Judgments of 2023

The appellants, members of a joint family, filed a suit for partition and separate possession of family properties listed in Schedules A and B, alleging that earlier 'nominal' sale deeds were merely temporary financing measures and that the family retained possession. The defendants moved to dismiss the suit under Orde…

A batch of five review petitions was filed challenging the Supreme Court's common judgment and order dated 06‑09‑2022 in Civil Appeals No. 1661 of 2020 and No. 2568 of 2020, which interpreted the interplay between Section 48 of the Gujarat Value‑Added Tax Act, 2003 and Section 53 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, …

Vardan Associates Pvt. Ltd., a contractor registered under the CGST and West Bengal GST Acts, moved a capital goods machine from Uttar Pradesh to West Bengal using an e‑way bill that expired before the consignment entered West Bengal. The goods were detained and the authorities demanded GST of Rs 54 lakhs and an equal …

The wife, Bhawna, filed a FIR in 2013 alleging dowry harassment by her mother‑in‑law and brothers‑in‑law under Section 498A IPC and Sections 3 and 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act. The accused filed petitions under Section 482 of the CrPC to quash the FIR, but the High Court dismissed them even after a charge‑sheet was f…

The appellant, Md Asfak Alam, was married to the respondent wife and faced an FIR under Sections 498A, 323, 504, 506 IPC and Sections 3 and 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act. Anticipating arrest, he applied for anticipatory bail under Section 438 of the CrPC; the application was initially dismissed, but the High Court lat…

Ashok Kumar, the owner of a insured truck, filed a consumer complaint after his vehicle was stolen on 26 June 2008. The insurer, New India Assurance, repudiated the claim on the grounds of alleged breaches of policy conditions 1 (delay in intimation) and 5 (leaving the key in the vehicle). The original complaint filed …

The case concerned a flat purchase where the buyer paid seven instalments totalling Rs 4,53,750, but the developer cancelled the allotment in April 2005 and issued a pay order for refund. The buyer filed a complaint under the MRTP Act (later transferred to the Competition Appellate Tribunal) seeking possession of the f…

Ajay Dabra filed suits for specific performance of two agreements for the sale of agricultural land in Himachal Pradesh, where the original seller had contracted with Himalayan Ski Village Pvt. Ltd., a non‑agriculturist. The sale was conditional on obtaining permission under Section 118 of the Himachal Pradesh Tenancy …

The Servants of People Society, a charitable trust registered under Sections 12AA and 80G, runs schools, a medical centre, an old‑age home and a newspaper printing press. The revenue denied exemption for the society’s income, particularly advertising revenue from its newspaper, invoking the proviso to Section 2(15) of …

The Union of India filed a miscellaneous application seeking clarification of the Supreme Court’s decision in Joseph Shine v. Union of India, which struck down Section 497 of the IPC, asking whether the judgment also affects the applicability of Sections 45, 63 of the Army Act, 1950 and analogous provisions in the Air …

The Additional Tahsildar filed a writ petition challenging an order of the Kerala Upa Lokayukta that directed the correction of revenue records and tax collection concerning a property owned by the respondents. The respondents had earlier lodged a complaint with the Lokayukta seeking such correction, and the Upa Lokayu…

The Chancellor of Kannur University re‑appointed Dr. Gopinath Ravindran as Vice‑Chancellor for a second four‑year term after the expiry of his first term, despite a pending selection process and a statutory age limit of sixty years. The petitioners challenged the re‑appointment on grounds that (i) re‑appointment is not…

The dispute involved a property originally leased to Burma Shell Oil Storage and Distribution Company, whose lease expired on 31‑12‑1997. The respondent, the absolute owner, filed a suit in 2006 seeking possession of the property, which was decreed in 2010, but did not claim damages for the period of unlawful occupatio…

The appellant, ELDECO Housing, filed a suit for specific performance of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) dated 31‑08‑1998 concerning the sale of a property, after learning that the vendor was attempting to sell to third parties. The respondent filed an application under Order VII Rule 11(d) CPC seeking dismissal of …

The appellants, who were appointed as Assistant Scientific Officers in the Commission for Scientific and Technical Terminology (CSTT), sought the same pay scale and allowances that had been granted to a fellow officer (respondent No.4) who was posted as Assistant Scientific Officer (Medicine). Respondent No.4 had been …

The appellant, a landlord, obtained a consent decree in 2005 allowing eviction of the respondents, tenants, upon default of rent. After the tenants defaulted, the executing court on 12 February 2013 ordered execution of the decree. Four years later the tenants filed an application before the same executing court seekin…

The appellants, serving officers of the Armed Forces, applied for the post of Village Development Officer in Uttar Pradesh under the Ex‑Servicemen category after obtaining No‑Objection Certificates. The advertisement required candidates to be Ex‑Servicemen as of the last date of application (10‑Feb‑2016) and to possess…

The appellant, a graduate engineer appointed as Overseer Grade‑III on compassionate grounds, was later promoted to Assistant Engineer in 1995 and sought seniority for further promotion. Private respondents, diploma holders, were granted back‑dated promotions to Assistant Engineer effective 01‑08‑1993 by an order dated …

The appellant was convicted under Section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 and, on appeal, the High Court suspended his sentence and released him on bail under Section 389(1) of the CrPC. When the appeal was listed for hearing, the appellant's counsel sought a four‑week adjournment, and th…

The petitioner, a project director, was charged under several IPC offences and the Prevention of Corruption Act. After the government sanctioned prosecution, a charge sheet was filed and the trial court took cognizance. In 2018 the petitioner filed a Section 482 CrPC petition challenging only the sanction order, which …

A motor accident in 2010 caused the death of a motorcyclist, leading the victim's dependents to claim compensation under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal awarded compensation but held that the insurer, IFFCO Tokio, was not liable because the driver of the insured Tempo vehicle possessed …

The appellant was convicted under Section 376 IPC for allegedly raping his sister‑in‑law’s younger daughter, who was claimed to be a minor at the time. The prosecution’s case rested on the prosecutrix’s delayed testimony, a school register indicating a birth date of 04‑04‑1987, and a medical report that recorded her ag…

The case arose from an armed assault on Birbal Nath's uncle and aunt in a Rajasthan field, resulting in the uncle's death and injuries to the aunt, an injured eye‑witness. The trial court convicted the six accused under Sections 302, 307 and related offences, but the Rajasthan High Court acquitted them of the murder an…

The Supreme Court had directed the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) to postpone pronouncing its judgment in a pending appeal until the result of Finolex Cables Limited's Annual General Meeting (AGM) was declared. Despite being apprised of this order, the NCLAT bench pronounced its judgment on 13 October …

