2nd Sem Assignment

Business Law

Ans1.
Lien:
It is the right to retain the possession of the property of another till the other person
meets the demands of the person in possession. The demand could be any- performing a duty
or paying a due sum of money. During the developments of trade and commerce, the
common law considered lien as a “Self Help” practice. It was named as “self-help” as it did
not require any intervention of the courts. The basis of the contract of lien was that it was
not between the parties and the party had its rights because it was imposed law by the
common law courts.
The Honourable Supreme Court explained the nature of the Right of Lien by stating
that “Lien in its elementary sense is a right of a person to retain the possession of goods until
the demands of the possessor are satis ed. Therefore, the Right of Lien is a right granted by
law and is merely not granted by a contract”.
The following are the cases where the rights of Lien have been recognised:
1) An unpaid seller had a Lien over the goods in possession.
2) The agent had a lien on the property of the principal for unpaid remuneration.
3) A bailee had a lien on the property in his possession.

Lien under Contract Act, 1872

Section 170 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872 deals with a particular lien while section
171 deals with General Lien.
Particular lien:
Bailee’s particular lien, which is speci ed under section 170, states that where the Bailee
has in accordance with the purpose of Bailment, rendered any service which involves activity
such as the exercise of Labor skill in respect of the goods which are bailed, he has in absence
of the contract to the contrary, a right in order to retain such type of goods until he receives
due remuneration for the services he has rendered in respect of them.

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 Example:
(a) A delivers a watch to B, a shopkeeper, to repair his watch and which is to be done
accordingly. B is entitled to retain the watch till he is paid for the services that he has
rendered.
(b) A gives a piece of cloth to B who is a tailor in order to make a shirt. B promises A to
deliver the shirt as soon it is nished, and to give three months credit for the price.
Therefore, B is not entitled to retain the court until he is paid.
(c) A gives a machine to B who is running a transport business to transport the carrier
from one location to another.
In the case of Hatton V. Car Maintenance company Limited, the owner of the car and
the company entered into an agreement where the condition was supposed to maintain the
car, repair it and supply adequate petrol. The owner was supposed to pay Rs. 8000 to the
owner of the company, but the company was not paid the above-stated amount. Then, the
company exercised the lien over the car. It could be concluded that a lien is not available in
each and every case where the services have been rendered, and it is only available when the
actual skill and labour i.e. manpower is applied to the goods, which ultimately results in the
improvement of the goods. In the above-stated case law, it was just for the maintenance of the
good but not for the improvement of the condition of the goods.

General Lien:
A general lien is de ned under Section 171 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872. Section
171 talks about the General Lien of bankers, factors, whar nger, attorneys and policy
brokers, in absence of a contract to the contrary, retain, as a security for the general balance
of the account, and any goods which are to be bailed to them unless there is an express
contract to that effect.
Generally, the service providers are given the privilege of general lien. These identity
service providers reserve a right to retain the goods which are bailed to them for the sake of a
general balance of sum which is due to their customer. This particular Section is quite
anxious to limit the use of general liens by telling that no person reserves a right to claim a
general lien unless the parties have provided for it in their contract in express terms.
In a particular case of Rushforth V. Had eld, particular carrier goods made an attempt
to claim a general lien on the ground for its usage of practice for trade and commerce. He
carefully noted that there is a disadvantage in the case of general lien when there is a case of

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 insolvency. In this particular case, it was also noted that general lien causes a great deal of
inconvenience when it comes to the generality of the traders because they give plenty of
advantages to certain individuals, a special privilege who claim to have the special privilege
against the body of the creditors instead of coming with them for the sake of insolvent of the
state.
Therefore, in accordance with this particular Section, parties which are entitled and
reserve a right of General lien are as follows: 
Bankers
Factors
Whar ngers
Attorneys of High Court
Policy-brokers

Sale of Goods Act, 1930:

It grants certain rights to an unpaid seller in the case when the goods have already been
transferred to the buyer but the buyer fails to pay the price of the said goods to the seller. One
such right is the right of Lien.
Lien means the seller’s right to keep the certain property of the buyer until the buyer
pays the debt of the goods that were sold to him. The rights of the unpaid seller are
explained in Sections 46,47 & 49 of this particular act. 
The unpaid seller can exercise this right by retaining the goods of the buyer or by
refusing to deliver the goods of the buyer until the amount which is due to the buyer is paid to
the seller. In the case of transfer of the ownership the seller can still refuse the payment to the
buyer until the amount due is paid by the buyer.
This contract of sale will not be void ab initio if the unpaid seller exercises this right
against the goods bought by the buyer. The right of lien is to retain the possession of goods.
Therefore, it is necessary that the goods have to be in possession of the seller even after the
sale agreement. This right is not affected by the transfer of title to the buyer. In fact, right of
lien is a right which can be Section 47 of the aforementioned Act states the situations in
which this right can be exercised in case the amount due to buyer is not paid to the seller.

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 Ans 2.

