Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 — Section 168 — Notional income of skilled worker — Carpenter — Assessment — The appellant, a carpenter aged 38 years, suffered amputation of his right leg below the knee in a road accident in November 2004 — The Claims Tribunal assessed his monthly income at Rs. 3,000/- and the High Court enhanced it to Rs. 5,000/- relying on minimum wages. Held — A carpenter is a skilled artisan who works with precision and manual dexterity — His income cannot be equated with that of an unskilled worker — Where the appellant’s unrefuted evidence showed earnings of Rs. 8,000/- to Rs. 10,000/- per month, and a skilled job always has the potentiality to fetch higher income, the High Court erred in restricting the figure to Rs. 5,000/- — Considering the date of accident, decisions in comparable cases and the fact of the appellant being a skilled worker, his notional monthly income is assessed at Rs. 9,000/- per month.
2026 INSC 656 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH SHANKAR DUTT Vs. UNITED INDIA INSURANCE CO. LTD. AND OTHERS ( Before : Ujjal Bhuyan and N.V. Anjaria, JJ. ) Civil…
Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC) — Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) — Section 304 Part II — Culpable Homicide not Amounting to Murder — Conviction and sentence — Appeal against — Abatement of appeal due to death of co-accused — Death of two appellants during pendency of appeal — Appeal survives only for the third appellant.
2026 INSC 658 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH MATHU ALIAS JAGDISH Vs. STATE OF UTTARAKHAND ( Before : Ujjal Bhuyan and Arun Palli, JJ. ) Criminal Appeal No. 2024…
Uttar Pradesh Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act, 1950 — Section 154 — Transfer of land in contravention of ceiling limit — Not void ipso facto — Capable of ratification — Legality of transfer to be judged by law on date of execution — Sale deed executed on 04.06.1957 — Ceiling limit then was 30 acres, subsequently amended to 12.5 acres retrospectively from 01.07.1952 — Transfer in contravention of Section 154 not void but voidable at instance of Gaon Sabha coupled with liability for ejectment of transferee under Section 163 — No suit filed for ejectment within limitation period.
2026 INSC 652 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH SARAFAT ALI (DECEASED) THROUGH LRS AND OTHERS Vs. DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF CONSOLIDATION HARIDWAR AND OTHERS ( Before : Prashant Kumar Mishra…
Specific Relief Act, 1963 — Section 16(c) — “Readiness and Willingness” — Relief of specific performance is equitable and discretionary — Plaintiff must specifically aver and prove continuous readiness and willingness to perform obligations — Failure to do so disentitles plaintiff to relief — “Readiness” refers to financial capacity, “Willingness” to conduct and intention — Both cumulatively must be seen — Conduct of plaintiff prior and subsequent to suit, along with attending circumstances, must be considered — Availability of funds must be proved with reference to relevant time, not by documents created much later.
2026 INSC 651 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH MOHAMMED KHALEEL (D) THROUGH LRS AND OTHERS Vs. JAYAMMA ( Before : Prashant Kumar Mishra and N.V. Anjaria, JJ. ) Civil…
Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 — Section 166 and 140 — Compensation for death in motor vehicular accident — Negligence — Truck stationed on road at night without warning lights or indicators — Wagon-R car collided from behind — Held, truck driver was negligent in leaving the vehicle unattended on the road without adequate precautionary measures, which was the proximate cause of the accident.
2026 INSC 653 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH THE ORIENTAL INSURANCE COMPANY LIMITED Vs. KALU RAM AND OTHERS ( Before : Prashant Kumar Mishra and N.V. Anjaria, JJ. )…
Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 — Section 166 — Motor Accident Claims Tribunal — Compensation — Enhancement — High Court enhanced compensation, but calculation of future prospects and omission of certain awarded amounts were infirmities — Supreme Court addressed these infirmities.
2026 INSC 655 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH M. PARAMESH Vs. VRL LOGISTICS LTD. AND ANOTHER ( Before : Prashant Kumar Mishra and N.V. Anjaria, JJ. ) Civil Appeal…
Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) — Sections 420, 467, 468, 471 — Forgery and use of forged documents in judicial proceedings — Appeal confined to quantum of sentence, conviction upheld — Occurrence of offence in 2014, appellant facing proceedings for over a decade, no prior or subsequent criminal antecedents, forged document detected at early stage, no irreversible consequences — These factors warrant reconsideration of substantive sentence on grounds of proportionality and mitigating circumstances.
2026 INSC 654 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH ISRAFIL @ PAPPU @ NAIMUDDIN KHAN Vs. STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH ( Before : Prashant Kumar Mishra and N.V. Anjaria, JJ.…
Constitution of India, 1950 — Article 19(1)(d), Article 21 — Fundamental Right to Walk — The right to walk is a fundamental right integral to the right to movement under Article 19(1)(d), read with other provisions of Article 19 and Article 21 — This fundamental right includes the right to demarcated footpaths, which must take precedence over the movement of motorised vehicles
2026 INSC 647 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH MANIYAR ILIYAZ @ SHAIK RIYAZ AND ANOTHER Vs. P. AYYAPPAN AND OTHERS ( Before : Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha and Atul S.…
Civil Procedure Code, 1908 (CPC) — Order 21 — Execution proceedings — High Court’s directions for assessment of compensation in execution proceedings — Held, impermissible when original suit did not seek compensation and parties did not consent — Setting aside of trial court and first appellate court decrees, followed by direction to execute court to assess value of construction, is not supported by CPC
2026 INSC 648 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH RAJAT KUMAR AND OTHERS Vs. S D ADARSH JAIN KANYA MAHA VIDYALAYA SADHAURA AND OTHERS ( Before : S.V.N. Bhatti and…
Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957 — Section 59(d), 92 and 95(1) — Delhi Municipal Corporation Service (Control and Appeal) Regulations, 1959 — Regn. 7, Schedule — Disciplinary Authority — Competency of Commissioner to dismiss Group ‘A’ Officer — Substitution of Section 59(d) by Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Act, 1993, w.e.f. 01.10.1993 — Legislative Intent — Post-1993 amendment, the Commissioner is put in complete control both as the appointing authority and the disciplinary authority — Phrase “subject to any regulation that may be made in this behalf” used in Section 59(d) refers to regulations that may be made in future and not the existing 1959 Regulations — Commissioner held fully competent to pass dismissal orders against Group ‘A’ officers despite old regulations naming the ‘Corporation’ as the disciplinary authority.
2026 INSC 646 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH RAJESH SHARMA Vs. NORTH DELHI MUNICIPAL CORPORATION AND ANOTHER ( Before : Sanjay Karol and Manoj Misra, JJ. ) Civil Appeal…








