Societies Registration Act, 1860

The case concerned the purported unification of the First District Church of the Brethren (FDCB) with the Church of North India (CNI). The appellants claimed that the unification dissolved FDCB, making CNI its legal successor and entitled to its property, which was held in a public trust regulated by the Bombay Public …

The dispute concerned the management of Salafi Juma Masjid, a waqf registered under the Waqf Act, 1995. The Mahal Committee, claiming to be a local (Sakha) unit of the registered society Kerala Naduvathil Mujahideen, sued the Salafi Trust seeking a declaration that a certificate of registration issued under s.36 of the…

The Commissioner of Income Tax-III, Pune challenged the assessment of Sinhgad Technical Education Society, a charitable educational institution, which was treated as an Association of Persons after a search under Section 132 revealed alleged capitation fees. The Assessing Officer issued a notice under Section 153C for …

M/s Meena Devi Jindal Medical Institute & Research Centre challenged a land acquisition made under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, on the ground that the notification merely stated "planned development of Delhi" without specifying the purpose, rendering it vague. The High Court dismissed the writ petition,…

The Royal Garden Residents Welfare Association (the complainant) entered into a maintenance agreement with M/s Padmini Infrastructure Developers (India) Ltd (the opposite party) on 15 November 2003 and later filed a consumer complaint in 2007 alleging incomplete and non‑functional amenities. The National Consumer Dispu…

The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) amended its Rule 18 to introduce a "One Bar One Vote" principle, restricting voting rights to advocates who regularly practice before the Supreme Court. Two SCBA members, B.D. Kaushik and A.K. Manchanda, challenged the amendment and obtained an interim injunction restraining its…

The Society Common Cause filed a writ petition under Article 32 seeking a declaration that the "right to die with dignity" is a fundamental right under Article 21 and that persons should be allowed to execute a living will or attorney authorization to refuse life‑prolonging treatment. The petitioners argued that termin…

The DAV College Managing Committee, holder of a registered trademark for "DAV" and "Dayanand Anglo Vedic", filed four suits in the Delhi District Court under Section 134 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999 against several schools in Chennai that were using the same mark. The Chennai schools filed transfer petitions under Sect…

The Shikshan Prasarak Mandal, a charitable society, faced a dispute over the validity of its 2002 executive elections after the President, Vice‑President, Secretary and other office‑bearers had died, leaving a Working President, Adv. Babasaheb Wasade, to manage affairs. Sixteen members requested a meeting to elect a ne…

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) created two separate cadres – Agricultural Research Service (ARS) for scientists and Technical Service (TS) for technical staff – each governed by distinct service rules. A 1999 scheme granted scientists two advance increments upon acquiring a Ph.D., but technical staf…

The Dayanand Anglo Vedic (DAV) College Trust and Management Society, a Hindi‑speaking institution, sought recognition as a linguistic minority educational institution in Maharashtra. Although initially granted, the state withdrew the status on the ground that most trustees resided outside Maharashtra and therefore were…

The case concerned two teachers who challenged actions taken against them by the Air Force School, Bamrauli, alleging that the school was a "state or authority" under Article 12 of the Constitution and therefore subject to writ jurisdiction under Article 226. The majority held that the school, managed by the Indian Air…

The Maharashtra State Board of Wakfs was incorporated on 4 January 2002 and subsequently published lists of wakf properties on 13 November 2003 and 30 December 2004. Several Muslim public trusts challenged the Board’s constitution, the validity of the lists, and the applicability of Section 13(2) of the Wakf Act, 1995,…

The Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) withheld grant-in-aid to the Centre for Research in Rural and Industrial Development (CRRID) after multiple committees found irregularities such as fake qualifications, unauthorized promotions and misuse of funds. Seventeen CRRID employees filed a writ petition seek…

The Supreme Court examined an appeal by NOIDA Toll Bridge Company Ltd. (NTBCL) against a High Court order that halted toll collection on the Delhi‑NOIDA Direct Flyway (DND Flyway). The dispute arose from a 1997 Concession Agreement granting NTBCL the right to build, operate and collect tolls, which a residents' welfare…

The appellant, a Mahila cooperative society, challenged the award of a contract for supplying fortified blended food under the Integrated Child Development Scheme, arguing that the eligibility criteria in the Expression of Interest (EOI) were arbitrary and that the contract period should be limited to one year. The Hig…

The Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), a society under the Societies Registration Act, issued an advertisement on 16‑08‑2016 for the post of Director. Three writ petitions challenged the advertisement on grounds of lack of age‑relaxation, alleged non‑conformity of experience requirements with Medical Counci…

The appellant, Terapalli Dyvasahata Kumar, filed a petition under Section 23 of the Andhra Pradesh Societies Registration Act, 2001, seeking declarations and injunctions concerning the management of a society. The District Court allowed the petition, holding that "District Court concerned" should be interpreted using t…

Chaman Lal, a former truck driver employed by the Fish Farmers Development Agency (a society) and later absorbed into a government department, sought retirement benefits based on his total service. The lower courts dismissed his claim, and he argued that a similarly situated individual, Charanjit Lal, had obtained a pe…

The case concerned a slum rehabilitation project in Lower Parel, Mumbai, where a developer and a minority group of hutment dwellers (Sayunkta Sangharsh Samiti) entered into a private Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to allocate flats in towers D, E and F exclusively to the society members, bypassing the Slum Rehabilit…