The National Green Tribunal

It was established on 18.10.2010 under the National Green
Tribunal Act 2010 for effective and expeditious disposal of cases
relating to environmental protection and conservation of forests
and other natural resources including enforcement of any legal
right relating to environment and giving relief and compensation for
damages to persons and property and for matters connected
therewith or incidental thereto. It is a specialized body equipped
with the necessary expertise to handle environmental disputes
involving multi-disciplinary issues. The Tribunal shall not be bound
by the procedure laid down under the Code of Civil Procedure,
1908, but shall be guided by principles of natural justice

The Tribunal's dedicated jurisdiction in environmental matters

shall provide speedy environmental justice and help reduce the
burden of litigation in the higher courts. The Tribunal is mandated
to make and endeavour for disposal of applications or appeals
nally within 6 months of ling of the same. Initially, the NGT is
proposed to be set up at ve places of sittings and will follow circuit
procedure for making itself more accessible. New Delhi is the
Principal Place of Sitting of the Tribunal and Bhopal, Pune, Kolkata
and Chennai shall be the other four place of sitting of the Tribunal

NGT’s Judgement related to Protection of Environment

In Joydeep Mukherjee Versus Pollution Control Board West Bengal

& Ors. Dated 25.10.2021Stating that many brick elds were
polluting the environment in the Districts of Malda, South Dinajpu
and North Dinajpur in West Bengal, without Consent to Establish
and Consent to Operate from the PCB
On 16.07.2015, the Tribunal issued notice to the statutory
authorities. On 29.03.2016, as many as 333 matters including the
above original application were taken up for consideration.

The Tribunal passed following Order

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 “The above respondents, who are willing to pay the penalty are at
liberty to approach the concerned DL&LROs and deposit the
penalty amounts of Rs. 1.5 lakh or Rs. 1.00 lakh in the respective
Regional Of ce of the State PCB under category D or category C
respectively in terms of our previous orders subject to the
satisfaction of the PCB or its delegatees i.e. DL & LROs
Those who have received the show cause notices recently
are allowed four weeks time to approach the PCB or its delegatees
i.e., DL & LROs, with necessary applications expressing their
willingness to pay the penalties based on our categorisation and,
the said authority shall be at liberty to consider and dispose of the
same in accordance with our orders already passed in such
matters
On the issue of the MAs led as the reply to show cause based
upon the report of respective SPs that despite closure order the
units are operating illegally, the applicants have vehemently
opposed to the SP’s reports and submit that their units are closed
in compliance to the closure order. In view of such dispute, we
direct the respective DL & LROs to cause physical inspection of
those units and dispose of these matters on merit in accordance
with law
It is submitted by the ld. counsel on behalf of applicants that in
most of the cases applications seeking consent to operate
submitted before the concerned DL & LROs are not disposed of
despite having paid the penalties on the ground that the matter is
sub-judice before this Tribunal

Important Landmark Judgements of NGT

▪ In 2012, POSCO a steelmaker company signed a MoU
with the Odisha government to set up steel project. NGT
suspended order and this was considered a radical step in
favour of the local communities and forests
▪ In 2012 Almitra H. Patel vs. Union of India case, NGT
gave judgment of complete prohibition on open burning of
waste on lands, including land lls – regarded as the single

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 biggest landmark case dealing with the issue of solid

waste management in India
▪ In 2013 in Uttarakhand oods case, the Alaknanda Hydro
Power Co. Ltd. was ordered to compensate to the
petitioner – here, the NGT directly relied on the principle of
‘polluter pays’
▪ In 2015, the NGT ordered that all diesel vehicles over 10
years old will not be permitted to ply in Delhi-NCR
▪ In 2017, the Art of Living Festival on Yamuna Food Plain
was declared violating the environmental norms, the NGT
panel imposed a penalty of Rs. 5 Crore
▪ The NGT, in 2017, imposed an interim ban on plastic bags
of less than 50-micron thickness in Delhi because “they
were causing animal deaths, clogging sewers and
harming the environment”

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 Ans 3
Harassment at workplace
In given case study, Jane Doe has been facing
1) Hostile and offensive behaviour by employees of the
conglomerate company
2) Making her sit in of ce late despite of completing her job
and she lling her time sheet
3) On various Occasions she has been yelled at as well
4) She has been veered and shown innuendos stuff which she
felt unwelcome to be part of
5) She has been Insisted to go out for a private dinner which
she declined and thereafter her performance has been rated
‘below average’
These are incidents which clearly indicate harassment faced by
Jane Doe
Psychological harassment comes under detrimental or
hostile conduct by one or more individuals directly or indirectly
towards a third person. This is conduct that occurs frequently
and over a long period which defames an individual or excludes
them from work
It refers to a conjunction of incidents which when
considered individually may appear harmless. However, their
continuous repetition has a destructive and impairing effect on
the victim

Laws that Govern Mental Harassment in India:

Certain rights are inalienable from a human being and are
guaranteed by birth. The Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993
de nes human rights as the rights related to the life, liberty,
equality and dignity of the individual which are guaranteed by
the Constitution or embodied in various International Covenants
which are enforceable in the Courts in India. Right to live with
dignity forms a part of human rights and any form of
harassment amounts to a breach of the right to live with dignity