Manish Sisodia, former Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, appealed to the Supreme Court seeking bail in prosecutions under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, the Indian Penal Code and an enforcement case under the Prevention of Money‑Laundering Act, 2002. The Court examined the scope of bail under s.45 of the PMLA, h…

The prosecutrix, a married woman with three children, entered into a long‑term sexual relationship with the appellant after he promised to marry her. She became pregnant in 2011, later divorced her husband in 2014, and filed a complaint in 2015 alleging that the appellant had given a false promise of marriage. The Sess…

The petitioners, who were witnesses to a 2016 Jat community agitation in Haryana that involved arson and loss of life, alleged that the trial in Jhajjar was compromised by the influence of a powerful advocate, threats to witnesses, and a biased prosecuting team. They filed a transfer petition under Article 139A(2) of t…

The Directorate of Enforcement filed a complaint under the PMLA alleging that Pavana Dibbur conspired with accused Madhukar Angur to launder proceeds of a fraud at Alliance University by using nominal sale deeds and her bank accounts. The appellant challenged the complaint, arguing that the only predicate offence in th…

K. Suri Babu, a helper (workman) employed by Nuclear Fuel Complex, Hyderabad, was alleged to have submitted a forged Class VI certificate and disciplinary action was initiated under the Central Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, 1965 (CCA Rules). The respondent contended that, as a workman, disc…

Vijay entered into an agreement to sell immovable property with the Union of India on 4 February 1988 and later sued for specific performance. The defendant denied the agreement's existence, prompting Vijay to seek admission of a photocopy of the agreement as secondary evidence, arguing that the document was not charge…

The appellant, Amandeep Singh Saran, was charged with offences including IPC Section 409, which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment or up to ten years, and was being tried before the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) of Raipur, a court that can impose at most seven years imprisonment. Having already spent ove…

The Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) filed a writ petition fearing that the Union Government would unilaterally appoint the Chief Secretary of the Territory and extend his tenure without the GNCTD’s consent. The petition sought a restraining order and the appointment of a senior AGMUT offic…

Shree Aashraya Infra‑Con Ltd was placed under corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) and the appointed resolution professional, Hari Babu Thota, submitted a resolution plan drafted by the promoters and approved by the Committee of Creditors. The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) dismissed the plan, holding t…

The State of Haryana appealed against an order of the Punjab & Haryana High Court that granted anticipatory bail to Dharmaraj, who was charged under multiple IPC sections including 147, 148, 149, 323, 325, 341, 342, 427, 186, 353 and 364. Dharmaraj had been declared a proclaimed offender on 5 February 2021, yet he appl…

The appellant lodged an FIR alleging assault and other offences, after which the police submitted a final report under Section 173 CrPC. Dissatisfied, the appellant filed a Protest Petition, and the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) rejected the police report and treated the petition as a complaint, proceeding under Sect…

Satbir Singh filed a criminal complaint alleging that former employees stole proprietary data and used it to manufacture equipment. During the trial, his testimony was recorded before the Central Forensic Sciences Laboratory (CFSL) report was produced. When the CFSL expert testified, he described data found on the accu…

The Union of India, through the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, sought Supreme Court directions to transfer Rs 5,000 crore from the unutilized balance of Rs 24,979.67 crore lying in the "Sahara‑SEBI Refund Account" to the Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies for disbursement to the genuine depositors of the Sahara…

The original landlord filed an eviction petition under the Delhi Rent Control Act, but after the tenant denied the landlord‑tenant relationship, the landlord failed to produce evidence and the Rent Controller dismissed the petition without a finding on merits. After the landlord's death, his successors filed a fresh ev…

The case involved a partition suit concerning the ancestral and self‑acquired properties of the late Kumar Sahoo, claimed by his daughter Charulata Sahu and contested by the heirs of his son Prafulla Sahoo. The trial court issued a preliminary decree allocating a one‑sixth share to the daughter in ancestral lands and o…

The Supreme Court examined two revenue appeals challenging CESTAT orders that classified imported liquid crystal display (LCD) panels under Chapter 90, heading 9013.8010 of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975, rather than under Chapter 85 headings such as 8529 or 8522. The revenue argued that the panels should be classified b…

The appeal concerned a suit for injunction and possession of a house, filed by the plaintiff under a claim of prior possession. During the suit one defendant died, and the remaining defendants, who were also his legal representatives, continued to defend the suit. The appellants argued that the suit should abate for no…

The appellants were convicted under Section 302 read with Section 34 of the IPC for the murder of Abbas Baig, based primarily on the oral testimony of three eyewitnesses. They challenged the conviction, arguing that the eyewitness evidence was unreliable, that the defence counsel's suggestions during cross‑examination …

The MP High Court Bar Association filed a writ petition under Article 32 challenging the amendment to the Debt Recovery Tribunals (DRTs) and Debt Recovery Appellate Tribunals (DRATs) Electronic Filing Rules, 2020, which made e‑filing of pleadings mandatory in all cases from 31 January 2023. The petition argued that the…

The appellants, Vishnu Kumar Shukla and his wife, were charged under IPC sections 448, 454 and 380 for allegedly breaking into a shop and stealing goods. They contended that the complaint was frivolous, based on a forged tenancy agreement, and that the FIR was an abuse of process. The trial magistrate rejected their di…

The appellants were convicted under Section 307 of the Indian Penal Code for attempting to murder the complainant, based on an incident where they allegedly tried to stab him with knives, causing only simple abrasions. The trial court sentenced them to ten years' rigorous imprisonment, which the High Court reduced to f…

The case concerned whether an 18‑month Diploma in Elementary Education (D.El.Ed.) delivered by the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) through open and distance learning (ODL) could be treated as equivalent to the 2‑year D.El.Ed. required by the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) for appointment as A…

The appellant, Abhishek Saxena, was charged under IPC sections 323, 384 and 406 for alleged assault, extortion and criminal breach of trust arising from a FIR filed on 4 September 2016. He had earlier filed a petition for dissolution of marriage and a guardianship application under the Guardians & Wards Act, 1890, befo…

The appellant Ilavarasan married Mathithra under Section 7A of the Hindu Marriage Act, with the assistance of advocates and social workers, and later filed a habeas corpus petition alleging that she was being detained by her parents and forced to marry her maternal uncle. The Madras High Court dismissed the petition, h…

The appellant, a registered medical practitioner, was found to have willfully defied demolition orders concerning an unauthorised building extension and was subsequently held in contempt of court, leading the High Court to suspend his licence to practise medicine. The appellant challenged the suspension, arguing that t…

The case arose from the Bhima‑Koregaon violence of December 2017, after which the National Investigation Agency (NIA) expanded the investigation, searched the residences of several activists and arrested Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira. The prosecution alleged that the two were members of the banned CPI (Maoist) and…

