Supreme Court of India Judgements

47270 Judgements hosted as on 05/07/2026 - Search (FREE), Subscribe @ Rs 99/- for 6 months, sclaw@sclaw.in, WA +91 9417245693.

Month: May 2026

Companies Act Corporate

Companies Act, 1956 — Sections 397, 398, 41 and 2(27) — Member of a company — Locus standi to file petition for oppression and mismanagement — Essential requirement is not just formal entry in register of members, but also equitable consideration of proprietary interest and conduct of the company treating the person as a member

May 12, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 447 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH DR. BAIS SURGICAL AND MEDICAL INSTITUTE PVT. LTD. AND OTHERS Vs. DHANANJAY PANDE ( Before : Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha and Alok…

I B C

Corporate Veil — Lifting of — May be lifted where associated companies are inextricably connected, forming part of one concern, or to prevent evasion of obligations or protect public interest. In this case, subsidiary companies were found to be mere fronts for the holding company’s development activities, justifying lifting the corporate veil.

May 12, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 449 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH ALPHA CORP DEVELOPMENT PRIVATE LIMITED Vs. GREATER NOIDA INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY (GNIDA) AND OTHERS ( Before : Sanjay Kumar and Alok…

Constitution

Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 — Section 2(c) — Criminal Contempt — Publication of scandalous matter or doing any act that scandalises or tends to scandalise, lowers or tends to lower the authority of any court, prejudices or interferes with judicial proceedings, or obstructs justice — Appellant, President of the Gujarat High Court Advocates’ Association and a senior advocate, made unwarranted and disreputable allegations in a press conference against the High Court and its Registry, calling it a ‘gambling den’ and alleging preferential treatment — The High Court initiated suo motu criminal contempt proceedings against the Appellant. Judicial Magnanimity and Reform — The Supreme Court demonstrated exceptional magnanimity and a desire for reform by suspending the conviction and sentence, emphasizing that while accountability is paramount, it must be balanced with patience to guide and elevate, rather than resorting to punitive destruction.

May 12, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 470 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH YATIN NARENDRA OZA Vs. SUO MOTU, HIGH COURT OF GUJARATAND ANOTHER ( Before : J.K. Maheshwari and Atul S. Chandurkar, JJ.…

SC/ST

Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 (SC/ST Act) — Sections 3(1)(r) and 3(1)(s) — Essential ingredient — “in any place within public view” — Both sections require the act of insult, intimidation, or abuse to occur in a place visible to the public — This is a mandatory condition for constituting the offence.

May 12, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 468 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH GUNJAN @ GIRIJA KUMARI AND OTHERS Vs. STATE (NCT OF DELHI) AND ANOTHER ( Before : Prashant Kumar Mishra and N.V.…

Election Laws

Uttar Pradesh Panchayat Raj Act, 1947 — Section 12C — Election Dispute — Candidate challenging election results — Prescribed Authority passed an order allowing the election petition and directing recounting of votes — Later, after recounting, the authority declared the appellant as the returned candidate — The High Court set aside this order — The Supreme Court held that once the Prescribed Authority passes a final order allowing the election petition, it becomes functus officio and loses jurisdiction to pass further orders — The initial order directing recounting was deemed final, not interim, as it allowed the petition and rejected the respondent’s statement, leaving no scope for further orders after recounting — The High Court was correct in quashing the subsequent proceedings and the declaration of the appellant as elected — Appeal dismissed.

May 12, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 471 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH URMILA DEVI Vs. THE STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH AND OTHERS ( Before : Aravind Kumar and Prasanna B. Varale, JJ. )…

Dying Declaration

Criminal Law — Dying Declarations — Legal position is that a truthful and voluntary dying declaration, if reliable, can be the sole basis for conviction — In this case, dying declarations were found reliable and corroborated by surrounding circumstances and other witnesses — Defence argument about deceased’s unconsciousness rejected.

May 12, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 469 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH MITESH @ T.V. VAGHELA Vs. THE STATE OF GUJARAT ( Before : Aravind Kumar and Prasanna B. Varale, JJ. ) Criminal…

Specific Performance

Specific Relief Act, 1963 — Section 28(1) and 28(4) — Decree for specific performance — Executability — Non-deposit of balance sale consideration within stipulated time — Plaintiff’s failure to deposit balance sale consideration within three months as stipulated in the decree — No application for extension of time filed within the stipulated period — Contract deemed rescinded and decree rendered inexecutable

May 12, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 451 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH HABBAN SHAH Vs. SHERUDDIN ( Before : Pankaj Mithal and S. V. N. Bhatti, JJ. ) Civil Appeal No…..of 2026 (Arising…