S. Sreesanth, a registered cricketer, was alleged to have participated in spot‑fixing during an IPL match on 9 May 2013, accepting Rs 10 lakh to concede 14 runs in an over. A one‑man BCCI commission prepared a preliminary report based on video and telephone recordings, and after Sreesanth’s release from police custody,…

The Supreme Court examined appeals filed by the victims of an interstate child‑trafficking racket challenging the High Court's grant of bail to thirteen accused persons charged under IPC sections 363, 311 and 370(5). The Court found that the High Court had ignored crucial factors such as the seriousness of the offence,…

The Institution of Mechanical Engineers (India) (IME) conducts bi‑annual examinations and awards a Certificate of Membership (AMIE). Historically, the Government of India recognised this certificate as equivalent to a degree or diploma for Central Government recruitment, but the High Court held it was not equivalent to…

The appellants, employees of the Air Force Group Insurance Society (AFGIS), challenged the Society's decision to revise their pay scales without linking them to the Sixth Pay Commission, filing writ petitions in the Delhi High Court. The High Court dismissed the petitions, holding that AFGIS could not be classified as …

The New Okhla Industrial Development Authority (NOIDA) allotted land to several housing societies, including the Army Welfare Housing Organization (AWHO), under a 99‑year lease deed that required the societies to construct residential buildings. After the societies built the super‑structures, NOIDA issued notices direc…

The Supreme Court examined whether the admission of 22 persons, including the appellants, as members of Prabodhan Education Society on 17 September 2017 was valid despite a pending no‑confidence requisition against the then Managing Committee. The Registrar had set aside that admission as illegal and arbitrary, a decis…

The Water and Land Management Institute (WALMI), a society registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, operates as an autonomous body with its own service rules that do not provide for pension benefits. The State of Maharashtra, in a 2005 policy decision, resolved that employees of aided institutes and auton…

The Tata Memorial Hospital Workers Union, a trade union registered under the Maharashtra Recognition of Trade Unions and Prevention of Unfair Labour Practices Act, 1971, sought to maintain its recognition against a rival workers' association. The rival argued that the Tata Memorial Centre (TMC) was under the Central Go…

The Sindhi Education Society, a linguistic minority school in Delhi, challenged a 1989 government circular that made reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in teaching posts a condition for receiving grant‑in‑aid under Rule 64(1)(b) of the Delhi School Education Rules, 1973. The Society argued that, as a…

National Aluminium Company Ltd. (NALCO) had established two schools for the children of its employees and entered into management agreements with external trusts. The school staff filed writ petitions claiming they were employees of NALCO and entitled to parity of pay with NALCO's own workers. The High Court held that …

The Swacch Association filed a public‑interest litigation alleging that Futala Tank in Nagpur was a wetland and that several constructions – a musical fountain, a viewer’s gallery, a parking plaza and an artificial banyan tree – were permanent structures violating the Wetlands (Conservation & Management) Rules, 2017. T…

The petition challenged Section 4(3) of the Uttar Pradesh Ministers (Salaries, Allowances and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1981, as amended in 2016, which grants former Chief Ministers a lifetime right to government accommodation. Earlier, the Supreme Court had struck down the 1997 Rules that provided similar benefit…

The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) had been directed by the Supreme Court in 2011 to identify regular practitioners for voting rights under the "One Bar One Vote" principle. While the Implementation Committee was carrying out this task, the SCBA held a General Body Meeting on 16 January 2012 that passed resolutio…

The State of Maharashtra appealed a Bombay High Court order that had exempted charitable educational institutions, run by Shri Vile Parle Kelvani Mandal, from electricity duty levied after 1 September 2016. The institutions argued that under the earlier Maharashtra Electricity Duty Act, 1958 they were exempt, and conte…

The Peoples Rights and Social Research Centre (PRASAR), a Delhi‑based NGO, filed a writ petition under Article 32 seeking relief for the widespread occurrence of silicosis among workers in mining, construction, stone‑cutting and sand‑blasting industries. The petition alleged violations of fundamental rights under Artic…

The case concerned a dispute over the user of a 7,224‑sq‑yd plot in Mumbai leased to Abhinav Sahakar Education Society for a school, which the Municipal Corporation had originally earmarked as a playground in the draft development plan. The State Government later modified the plan, first by a 1985 notification reservin…

The Tamil Evangelical Lutheran Church (TELC), a society registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 in 1919 with a religious purpose, sought exemption from the Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Act, 1975. The State Government granted limited exemptions, leading to multiple writ petitions and appeals contestin…

Operation Asha, a not‑for‑profit society registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, provides health services to the under‑privileged. After the society’s CEO terminated co‑founder Dr. Shelly Batra, she and her mother filed a suit under Section 92 of the Code of Civil Procedure alleging financial impropriety…

The case concerned a dispute over who should serve as Chief Mutawalli of Hamdard Laboratories (India) after the death of the previous Chief Mutawalli, Abdul Mueed. The appellant, Hammad Ahmed, claimed that the senior-most male descendant of the Wakif Mutawalli, as stipulated in the 1948 Deed as amended in 1973, was ent…

Canara Bank paid interest on fixed deposits to the New Okhla Industrial Development Authority (NOIDA) without deducting tax at source under Section 194A of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The Assessing Officer treated the bank as a defaulter and issued a demand notice, which the bank appealed, relying on Notification dated 2…