Ex SeppoY Madan Prasad, a Mechanical Transport Driver in the Army Service Corps, was granted leave in 1998 and later an extension on compassionate grounds. He failed to report back after the extended leave expired, claiming his wife’s illness, and remained absent for 108 days, after which he surrendered. A Court of Inq…

The appellant, an informant and prosecution witness, identified three persons named in the FIR but omitted from the charge‑sheet as assailants during his examination‑in‑chief. He moved an application under Section 319 of the CrPC to summon these persons, which the trial court allowed. The High Court, on revision, set a…

The case arose from a private complaint alleging that the Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) filed a false affidavit with the Election Commission of India, contradicting its constitution submitted to the Gurudwara Election Commission, thereby violating the secularism requirement of Section 29‑A of the Representation of People…

Ganesh Benzoplast Ltd. (complainant) entered into Inter‑Corporate Deposit agreements with Morgan Securities & Credits Ltd., pledging shares as security. When the value of the pledged shares fell, the lender invoked the pledge and sold the shares to itself and its group companies in 2001. The complainant waited until 20…

Smt. Sasikala Devi, appointed Assistant Grade‑II in the University of Calicut in 1988 and promoted to Assistant Grade‑I in 1989, was transferred to M.G. University where she received further promotions. In 1999 she sought an inter‑university transfer to Kerala University and, as per the transfer policy, was placed as t…

The Belgaum Urban Development Authority (BUDA) allotted residential plots to the respondents in 1990 and executed a lease‑cum‑sale agreement in 1991. Later BUDA demanded additional payment from the allottees, citing enhancement of compensation for land acquired to carve the plots. The respondents contested the demand, …

The Veena Vadini Teachers Training Institute, a B.Ed. and M.Ed. training institute in Madhya Pradesh, challenged a state policy that reserved 75% of B.Ed. seats for residents of Madhya Pradesh and 25% for non‑residents, alleging violation of Articles 14, 15 and 19(1)(g) of the Constitution. The High Court dismissed the…

The respondents were initially appointed as government servants in the Rajasthan Animal Husbandry Department in 1971 and later selected for permanent positions in the Rajasthan State Dairy Development Corporation between 1976 and 1978. Upon their absorption, the respondents continued to work, receive promotions, and re…

The petitioners were work‑charged employees who were later regularized under the Work Charged Establishment Revised Service Conditions (Repealing) Rules, 2013. They contended that the entire period of their work‑charged service should be counted for computing their pension and its quantum. The State argued that, while …

The appellants entered into a sale agreement to sell a plot of land for Rs. 17,61,700, with Rs. 2 lakh paid as earnest money. Clause 2 of the agreement stipulated that if the seller failed to execute the sale deed within the stipulated time, the buyer would be entitled to double the advance amount. The trial court refu…

The appellants, long‑time tenants of premises that later became part of a Wakf, were facing civil eviction when the Wakf Act, 1995 was amended in 2013 adding a penal provision (Section 52A) and a definition of "encroacher". The Wakf Board filed a criminal complaint under Section 52A alleging the appellants were encroac…

The Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation issued departmental orders in 2006 and 2008 revising pay scales, including a 2% increment contingent on performance targets. Four employees appointed as Assistant Executive Engineers in 2007 sought the additional 2% despite not being in service on 1 April 2003. The Single Ju…

The State of Himachal Pradesh challenged the High Court's declaration that section 16‑B of the Himachal Pradesh General Sales Tax Act, 1968 was ultra‑vires the Constitution and the Banking Companies Act. The High Court had made this declaration while hearing writ petitions that later became infructuous because the bank…

The Government of NCT Delhi appealed a Delhi High Court order that declared a land acquisition to have "deemed lapse" under Section 24(2) of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 because compensation had not been paid. The High Court had held that…

The Supreme Court heard a batch of appeals filed by the Mathura Vrindavan Development Authority, other development authorities and the State of Uttar Pradesh against several writ petitions that challenged demand notices for various fees levied by the authorities under the Uttar Pradesh Urban Planning and Development Ac…

The appellant Digambar, brother of the deceased Pooja, and his accomplice Mohan were convicted of murdering Pooja and her lover Govind, who were found dead after being taken on a motorcycle. The trial and high courts sentenced Digambar to death and Mohan to life imprisonment, deeming the case "rarest of rare". On appea…

The appellants were subjected to a search under Section 132 of the Income Tax Act and were issued notices under Section 153A for assessment years 1998-99 to 2004-05. They filed an application under Section 245C(1) before the Income Tax Settlement Commission, which was required to decide the matter by 31 March 2008 unde…

The State of Andhra Pradesh appealed against a High Court order that granted a writ of habeas corpus, directing the release of a life convict (P. Reddy Bhaskar) who had escaped twice and was later sentenced to a one‑year simple imprisonment for kidnapping. After being granted special remission for his life sentence, th…

In 2014 the plaintiffs filed a suit seeking declaration of title, a permanent injunction and cancellation of several documents concerning land in Survey Nos. 700/A7B and 706/A9, alleging an error in a partition deed dated 11 March 1953. The defendants filed an application under Order VII Rule XI of the CPC to reject th…

The State of Madhya Pradesh appealed against the High Court's acquittal of Phoolchand Rathore, who had been convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of his wife under sections 302 and 201 IPC. The prosecution's case rested on alleged motive (a dispute over jewellery), a disclosure statement and recovery of blood…

The mother of the deceased sought a reinvestigation of a murder case (IPC ss.302, 120B) by the Central Bureau of Criminal Investigation (CBCID) after the accused had been chargesheeted and a quashing petition dismissed. The Secretary (Home), Uttar Pradesh, ordered the transfer of investigation to CBCID based solely on …

The Delhi High Court had filled 27 private secretary vacancies through a written exam and interview, publishing a merit list on 30‑01‑2017. Thirteen candidates, including five already appointed, sought re‑evaluation of their answer sheets; the High Court constituted a Special Committee which re‑evaluated those papers a…

The Court was asked to clarify whether mining could be carried out beyond one kilometre from the boundary of a National Park or Wildlife Sanctuary when the proposed site lies within an Eco‑Sensitive Zone (ESZ). The petitioner argued that his mining lease, granted in 2005, was situated 2.26 km from the Radhanagari Wildl…

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) investigated alleged disproportionate assets of D. Dwarakanadha Reddy and others under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, filed a closure report under Section 173(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) in 2008, and the Special Judge accepted it. In 2013 the CBI obtain…

The case concerned the validity of the "pre‑import condition" introduced by the 2017 amendments to the Foreign Trade Policy 2015‑2020 and related customs notifications, which required exporters to pay IGST and compensation cess on inputs imported under an Advance Authorization (AA) and to satisfy a physical export requ…

