Bombay high court has held that while awarding compensation in accident cases under the Motor Vehicles Act, interest paid on a housing loan should not subtracted from the victim’s income to determine payout amount to kin

Mumbai: Bombay high court recently held that while awarding compensation in accident cases under the Motor Vehicles (MV) Act, interest paid on a housing loan — allowed as deduction under the Income-Tax (I-T) Act — should not subtracted from the victim’s income to determine payout amount to kin. Nor can a ‘loss’ under the I-T Act determine “just compensation” under the MV Act, Justice Jitendra Jain held.A victim’s income forms the basis of a compensation under the MV Act and such earning is only from either a salary, if employed, or from a business or profession, if self-employed, Justice Jain observed. The July 10 ruling on the interplay of I-T Act and salutary MV Act paved way for Rs 17 lakh more as compensation to a Pune doctor who, 20 years ago, at age 26, became a widow with two minors.The legal issues that cropped up and decided for the first time, as observed by the HC, was over whether ‘loss’ under the I-T Act from property and interest paid on housing loan could be factored in to calculate what the income was. Justice Jain held, “Loss as per the I-T Act under the head “House Property” cannot be set-off against income under the head “Business or Profession” for the purposes of the MV Act.’’ The HC rejected the insurer’s submissions that the loss ought to be set off. Justice Jain said if the insurer’s argument is accepted, it may lead to no payout, as the loss is permitted under the I-T Act to be offset for upto seven years and may even lead to a ‘nil’ income.In 2014, the widow and her two children had challenged a 2012 order of a Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT). She had, in December 2005, lost her doctor husband Bhupendra Kothadia. A speeding truck driven in a wrong direction hit his car and he died on the spot. Seven years on, the tribunal awarded her close to Rs 17 lakh after deducting the interest he paid on a home loan and calculating his income by setting-off of loss under the head ‘Income from House Property’ against positive income under the head ‘Income from Business’.“The set-off provision is for the purpose of determining lower tax, but same cannot be read to lower the compensation under the MV Act,’’ said Justice Jain.Her lawyers. Amit Singh and Abhay Nevgi. argued that the income payable for housing loan was part of victim’s income and only permissible exclusions are income tax and profession tax. But advocate Amol Gatne, for the insurer, argued that home loan interest must be excluded as only then the “disposable income’’ is seen.Claim cases abound and similar issues are pending in other matters, hence the HC also heard four amicus curiae — T J Mendon, Yogesh Pande, D S Joshi and Karishma Jhaveri — who submitted that “on this issue there is not a single decision of any court”.The MV Act is a socio-welfare law, the HC said, and reasoned that if insurer’s contention is accepted, “it would amount to reducing the compensation’’ payable. The HC held that interest payable on a home loan is to be included in the victim’s income.The HC reasoned, “Even if it is accepted that on death full repayment of loan becomes due and payable, still to repay that loan, interest has to be factored in awarding compensation because had the person not died interest liability would continue,’’ but clarified: “This, however, should not be construed to mean that insurance company undertakes to bear repayment liability, but certainly while awarding compensation the interest liability should be added to the compensation award for determining income.”The HC said any income from house or property or income from capital gains or income from other sources, which continue to be earned even after the death, cannot form the basis to decide the compensation.The widow and two children had sought enhancement of compensation.The Tribunal had directed the insurer, United India Insurance Company Ltd, to pay interest from 2008 when it was added as party. The HC ruled that the insurer must pay from 2006, when the claim for compensation was filed. The MV Act requires an insurer to pay from claim plea date, said Justice Jain and knowledge of claim cannot be the criterion.JudgeSpeak* When it comes to awarding compensation under the MV Act, it is only income from salary or income from business or profession which should be considered for compensating the dependents* Section 71 of the I-T Act provides that if there is a loss under one head, it can be set-off against income from another head. The aim is to make the person liable to pay tax on net income. This provision cannot be borrowed mechanically for the purpose of arriving at “just compensation” under the MV Act. Therefore, the Tribunal’s approach to adopt the taxable income after set-off of loss under property loan, to calculate compensation is erroneous* If interest on loan excluded from income, the dependent would have insufficient funds to service the interest, which otherwise would have been, had the vehicular accident victim not died. Hence for compensation under MV Act, interest on housing loan should not be reduced