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 Below are few Indian laws which deal with various forms of
Harassment

1.The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention,

Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013
This was the rst legislation enacted to protect the women from
being sexually harassed at the workplace. The legislation has
de ned the term sexual harassment under section 2 and gives
an inclusive de nition stating that sexual harassment includes
any one or more of the following unwelcome acts or behaviour
(whether directly or by implication) namely
• Physical contact and advances; o
• A demand or request for a sexual favour; o
• Making sexually coloured remarks; o
• Showing pornography; o
• Any other unwelcome physical, verbal or non-verbal
conduct of sexual nature
• The law mandates certain practices which workplaces
ought to follow to prevent sexual harassment and
mechanisms which need to be created for redressal of
complaints
2.Indian Penal Code, 1860.
The term “Mental Harassment” has not been speci cally
de ned under the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC), however,
harassment can be interpreted in terms of cruelty or torture.
The relevant sections are as follows:

A. Section 294: Obscene acts and songs:

Whoever, to the annoyance of other
a. does any obscene act in any public place, o
b. sings, recites or utters any obscene song, ballad or words, in
or near any public place, shall be punished with imprisonment
of either description for a term which may extend to three
months, or with ne, or with both

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 B. Section 354: Assault or criminal force to woman with
intent to outrage her modesty.-
Whoever assaults or uses criminal force to any woman,
intending to outrage or knowing it to be likely that he will
thereby outrage her modesty, shall be punished with
imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend
to two years, or with ne, or with both

C. Section 354A: Sexual harassment and punishment for

sexual harassment.
1. A man committing any of the following acts
1. Physical contact and advances involving unwelcome and
explicit sexual overtures; or
2. A demand or request for sexual favours; or
3. Showing pornography against the will of a woman; or
4. Making sexually coloured remarks, shall be guilty of the
offence of sexual harassment.

2. Any man who commits the offence speci ed in clause (i) or

clause (ii) or clause (iii) of sub-section (1) shall be punished
with rigorous imprisonment for a term which may extend to
three years, or with ne, or with both

3. Any man who commits the offence speci ed in clause (iv) of

sub-section (1) shall be punished with imprisonment of either
description for a term which may extend to one year, or with
ne, or with both

D. Section 498A: Husband or relative of husband of a woman

subjecting her to cruelty – Whoever, being the husband or the
relative of the husband of a woman, subjects such woman to
cruelty shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which
may extend to three years and shall also be liable to ne

Explanation —For the purpose of this section, “cruelty” means

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 Any wilful conduct which is of such a nature as is likely to drive

the woman to commit suicide or to cause grave injury or danger
to life, limb or health (whether mental or physical) of the
woman; o
harassment of the woman where such harassment is with a
view to coercing her or any person related to her to meet any
unlawful demand for any property or valuable security or is on
account of failure by her or any person related to her to meet
such demand

E. Section 509: Word, gesture or act intended to insult the

modesty of a woman.—Whoever, intending to insult the
modesty of any woman, utters any word, makes any sound or
gesture, or exhibits any object, intending that such word or
sound shall be heard, or that such gesture or object shall be
seen, by such woman, or intrudes upon the privacy of such
woman, shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term
which may extend to one year, or with ne, or with both

3.Information Technology Act, 2000

This law aims to give legal recognition to online transactions
and also deals with various acts and offences which may be
committed online

Section 67: Punishment for publishing or transmitting obscene

material in electronic form.-Whoever publishes or transmits or
causes to be published or transmitted in the electronic form,
any material which is lascivious or appeals to the prurient
interest or if its effect is such as to tend to deprave and corrupt
persons who are likely, having regard to all relevant
circumstances, to read, see or hear the matter contained or
embodied in it, shall be punished on rst conviction with
imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend
to three years and with ne which may extend to ve lakh
rupees and in the event of second or subsequent conviction

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 with imprisonment of either description for a term which may

extend to ve years and also with ne which may extend to ten
lakh rupees

Section 67A: Punishment for publishing or transmitting of

material containing sexually explicit act, etc., in electronic
form.– Whoever publishes or transmits or causes to be
published or transmitted in the electronic form any material
which contains sexually explicit act or conduct shall be
punished on rst conviction with imprisonment of either
description for a term which may extend to ve years and with
ne which may extend to ten lakh rupees and in the event of
second or subsequent conviction with imprisonment of either
description for a term which may extend to seven years and
also with ne which may extend to ten lakh rupees

B)To whom can this harassment be reported and how

should such reporting of harassment be dealt with
There is no speci c procedure provided in any law to deal with mental
harassment in the workplace. Since the mental harassment has been
categorised in various form under the Indian law, the action to be taken shall
be in accordance to the particular kind of harassment the victim has faced.
The same has been discussed below
1) She can le a Complaint or an FIR and a criminal case shall
be registered against the employer followed with sentencing
for violent behaviour
2) For below average performance rating in annul appraisal
even after compilation of work she can has suffered Mental
Harassment in form of wage loss. Redressal in such cases
can be granted by Labour Court if the victim approaches the
Labour Court under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 or the
Payment of Wages Act, 1936.

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