The case concerned the murder of Hari Shankar whose body was found in an apartment rented by the appellant Santosh @ Bhure. The prosecution relied on circumstantial evidence – tenancy of the flat, the presence of blood, a suicide letter allegedly written by co‑accused Neeraj, and recovery of a knife and blood‑stained c…

The appellant, Mohd Muslim, was arrested in 2015 in connection with a seizure of 180 kg of ganja and charged under Sections 20, 25 and 29 of the NDPS Act. The prosecution relied on statements of co‑accused, the appellant’s confessional statement and bank‑transaction records, but failed to produce any direct evidence li…

The Supreme Court examined the selection of 64 drug inspectors in Jammu & Kashmir, where the High Court had quashed the selection on grounds of procedural irregularities, lack of individual award rolls, and alleged bias. The Court held that candidates who participated in the selection without protest cannot later chall…

The State of Punjab appealed against the High Court's order reducing the sentence of Dil Bahadur, who had been convicted under Sections 279 and 304A of the IPC for rash and negligent driving that caused one death and two injuries. The High Court had lowered the term from two years rigorous imprisonment to eight months,…

The Operational Creditor (OC) filed a petition under section 9 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) against Manpasand Beverages Ltd., which was admitted by the NCLT and a CIRP was initiated. Within two days, the OC and the corporate debtor (CD) settled the dispute and the OC received full payment before a Commit…

The case involved the murder of Pradip Phukan, alleged to have been committed by a group of thirteen persons who entered his house and assaulted him with sharp weapons, resulting in his death. The trial court convicted eleven accused under Sections 147, 148, 149, 302, 326, 447 and 34 of the IPC, sentencing them to life…

The appellant was convicted under IPC sections 366, 376 and 302 for raping, kidnapping and murdering a woman, and the trial court sentenced him to life imprisonment for the murder. The appellant appealed, arguing that only the High Court or Supreme Court can impose a modified punishment such as a fixed-term life senten…

The appellant Indrajit Das was convicted for murder under Sections 302, 34 and 201 of the IPC based largely on circumstantial evidence and extra‑judicial confessions. The prosecution alleged that the victim Kaushik Sarkar went missing after riding with the appellant and a juvenile, and that the accused assaulted and di…

The appellants, Royden Harold Buthello and his father, alleged that the appellant was illegally abducted in Odisha on 20 October 2020 and subsequently framed in a narcotics case in Raipur on 21 October 2020. They sought a direction from the High Court to transfer the investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation…

The petitioner, Imtiyaz Ahmad Malla, was selected as a constable in the Jammu and Kashmir Executive Police and issued an appointment letter in 2009, but his appointment was cancelled after it was discovered that he had concealed his involvement in a criminal case (FIR No. 52/2007 under RPC s.379 and Forest Act s.6). He…

The deceased, Jayashree, married appellant No.3 and was allegedly subjected to physical and mental harassment by her mother‑in‑law and father‑in‑law (appellants) for dowry. She died by jumping into a well, and the prosecution charged the appellants under IPC sections 498A (dowry harassment) and 306 (abetment of suicide…

The appellants filed a suit in the District Court of Dimapur, Nagaland and later applied under Section 24 of the CPC for its transfer to the District Court of Guwahati, Assam, invoking the jurisdiction of the Gauhati High Court, which is a common High Court for Assam, Nagaland, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh. The Gauhat…

The Punjab government, through its Council of Ministers, recommended that the Governor summon the Vidhan Sabha for its Budget Session on 3 March 2023. The Governor sought extensive information from the Chief Minister under Article 167 and, after receiving a tweet and a letter that he deemed derogatory, said he would se…

The case concerned the death of Kiran Kaur, who suffered severe burns and later died, with the prosecution alleging that her husband Phulel Singh set her ablaze over dowry demands. The trial court convicted Singh under Section 304‑B IPC based primarily on the victim's dying declaration recorded by an Executive Magistra…

Lance Naik Gursewak Singh and Lance Naik Kala Singh, both serving in the Indian Army, consumed liquor and got into a heated argument over seniority. Singh seized Kala's rifle and fired a single bullet, killing him. A court‑martial convicted Singh under IPC s.302 read with Army Act s.69, sentencing him to life imprisonm…

The Supreme Court examined the sale of assets of the sick company Bharat Commerce & Industries Ltd. (BCI) by the operating agency IDBI under the Sick Industrial Companies (Special Provisions) Act, 1985. The appellant, Rajiv Kumar Jindal and others, was the sole bidder for Block IV but failed to furnish the required ban…

The State of Uttar Pradesh challenged the appointment of three teachers in two minority colleges, arguing that the selection process was not complete because the District Inspector of Schools (DIOS) had not approved the proposals before the amendment of Regulation 17. The colleges contended that once the management for…

R. Chandramohan, managing director of D‑Cube Constructions (P) Ltd., complained that two demand drafts of Rs 5 lakhs and Rs 3 lakhs were not credited to his company’s current account (No. 3600) with City Union Bank but were instead credited to a separate account (No. 4160) opened in the name "D‑Cube Construction". The …

The Supreme Court examined whether the day on which a magistrate orders remand under Section 167(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 should be counted in the 60/90‑day period prescribed for filing a charge‑sheet, the expiry of which gives an accused an indefeasible right to default bail. Relying on the earlier d…

The appellant, convicted and sentenced to death for the 1994 murder of five women and two children, claimed he was a juvenile at the time of the offence, asserting an age of 12 years based on school birth certificates and other documents. After earlier petitions were dismissed, the Supreme Court referred the matter to …

Lok Prahari, a society, challenged the constitutional validity of Rule 39-AA of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961 and the proviso to Section 33 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, alleging violations of Article 80(4), Article 14 of the Constitution and Section 123(2) of the Act. The petitioner argued that …

The Supreme Court examined civil appeals filed by State Bank of India and other banks challenging the classification of borrowers' accounts as fraudulent under the RBI's 2016 Master Directions on Frauds. Borrowers contended that the directions denied them a hearing before such classification, violating the principles o…

Aman Semi-Conductors Pvt. Ltd. obtained an industrial plot from the Haryana State Industrial Development Corporation (HSIDC) on the condition that it would construct and commence production within stipulated timeframes. The company failed to start any construction, repeatedly sought extensions citing lack of infrastruc…

Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay filed a writ petition under Article 32 seeking a court order directing the Home Ministry to set up a Renaming Commission, the Archaeological Survey of India to research original names, and governments to update records of ancient religious sites renamed during foreign invasions, invoking rights t…

The plaintiff‑respondent (Zeenath) appealed a High Court order that remanded her suit for cancellation of a sale deed and a prohibitory injunction back to the trial court for a fresh trial. The High Court had held that the evidence on record was insufficient and that material witnesses were not examined, thereby direct…