A source said John Abraham has no plans to redevelop it and that he ‘just loved the place’

Mumbai: Actor John Abraham, one of the most prolific investors in Mumbai’s real estate, has purchased a bungalow in Bandra West for a reported Rs 84 crore.The bungalow, built in 1926, is owned by a Parsi family—the DeVitres—and is in a quiet lane called St Martin Road that connects Bandra’s landmark Turner Road to the bustling Hill Road. It has a nondescript name: 20, St Martin Road. It has four bedrooms, a large hall, a garden with fruit-bearing trees and an outhouse.Does the actor plan to redevelop the property? “He has no such plans. He just loved the place,’’ said a person aware of the transaction.Fredun DeVitre, co-owner of the property, told TOI: “The children have settled abroad, and they essentially wanted us to settle things now. The family was not keen on selling it to a developer, who would tear it down and build a tower.”In Dec 2023, Abraham purchased a bungalow on Linking Road, Khar, for Rs 75 crore. The property—372 Nirmal Bhavan—is a ground-plus-two storey structure, which belonged to Pravin Nathalal Shah and family. The plot is located in a prime area of Linking Road, which commands one of the highest commercial property rates in the city. Abraham is one of several Bollywood personalities who have heavily invested in real estate. In 2009, he bought a prime plot at Union Park near Petit School in Bandra West from a Parsi family, the Rattanshas.Property experts said many Bollywood celebrities invest in real estate, including luxury apartments, villas and commercial spaces for personal or investment reasons. Some have launched their own real estate firms or partnered with existing developers to create housing projects, resorts or other real estate ventures. Others have also forayed into interior design and home decor businesses. Property market and film industry sources said leading celebrities invest in residential and commercial projects or buy sprawling penthouses, row houses and bungalows for personal use. The preferred locations are in the suburb between Bandra and Andheri.

Mumbai: Mumbai police have filed five FIRs across the city in connection with the Cockroach Janata Party’s (CJP) protests in the city over the past two days against paper leaks. On Monday, CJP supporters marched from Chaityabhoomi to Plaza Cinema in Dadar. Several of them were detained by the police for violating prohibitory orders which are in place.The police have issued fresh prohibitory orders for the city from July 23 to Aug 6, banning assemblies of five or more persons in public places without permission.An FIR would be filed against those protesting in Dadar on Monday as well. Deputy commissioner of police Mahendra Pandit said, “No permission was granted for holding any protest at Chaityabhoomi, and the process of registering an FIR against those who participated in the protest is underway at Shivaji Park police station.”Monday’s protest began outside Chaityabhoomi, where students, young professionals and activists gathered. While many carried handwritten slogans demanding justice for repeated exam paper leaks and education reforms, one protester waved colours from a Japanese anime as a symbol of “resistance against the system.” Some held up copies of the Constitution’s Preamble and chanted “Jai Bhim” and “Inquilab Zindabad.”Minutes after the march began, police detained several protesters and dispersed the gathering. The crowd then regrouped near a restaurant, where slogans were raised again through the evening traffic.The protesters then marched towards Plaza Cinema. By the time they reached R K Vaidya Road, their numbers had thinned and they occupied part of the carriageway. Police then detained those leading the demonstration and cleared the road. Because of rain, more and more protestors disappeared into the columns of passersby.A nursing student from Terna Medical College who had joined the protest said, “I am studying nursing today because I could not secure admission to medical college after the 2023-24 NEET paper leak. There is a constant feeling of guilt that I could not become a doctor. Every year, there is a paper leak or some other failure in the education system, promised reforms have never materialised.” He added, “We were told the National Education Policy would transform education. The Finland model would be adopted. But where is the planning? Where is the implementation? Where is skill education?”For some, frustration extended well beyond paper leaks. “We are protesting for education and for everything people deal with in everyday life,” said Ravi Chaure (22), a recent graduate of Dadar Catering College, who learnt about the protest through social media. “Corruption has seeped into every aspect of life. I graduated from one of the biggest colleges in this area and I still cannot find a job. Every year we keep discussing the same issues. We need justice.”As police attempted to clear another group of demonstrators, an elderly constable appealed to a cluster of young women standing with placards. “You are protesting for a rightful cause,” he told them. “But there is no permission to protest here.”

