequential damages can be claimed by the non-
breaching party only if both the parties to the contract were aware of the possibility of such losses
arising from the breach of contract

TYPES OF DAMAGES:::

1.liquidated damages

Damages are said to be liquidated once agreed and fixed by the parties. It is the sum agreed by the
parties by contract as payable on the default of one of them, Section 74 applies to such damages

2.Substantial Damages

In cases where an offense is proven, many authorities may claim substantial damages even if it is not
only difficult but also impossible to calculate the damages with certainty or accuracy. In all these cases,
however, the extent of the breach has been established.

3.Nominal damages

If the defendant is found liable for breach of contract, the plaintiff is entitled to nominal damages even if
no actual damage is proven. Nominal damages are awarded if there is an infringement of a legal right
and if it does not give the rise to any real damages, it gives the right t

SPECIFIC PERFORMANCE::::

Specific performance means enforcement of exact terms of the contract. Under it the plaintiff claims for
the specific thing of which he is entitled as per the terms of contract. For example, if A agrees to sell
certain shares to B of a specific company which are limited in number and after the payment made by B,
if A refuses to sell the shares then B is entitled to recovery of those shares.

Sec .10 of specific relief act.

According to Section 10 of Specific Relief Act 1963 in the following conditions specific performance of
the contract is enforceable:

When there exist no standard for ascertaining actual damage:

It is the situation in which the plaintiff is unable to determine the amount of loss suffered by him. Where
the damage caused by the breach of contract is ascertainable then the remedy of specific performance
is not available to the plaintiff. For example, a person enters into a contract for the purchase of a
painting of dead painter which is only one in the market and its value is unascertainable then he is
entitled to the same.

When compensation of money is not adequate relief:

In following cases compensation of money would not provide adequate relief:

Where the subject matter of the contract is an immovable property.

Where the subject matter of the contract is movable property and,

Such property or goods are not an ordinary article of commerce i.e. which could be sold or purchased in
the market.

The article is of special value or interest to the plaintiff.

The article is of such nature that is not easily available in the market.

The property or goods held by the defendant as an agent or trustee of the plaintiff.

PLEA BARGAINING:::

Plea bargaining is a pretrial negotiation between the accused and the prosecution where the accused
agrees to plead guilty in exchange for certain concessions by the prosecution. It is a bargain where a
defendant pleads guilty to a lesser charge and the prosecutors in return drop more serious charges. It is
not available for all types of crime e.g. a person cannot claim plea bargaining after committing heinous
crimes or for the crimes which are punishable with death or life imprisonment.

Plea Bargaining is not an indigenous concept of Indian legal system. It is a part of the recent
development of Indian Criminal Justice System (ICJS). It was inculcated in Indian Criminal Justice System
after considering the burden of long-standing cases on the Judiciary.

Section 265A to 265L, Chapter XXIA of the Criminal Procedure Code deals with the concept of Plea
Bargaining. It was inserted into the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2005. It allows plea bargaining for
cases:
Where the maximum punishment is imprisonment for 7 years;

Where the offenses don’t affect the socio-economic condition of the country;

When the offenses are not committed against a woman or a child below 14 are excluded.

TRAI

History

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) was, thus, established with effect from 20th February
1997 by an Act of Parliament, called the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997, to regulate
telecom services, including fixation/revision of tariffs for telecom services which were earlier vested in
the Central Government.

OBJECTIVE:

TRAI's mission is to create and nurture conditions for growth of telecommunications in the country.

TRAI regulates telecom services including fixation/revision of tariffs for telecom services which were
earlier vested in the Central Government.

It also aims to provide a fair and transparent policy environment which promotes a level playing field
and facilitates fair competition.

Headquarters: The head office of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is located at New
Delhi.

Composition:

Members: The TRAI consists of a Chairperson, two whole-time members and two part-time members, all
of which are appointed by the Government of India.

Tenure of Members: The Chairperson and other members shall hold their office for a term of three years
or till the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier.

Chairperson: The Chairperson has the powers of general superintendence.

He/She presides over the meetings of the TRAI.

Vice-Chairperson: The Central Government may appoint one of the members of the Authority as the
Vice-Chairperson of TRAI.

The vice-chairperson exercises and discharges the powers and functions of the Chairperson in his/her
absence.
POWERS

Order for Furnishing Information: It can call upon any service provider to furnish in writing the
information or explanation relating to its affairs as the Authority may require.

Appointments for Inquiry: The Authority may appoint one or more persons to make an inquiry in
relation to the affairs of any service provider.

Order for Inspection: It is empowered to direct any of its officers or employees to inspect the books of
accounts or other documents of any service provider.

Issue Directions to Service Providers: The Authority shall have the power to issue such directions to
service providers as it may consider necessary for proper functioning by service providers.

FUNCTIONS:

Makes Recommendations: The function of the TRAI is to make recommendations on the following
matters:

Need for introduction of new service provider.

Revocation of license for non-compliance of terms and conditions of licence.

Measures to facilitate competition and promote efficiency in the operation of telecommunication

services to facilitate their growth.

Technological improvements in the services provided by the service providers.

Discharge of Responsibilities: The TRAI is responsible for discharging the following functions:

Ensuring the compliance of terms and conditions of licence.

Ensuring the technical compatibility and effective interconnection between different service providers.

Laying down the standards of quality of service to be provided by the service providers.

Ensuring the quality of service and conducting the periodical surveys of such services.

Timely and officially notifying the rates at which the telecommunication services within India and
outside India shall be provided under the TRAI Act, 1997.

Non-Binding Recommendations: The recommendations of the TRAI are not binding upon the Central
Government.

If the Central Government does not accept any recommendation of the TRAI or needs modifications, it
refers the recommendation back to the Authority for its reconsideration.

The TRAI forwards to the Central Government its recommendation after considering the reference made
by that Government within 15 days.
INDIGENT PERSON

Taking into consideration the poverty rate of India, it is quite challenging for the deprived section of
society to institute a case in court and bear all the litigation expenses. But simply saying that these
vulnerable people don’t stand a chance in court, is not the solution.

With the motive of providing justice to such individuals, provisions under Order 33 of the Code of Civil
Procedure, 1908 were introduced. Any person who wants to represent as an indigent person is required
to file an application before the competent court wherein he declares himself to be an indigent person.
If the court is satisfied with such an application and agrees to the fact that such person has no means to
pay the court fee, then the court will declare such person as an indigent person.

The Hon’ble Supreme Court In Union Bank of India v. Khader International Construction discussed the
definition of an indigent person. It was observed by the court that an indigent person is one who is not
possessed of sufficient amount (other than property exempt from attachment in execution of a decree
and the subject-matter of the suit) to enable him to pay the fee prescribed by law for the plaintiff in
such a suit. In case no such fee is prescribed if such person is not entitled to property worth one
thousand rupees other than the property exempt from attachment in execution of a decree and the
subject matter of the suit he would be an indigent person.