The appellant, an Auxiliary Nurse Midwife appointed in 1980, submitted a resignation on 18 April 1993 but withdrew it on 23 November 1993 before it was accepted. Despite the withdrawal, the State later accepted the resignation effective from 31 March 1993, leading to a series of writ petitions under Article 226. The Hi…

The appellant, the Commanding Officer of the Railway Protection Special Force, appealed against a decision allowing the widow and heirs of a constable of the RPF to claim compensation under the Employees Compensation Act, 1923 for his death in service. The central question was whether a constable of the RPF, declared a…

The State of Haryana sought a direction to conduct the entire recruitment of Junior Civil Judges through the Haryana Public Service Commission and to modify the Supreme Court's 12 February 2009 order that had placed the selection under a committee comprising High Court judges, the State, and the Commission. The Court e…

The plaintiff Ashiyal Beevi sued for exclusive ownership of a property, claiming a one‑sixth share based on a sale deed, while the defendants contested the validity of a prior gift deed. The trial court decreed only a one‑sixth share to the plaintiff and rejected her review application seeking a full decree. The plaint…

The Delhi High Court had ordered notices to be issued to a third‑party assessee after documents belonging to him were seized in a search of another entity's premises. The third‑party argued that the six‑year period for filing returns should commence from the date the seized materials were handed over to his Assessing O…

The case involved a group of accused who were originally acquitted by the Sessions Court for offences arising from a violent property dispute that resulted in death and injuries. The State appealed under Section 378 of the CrPC, and the Karnataka High Court set aside the acquittal, convicting the accused under IPC Sect…

The appellant, a retired Air Force corporal, was transfused with a unit of blood at 171 Military Hospital in 2002 during Operation Parakram. He later discovered he was HIV positive in 2014 and alleged that the transfusion was the source of infection, seeking compensation for loss of earnings, medical expenses, mental a…

Universal Sompo General Insurance Company filed a claim for theft and fire under policies issued to a consumer. The State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission ordered the insurer to pay compensation, which the insurer appealed to the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC). The NCDRC dismissed the app…

The appellants, Suresh Thipmppa Shetty (A4) and Sadashiv Seena Salian (A2), were convicted under Sections 302 and 120B of the IPC for the murder of Mahendra Pratap Singh and sentenced to life imprisonment and fines. They appealed the conviction, arguing that they were not present in the car where the murder occurred an…

Sh. Rakesh Raman filed a petition for divorce under Sections 13(1)(ia) and (ib) of the Hindu Marriage Act, alleging cruelty and desertion by his wife, Smt. Kavita. The parties had been living apart for about 25 years, with no children, and had been involved in multiple criminal litigations against each other. The trial…

The petitioner sought the release of her husband, who had been repeatedly remanded in custody despite the filing of multiple supplementary chargesheets that did not complete the investigation. The core issue was whether a chargesheet can be filed piecemeal before the investigation is finished and whether such filing ex…

Non‑MBBS medical officers (Ayurveda, Unani, etc.) filed writ petitions seeking parity in pay with MBBS doctors, invoking the Tikku Pay Commission recommendations. The State of Gujarat, after initially extending higher pay scales to these officers, withdrew the benefit, leading to appeals before the High Court, which gr…

The Union of India sought modification of the Supreme Court's directions dated 3 June 2022 that mandated a uniform one‑kilometre eco‑sensitive zone (ESZ) around every protected forest and prohibited any new permanent structures within such zones. The Court examined the practical difficulties of a uniform ESZ, the impac…

The Supreme Court examined a sale deed executed by the Official Liquidator of a liquidated company, which conveyed land, building, civil works, plant and machinery, and other assets for a total consideration of Rs.8.35 crores. The first respondent, a nominee of the auction purchaser, sought registration of only the lan…

Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. (formerly ING Vysya Bank) sought settlement of tax liabilities for several assessment years, disclosing additional lease income that had been treated as a financial transaction under RBI guidelines. The Settlement Commission, after considering the bank's cooperation and full disclosure, granted…

The dispute arose from a five‑year lease agreement dated 27‑03‑2003 between Paul Rubber Industries Pvt. Ltd. (lessee) and the landlady (respondents) for approximately 16 cottahs of land in Kolkata, which included a clause for renewal and described the premises as having a factory shed. The lease was not registered, alt…

The petitioner, serving a life sentence for murder and a weapons offence, applied for premature release after 24 years of incarceration, claiming denial of remission and parole. The Remission Board rejected his applications twice, relying heavily on adverse opinions of the presiding judge, despite favorable reports fro…

Shikha Trading Co. filed a writ petition challenging the illegal sealing of its shop by Excise and Taxation officers. The Punjab High Court, besides ordering the de‑sealing, directed that a criminal case be registered against Assistant Excise and Taxation Commissioner Rishi Pal Singh, alleging that he filed a false aff…

The appellants, teaching faculty of Government Homeopathic Colleges in Kerala, sought to have the retirement age enhancement granted to medical doctors (from 55 to 60 years) applied retrospectively to them, arguing a legitimate expectation. The State had issued a 2010 Government Order (G.O.) raising the retirement age …

The Central Bureau of Investigation filed charge sheets in English in Vyapam scam cases, and the accused, who claimed they could not understand English, sought Hindi translations. The lower courts rejected the applications, but the Madhya Pradesh High Court held that Hindi, being the language of the criminal courts und…

The Bharatiya Kamgar Karmachari Mahasangh (union) represented 169 workmen employed by Jet Airways on fixed‑term contracts who had each completed more than 240 days of service. The union claimed that under the Bombay Model Standing Order the workmen should be deemed permanent, but the airline relied on a 2002 settlement…

The appellant, a shareholder and former director of Seva Vikas Co-operative Bank, filed FIR No. 806 of 2019 alleging financial fraud by the bank's chief executive and former chairperson based on a forensic audit report. The Bombay High Court quashed the FIR, holding that Section 81(5B) of the Maharashtra Co-operative S…

The appellant, Hem Raj, owned a vehicle insured by New India Assurance and sought reimbursement of INR 10,36,500 for death, funeral, and medical expenses arising from a road accident in Nepal. The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum and the State Commission ordered the insurer to pay the claimed amounts, but the…

The appellant and his brother, the first respondent, entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in 2010 that included an arbitration clause. The appellant later filed two suits involving additional parties, including a private company and Canara Bank, seeking injunctions over family property. The first respondent…

Harbhajan Singh, the registered owner of a truck that overturned and was found with narcotic powder, was convicted under Section 25 of the NDNDPS Act for allegedly permitting the vehicle's use in a drug offence. The prosecution relied on two witnesses who initially identified the driver and cleaner and named the owner,…

The original plaintiff filed a suit challenging a sale deed; he died during the suit and his legal heirs (LRs) continued the proceedings. The LRs filed a first appeal, which was dismissed, and subsequently a second appeal was filed by Vitthalbhai Maganbhai Parmar (VM) as the holder of a power of attorney (POA) executed…