BMC hopes to begin construction next month

Mumbai: BMC plans to integrate the city’s first seawater desalination plant at Manori with Mumbai’s existing water distribution network through a 7.2km underground tunnel to Charkop and further to Mahavir Nagar in Kandivli.A proposal seeking approval to award the contract at Rs 2,241.3 crore to Afcons Infrastructure Ltd for its design, construction and operation as well as for associated infrastructure is scheduled to be placed before the civic standing committee on Wednesday. The water tunnel alone will account for more than half the estimated cost of the Rs 4,077-crore desalination project at Manori.BMC hopes to begin construction next month and is targeting a timeline of 45 months.Afcons Infrastructure had emerged as the lowest bidder after negotiations, reducing its original quote to Rs 1,575 crore for core works. The total outlay for the tunnel includes GST, contingencies, operation and maintenance and other components.The proposed tunnel will run 4.6km from Manori to MNP Udyan at Charkop and another 2.6km to Mahavir Nagar. It will be excavated at a depth of 104-128m using two tunnel boring machines operating simultaneously from Manori and Mahavir Nagar.“The project includes construction of three deep shafts at Manori, Charkop and Mahavir Nagar, a pumping station at Manori designed for an ultimate capacity of 400 million litres per day (MLD), transmission mains, product water tanks, valve chambers, SCADA integration (for monitoring and controlling processes) and other allied infrastructure. While the pumping station will ultimately be capable of handling 400 MLD, mechanical and electrical systems for the first phase will initially be installed for 200 MLD, matching the capacity of the first phase of the desalination plant,” said an official.A senior civic official said the tunnel will allow nearly 190 MLD of water currently supplied from Bhandup to be reallocated to other parts of the city, improving the overall efficiency of Mumbai’s water supply network. “A very small quantum of water is currently required around Manori. Therefore, most of the desalinated water will be conveyed to the western suburbs through the existing network.”BMC has issued a public notice inviting objections from citizens and owners of properties on the tunnel’s alignment.Mumbai’s current daily water demand is around 4,600 MLD against an available supply of about 4,100 MLD. The desalination project has been conceived to bridge this gap and reduce the city’s dependence on rainfall-fed lakes, which have become increasingly vulnerable to erratic monsoons and climate change.

Mumbai: After initially debarring several law and BEd colleges from this year’s admission process, Mumbai University has allowed them to participate in it, but with hefty fines and a substantial cut in student intake. In some cases, the university issued affiliation certificates, but they have now been cancelled.The university reduced the intake capacity by 50% for 39 law and 29 BEd colleges that do not have an approved principal or a single approved teacher on their rolls. Additionally, it has imposed a fine of Rs 10 lakh on each. In another category of colleges, which have less than 50% approved teachers, the university has cut the student intake by 25% and has asked them to pay a fine of Rs 5 lakh each. In the second category, there are 11 law colleges and 23 BEd colleges. Some of these colleges plan to move court against the university’s decision.This is the first time the university has taken such stringent action against affiliated colleges for failing to appoint approved teachers. The collective reduction in intake is expected to affect around 6,000 to 8,000 seats during the ongoing admission season.In a letter sent to a law college on Monday, the university stated that the affiliation certificate issued for the 2026-27 academic year stands null and void. It said the certificate had been issued due to a technical error by the affiliation department and added that any students admitted beyond the revised 75% intake capacity will not be enrolled by the university. The college will be solely responsible for such admissions, it stated.The university’s registrar, Prasad Karande, told TOI that the action taken is only on the basis of lack of approved teachers and that the university has not yet considered infrastructure. A principal said that no local inquiry committee visited their college before issuing such a diktat and therefore, colleges are planning to move court. A university official, though, said these colleges had given an undertaking last year too and did not fulfil the requirements.There are 110 law colleges and 80 BEd colleges affiliated to Mumbai University.