The appellant was convicted of raping his nine‑year‑old daughter under Sections 376, 377 and 506 of the IPC and sentenced to life imprisonment, with the trial judge adding a rider that no clemency could be granted before he served twenty years. The Delhi High Court affirmed the conviction and the same rider, and the ap…

The appellant, a widowed landlord, filed eviction petitions under the Delhi Rent Control Act, 1958, claiming a bona‑fide requirement for the premises to accommodate her joint family. The Rent Controller accepted the petition and ordered eviction, but the Delhi High Court reversed the order, alleging that the appellant …

The appellants purchased a 7,818 sq. m. property in Allahabad as tenants and paid stamp duty based on a market value of Rs.6,67,200 calculated using the municipal property‑tax method. The Assistant Stamp Collector re‑valued the land at Rs.24,000 per sq. m., fixing a market value of over Rs.19 crore and demanding a larg…

The case concerns a sub-contract (Work Order) containing an arbitration clause, which was unstamped. The appellant argued that the arbitration agreement was unenforceable due to non-payment of stamp duty under the Indian Stamp Act, 1899. The Supreme Court, by a 3:2 majority, held that an arbitration agreement contained…

The case concerned the self‑acquired property of Sengalani Chettiar, who had two marriages. His son Chandran (the father of the appellants) executed a release deed in 1975, relinquishing any claim to the property in return for valuable consideration, and stating he would have no further connection except blood relation…

The insured, M/s. Mudit Roadways, held fire and customs duty insurance policies with New India Assurance Co. Ltd. for a bonded warehouse in Raigad, Maharashtra. A fire broke out on 14 March 2018; the insurer repudiated the claim, alleging that the fire occurred in an uninsured area and resulted from the insured's negli…

The appellant, accused No.1, was convicted of murder (s.302 IPC) for stabbing the deceased during a heated verbal quarrel, while co‑accused No.2 and No.3 were acquitted. The issue before the Supreme Court was whether the appellant's act fell under Exception 4 to s.300 IPC, thereby constituting culpable homicide not amo…

The appellant, a leaseholder of a Delhi parcel, obtained a decree for possession against the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) after the lease expired. While attempting to execute the decree, the MCD resisted, citing encroachment and pending land‑acquisition proceedings, leading the Executing Court to declare the de…

Hindustan Construction Company Ltd (the contractor) executed embankment work for the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) under the Allahabad bypass project and disputed how quantities should be measured for payment—whether soil and pond‑ash embankments should be measured as a single composite cross‑section or s…

The State Bank of India (SBI) disciplined its field officer A.G.D. Reddy for alleged misconduct, including failure to conduct periodical inspections and not completing formalities for an equitable mortgage, and imposed a penalty of reduction in basic pay to the lowest stage in Scale‑I under Rule 49(e) of the SBI (Super…

The appellant Mukesh Singh was convicted of murder, robbery and related offences based primarily on the identification of the injured eyewitness Sushil Kumar, who identified him in court after the accused had refused to attend a test identification parade (TIP). The accused argued that his refusal to participate in the…

The case involves an alleged honour killing where the victim, Vikash Panwar, was shot dead by three accused who were related to his live-in partner. The accused were charged under Sections 302 and 120B of the IPC and Sections 3, 25 and 27 of the Arms Act. The High Court of Rajasthan granted bail to all three accused in…

The Supreme Court examined six FIRs registered in West Bengal relating to alleged explosive offences and a High Court order that transferred the investigation to the National Investigation Agency (NIA). The High Court had directed the Central Government to invoke its power under Section 6(5) of the National Investigati…

The original suit (Civil Suit No.3 A/02) was decreed in favour of the plaintiff, Govind Singh, on 1 October 2005. The defendants, Raheem Shah and another, filed a regular first appeal under Section 96 of the CPC but did so 52 days after the decree, prompting an application under Section 5 of the Limitation Act for cond…

Bhima Rao Baswanth Rao Patil, a successful Lok Sabha candidate, was challenged by K. Madan Mohan Rao through an election petition under Sections 81 and 84 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, alleging false information, non‑disclosure of pending criminal cases and convictions, and non‑compliance with Election…

The appellant filed an interlocutory application seeking clarification of paragraph 51 of the Supreme Court's judgment dated 27 March 2023 in Criminal Appeals Nos. 701‑702 of 2020, which had upheld a default bail order granted by the Bombay High Court under proviso (a)(ii) of Section 167(2) of the CrPC. The Court exami…

Jitendra Kumar Rode, a former Assistant Commercial Manager of Northern Railway, was convicted under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 for accepting a bribe in 1995. The trial court’s record was subsequently lost, and only a partial, reconstructed set of documents was produced, which did not include essential witne…

The deceased Y.S. Vivekananda Reddy was murdered in March 2019 and the case was transferred to the CBI, which filed charge sheets naming several accused including the first respondent Y.S. Avinash Reddy. The first respondent sought anticipatory bail and filed a writ petition, prompting the Telangana High Court to grant…

The appellant, Maghavendra Pratap Singh (Pankaj Singh), was convicted for the murder of businessman Goverdhan Aggarwal and related offences under Sections 302, 201, 120B of the IPC and the Arms Act, based largely on circumstantial evidence. The prosecution’s case lacked any eyewitnesses, direct forensic linkage, or rel…

The assessee, Prakash Chand Lunia, who dealt in silver, was found to have smuggled 146 slabs of silver which were confiscated by customs and a penalty imposed. He claimed the value of the confiscated silver as a business loss under Section 37(1) of the Income‑Tax Act, relying on the High Court's application of the Piar…

The Revenue challenged the Assessing Officer’s (AO) power to make additions to income tax assessments after a search under section 132/132A of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The central issue was whether, under section 153A, the AO could assess or reassess total income for completed or unabated assessments when no incrimina…

The case concerned the interpretation of the Maharashtra Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, De‑notified Tribes, Nomadic Tribes, Other Backward Classes and Special Backward Category (Regulation of Issuance and Verification of) Caste Certificate Act, 2000 and the related 2003 and 2012 Rules. The petitioner challenged th…

The State of Tripura issued a 1992 memorandum requiring ONGC, GAIL and FCI to deduct 4% sales tax at source when paying vehicle suppliers who had hired the vehicles. The suppliers challenged the validity of sub‑rule (2) of Rule 3A of the Tripura Sales Tax Rules, claiming it was ultra vires the Tripura Sales Tax Act and…

The assessees were searched under two authorisations issued on 13‑03‑2001 and 26‑03‑2001, resulting in panchnamas drawn on 11‑04‑2001 and 26‑03‑2001 respectively. Block assessment notices were issued and assessment orders were passed in April 2003, which the assessees challenged as time‑barred under Section 158BE of th…

The Maharashtra State Co‑operative Bank Ltd., as the appellant‑bank, was ordered by the Supreme Court in Civil Appeal No. 232 of 2016 to pay the outstanding salary and wage dues of employees of a sugar factory that had gone into liquidation, using proceeds from the auctioned property. The bank deposited 25 % of the tot…

The State of Odisha awarded a road‑improvement contract to a special‑class contractor who failed to complete the work by the stipulated deadline and sought an extension. The State Government granted the extension on 7 February 2019 but imposed a penalty of 0.25% of the work value, invoking Clause 3.5.5(v) of the Odisha…

The respondent, Magi H. Desai, was engaged by Doordarshan Prasar Bharti as a General Assistant on a contract/casual basis from 1985 until her regularisation as a Lower Division Clerk on 31 March 1995 under the 1992/94 regularisation scheme. She later sought to have her pre‑regularisation contractual service counted as …

Anil Kumar, convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment, was released on emergency parole during the COVID‑19 pandemic by a High‑Powered Committee constituted under a Supreme Court order. He filed a writ petition under Article 32 seeking to quash the Committee's decision that the parole period should not be …

The Government of NCT of Delhi appealed a Delhi High Court order that had declared the acquisition of a parcel of land to have deemed lapsed under Section 24(2) of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, based on a writ petition filed by the subseq…

The appellant, the Commissioner of Central Excise, sought recovery of an erroneous excise duty refund that had been granted to M/s Morarje... Gokuldas SPG & WVG Co. Ltd. The refund order (O‑I‑O) was later set aside in a proceeding under Section 35E of the Central Excise Act, and the Revenue appealed the Tribunal’s deci…

The Supreme Court examined whether a person must show "active membership" to be convicted under Section 10(a)(i) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA) after an association is declared unlawful. It held that the provision plainly punishes anyone who continues to be a member of a banned association, wi…

Marsh India Insurance Brokers Pvt Ltd appealed against a Securities Appellate Tribunal order that set aside the IRDA’s dismissal of a complaint by Atkins Special Risks Ltd alleging that Marsh paid a bribe to Jagdish Gupta, Chairman of Jagson International Ltd, to obtain a re‑insurance brokerage contract. The Tribunal h…

The plaintiff, Chandervir Singh Negi, filed a suit in 2003 seeking a declaration, mandatory injunction and direction to the State of Himachal Pradesh to complete land acquisition for a road constructed on his land in 1987, alleging no compensation and damage to fruit trees. The trial court held the suit barred by limit…

The Delhi government appealed a Delhi High Court order that had declared land acquisition proceedings under the 1894 Act to have lapsed, thereby directing compensation under the 2013 Act. The land in question had already been taken into physical possession by the Irrigation and Flood Control Board for the construction …

The Land Acquisition Collector appealed a Delhi High Court order that had declared the acquisition proceedings for 15 bighas 18 biswa of land in Wazirabad village to have lapsed under Section 24(2) of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, relying…

The State of Himachal Pradesh used land for a road in 1996 without acquiring it under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 and without paying compensation. The landowners filed a writ petition in 2016 seeking compensation and acquisition; the Single Judge ordered the State to initiate acquisition. The State appealed, and the…

The State of Haryana had acquired 46.49 acres of land in 1987 for residential and commercial development. Over time most of the land was released, but small parcels remained under acquisition, prompting the original landowners to file writ petitions seeking release on parity with others. The High Court quashed the acqu…

The plaintiff obtained an ex‑parte decree for specific performance of an agreement to sell land, directing him to pay the balance consideration of Rs 15,00,000 within two weeks, which he failed to do. After a delay of 853 days, the plaintiff sought an extension of time under CPC 148 and Section 28 of the Specific Relie…

The appellant filed a writ petition (Writ Petition No.8606 of 2010) challenging a Tiruchirappalli City Municipal Corporation order concerning a pathway. The High Court discarded a survey report and ruled in favour of the respondents on 03.03.2017. The respondents then filed a review petition under Order 47 Rule 1 of th…

The appellant, a civil engineer, posted a viral picture of a sitting cabinet minister on Facebook and alleged that police, at the minister’s behest, forcibly took him to the minister’s residence, beat him and threatened him. He filed FIRs (Nos. 119 and 120 of 2020) but the minister was not named in the initial chargesh…

The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) had taken possession of certain lands in 1981 and the compensation due to the owners was sent to the Revenue Department due to a dispute. The Delhi High Court held that the acquisition had deemed lapsed under Section 24(2) of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land …

The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) appealed against a Telangana High Court order that granted anticipatory bail to M. Gopal Reddy (respondent No.1) under Section 438 of the CrPC in connection with a money‑laundering case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA). The Supreme Court examined whether the …

The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) appealed a Delhi High Court order that declared the acquisition of certain lands as deemed to have lapsed under Section 24(2) of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 because compensation had not been paid. Th…

The petitioner, a Superintendent of the High Court of Manipur, sought promotion to Assistant Registrar. The Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC) on 9 April 2021 denied her promotion, relying on Annual Confidential Report (ACR) grades for 2016‑17 ("Good") and 2019‑20 ("Good"). The petitioner argued that the 2016‑17 AC…

The Indian Society of Critical Care Medicine filed a miscellaneous application seeking clarification and modification of the Supreme Court's 2018 directions on advance medical directives and withdrawal of life‑support treatment. The Court examined whether the procedural safeguards, especially the requirement of a Judic…

The appellants Prasad Pradhan and another, cousins of the deceased Vrindawan, attacked him with axes while he was levelling his land, causing severe head injuries that led to his death after 20 days. The trial court convicted them of murder under Section 302 IPC read with Section 34 and sentenced them to life imprisonm…

The appellant, Talat Sanvi, was granted anticipatory bail by the High Court on the condition that he deposit interim victim compensation. The appellant challenged this condition, arguing that it contravenes Section 357 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. The Supreme Court examined the provisions of Section 357, no…

The case concerned the murder of Narayan in 1985, for which Munna Lal, Sheo Lal and Babu Ram were convicted under section 302 IPC based largely on the oral testimony of two eye‑witnesses, PW‑2 (Ram Vilas) and PW‑3 (Hemraj), and medical evidence. The Supreme Court examined the credibility of these witnesses, noting PW‑2…

The Supreme Court examined the constitutionality of the Assam Rural Health Regulatory Authority Act, 2004, which created a regulatory authority to register diploma holders in medicine and to regulate their practice in rural Assam. The Court held that the Act was beyond the legislative competence of the Assam State Legi…

The Public Interest Committee sought proportional representation for the Limboo‑Tamang Scheduled Tribes in the Lok Sabha and the legislative assemblies of West Bengal and Sikkim, arguing that the 2006 Delimitation Notification and the 2008 Delimitation Order failed to incorporate the tribes after their inclusion under …

The dispute arose when M/s OM Gurusai Construction Company (appellant) submitted the additional performance security for a water resources project two days later than the two‑working‑day deadline stipulated in Clause 2.22.0(ix) of the tender, due to a nationwide strike by employees of nationalised banks on the prescrib…

The appellant, a returned candidate to the Manipur Legislative Assembly, was challenged by the unsuccessful candidate who filed an election petition alleging corrupt practices, including non‑disclosure of a financial transaction. The appellant moved applications under Order 7 Rule 11 of the CPC and Section 86 of the Re…

The Supreme Court examined an appeal against a Rajasthan High Court order that granted bail to three accused in a gang‑rape case involving a 15‑year‑old girl. The FIR alleged offences under Sections 376D, 384, 506 IPC, Sections 3‑6 POCSO Act, Section 3(2)(v) SC/ST Act and Section 66 IT Act, with the complainant asserti…

The deceased, Sumer Singh, was employed as a driver by the owner of a truck and was on duty driving from Delhi to Baroda when he felt unwell, parked the vehicle and died. The claimants, his dependents, filed an application under the Employee's Compensation Act, 1923 and were awarded compensation by the Workmen's Compen…

The appellant, Irfan, was convicted and sentenced to death for allegedly setting fire to a room that killed his son and two brothers, based primarily on two dying declarations. The prosecution argued that the appellant had motive and that eye‑witnesses saw him pour inflammable substance and lock the door. The defence c…

The appellants were seized by a Sub‑Inspector of Police at a bus stop in Phagwara on suspicion of selling gas cylinders at a price lower than the prescribed rate. They were convicted under Section 7 of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 for unauthorized possession of the cylinders and sentenced to six months imprisonm…

Kamlesh Rani Bhatla, an Assistant Teacher, resigned on 22 March 2012 to contest a municipal election; her resignation was accepted on 29 March 2012. After losing the election, she applied on 21 April 2012 to withdraw her resignation, but the application remained pending for years. She filed a writ petition, and the Del…

The Supreme Court examined an application filed by Unitech Limited seeking restitution of Rs. 98.07 crore that had been paid to Shri Naresh Kempanna and Col. Mohinder Khaira under an earlier order directing distribution of sale proceeds from a land transaction with M/s Devas Global Services LLP. Unitech argued that it …

The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) filed a writ petition under Article 32 seeking a mandamus directing the Union Ministry of Urban Development to convert the entire 1.33‑acre parcel of land allotted to the Supreme Court for archives into a chamber block for lawyers, to declare the surrounding area a ‘Supreme Cour…

The Union of India and others entered into a contract with M/s. Bharat Enterprise for repair work, which required the contractor to submit a final bill and a No Claims Certificate. The contractor submitted the final bill on 13‑02‑2002, but payment was delayed for over a year, after which the contractor raised additiona…

The Odisha Lokayukta, acting under Section 20(1) of the Odisha Lokayukta Act, 2014, directed the Directorate of Vigilance to conduct a preliminary inquiry into a corruption complaint lodged by a Deputy Superintendent of Police against an elected MLA. The High Court set aside this order without hearing the Lokayukta, al…

The dispute concerned the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) party's internal governance after the death of its General Secretary, when the party shifted to a joint leadership of a Co‑ordinator and Joint Co‑ordinator. A requisition by over 80% of General Council members led to a meeting on 11 July 2022, …

The petitioner, a former chairperson of Maduravoyal Town Panchayat, purchased a parcel of land in 2011 that included a road earmarked for a sewerage line under a 2001 local body resolution. While the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply & Sewerage Board laid the sewer main on the adjoining stretches, it left a 110‑metre s…

The Supreme Court examined appeals filed by Shirdi Nagar Panchayat against landowners and plot holders who challenged a 2004 government notification converting a green zone into a residential zone, which required the municipal council to receive 10% of the land as open space and another 10% as amenity space free of cha…

The petitioners, Sweety Kumari, Vikramaditya Mishra and Aditi, were candidates in the 30th and 31st Bihar Judicial Service examinations and had their candidatures rejected by the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) for not producing original character or law degree certificates at the interview, despite having true …

The parties entered into an Agreement to Sell on 31 July 1975, which required the sellers to obtain permission from the District Magistrate within eight days and then inform the buyers, who were to execute the sale deed within fifteen days. The sellers never applied for permission, and the buyers filed a suit for speci…

The case arose from a 2005 drug seizure in Chandigarh where the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) recovered heroin from a car driven by Satnam Singh and later arrested Balwinder Singh based on a confession recorded under Section 67 of the NDPS Act. The High Court had upheld both convictions, relying on the confessional st…

The appellant, a construction contractor, entered into a contract with the Government of Maharashtra for earth work on a canal, which was not completed within the stipulated 18 months and required several extensions. After disputes over payment arose, the contractor sought appointment of an arbitrator under the contrac…

The appellant‑trust owned lands in Nashik that were acquired by the Agricultural Produce Market Committee under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894. An award under Section 11 was made on 12 January 1996, but the parties entered into consent terms on 20 October 1997, agreeing that the market value would be fixed as of 17 Dec…

The respondent, Mitul Kumar Jana, was selected as a constable in the West Bengal Police and submitted a police verification roll that asked about arrest, detention or conviction. He answered "no" to the question, while a criminal case was pending against him. The Administrative Tribunal held that he had not suppressed …

The appellant, Davinder Singh, was convicted by the trial court and the Punjab & Haryana High Court for offences under Sections 376, 452 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code, based on the allegation that he threatened the prosecutrix with a knife at her residence. On appeal before the Supreme Court, the appellant contended…

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) had ordered a halt to construction near the man‑made Teliya Talab in Mandsaur on the basis of a draft ‘trace’ map, disregarding earlier municipal approvals and a final court decree that upheld the Shramjeevi Cooperative Housing Society’s title to 1.4 hectares of land. The Society appea…

The Supreme Court examined the forfeiture of M/s. Platinum Theatre, a partnership firm, under the Smugglers and Foreign Exchange Manipulators (Forfeiture of Property) Act, 1976. The competent authority had ordered forfeiture under Section 7 because more than 50% of the theatre's value (Rs.13.12 lakhs) remained unexplai…

M/s Bilag Industries Ltd. (BIL) sold the pesticide Esbiothrin to Aventis CropScience (India) Ltd., a wholly‑owned subsidiary of AgrEvo SA (later Aventis CropScience SA). AgrEvo SA also held more than 51% of BIL’s share capital, making BIL its subsidiary. The revenue treated the sale as a transaction with a “related per…