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Cr P C

Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 — Sections 209, 244 — Commitment of case exclusively triable by Court of Session — Whether Magistrate is required to record prosecution evidence under Section 244 CrPC before committing such a case, where the complaint is one instituted otherwise than on a police report — Held, no — Section 244 CrPC, which mandates the Magistrate to hear the prosecution and take evidence, occurs in Chapter XIX (Part B — “Cases instituted otherwise than on a police report”) and governs warrant-case trials before a Magistrate; it has no application where the offence (here, under Section 302 IPC) is exclusively triable by the Court of Session, which is governed instead by Section 209 CrPC — Under the scheme of the 1973 Code (unlike the erstwhile 1898 Code, which mandated a full committal inquiry with recording of evidence under Section 207-A), the Magistrate’s role at the pre-commitment stage is confined to ascertaining whether the offence is exclusively triable by the Sessions Court, and no evidence need be taken or evaluated by the Magistrate at that stage — Requiring witnesses to depose twice, once before the Magistrate and again before the Sessions Court, would serve no purpose and is not the mandate of law — High Court’s contrary view, requiring compliance with Section 244 CrPC even in a Sessions-triable case, proceeds on an erroneous reading of law and is unsustainable.

Jul 5, 2026 sclaw
Accident

Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 — Sections166, 168 — Compensation — Assessment of annual income of a self-employed deceased (wholesale grocery business) — Two ITRs filed after the death of the deceased excluded by the High Court altogether from the assessment of income — Held, following the principles in Rashmirekha Tripathy and Anr. v. The Branch Manager (Legal Claims), Sriram General Insurance Company Limited and Ors. [C.A. @ SLP(C) No.27220 of 2024, 2026 INSC 661], ITRs filed post-death call for closer scrutiny with reference to surrounding financial statements, since income may be inflated in such returns, but such returns are not to be excluded outright merely for being filed post-death — In the absence of the benefit of such surrounding financial statements on record, and it being inexpedient at this stage to remand the matter, annual income fixed with reference to the nature of the deceased’s wholesale grocery business at Rs.3,25,000 — Compensation recomputed applying 40% addition for future prospects (age 28 years), 1/4th deduction for personal expenses, and a multiplier of 17, together with conventional heads (loss of estate, funeral expenses, consortium) — Total compensation enhanced to Rs.60,79,550 (as against Rs.15,36,560 awarded by the Tribunal and Rs.38,40,850 awarded by the High Court), with interest as awarded by the Tribunal — Appeal allowed.

Jul 5, 2026 sclaw
Accident

Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 — Sections 166, 168 — Compensation — Assessment of annual income of a self-employed deceased (Insurance Agent) from Income Tax Returns — High Court had averaged the last four ITRs on record — Held, erroneous — Following the principles laid down in Rashmirekha Tripathy and Anr. v. The Branch Manager (Legal Claims), Sriram General Insurance Company Limited and Ors. [C.A. @ SLP(C) No.27220 of 2024, 2026 INSC 661], for a self-employed person the average of up to the previous three years’ ITRs, not four, is the appropriate reference point — A performance-linked spike in the income of an Insurance Agent in a particular year does not justify reaching back to an additional, earlier ITR to dilute that spike — On the facts, taking the average of the income for AY 2015-16 (Rs.4,03,180), AY 2016-17 (Rs.9,59,665) and AY 2017-18 (Rs.7,00,559), annual income assessed at Rs.6,87,802 — Compensation recomputed applying 25% addition for future prospects (age 49 years), 1/4th deduction for personal expenses, and a multiplier of 13, together with conventional heads (loss of estate, funeral expenses, consortium) — Total compensation enhanced to Rs.87,09,282 (as against Rs.49,77,000 awarded by the Tribunal and Rs.76,09,500 awarded by the High Court), with interest as awarded by the Tribunal — Appeal allowed.

Jul 5, 2026 sclaw
Accident

Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 — Sections 166, 168 — Compensation — Assessment of annual income of deceased/claimant on the basis of Income Tax Returns — Whether the ITR of the previous year alone, or the average of the previous two/three years, is to be taken — Held, no hard and fast formula governs computation of annual income; ITRs, being statutory documents, are an important reference point, but a bifurcation must be made between salaried and self-employed individuals — (i) For salaried individuals, the ITR of the previous year alone ordinarily suffices, since the financial impact of a promotion or salary revision is best reflected in that year’s return; where the deceased had not completed a year in a promoted position, or had not filed a return for that period, the Court may rely on the promotion letter and other corroborative financial statements; (ii) For self-employed persons/those running their own business, the average of the ITRs for up to the previous three years is to be taken as the reference point, having regard to the inherent income fluctuation in such professions — In assessing self-employed income, the surrounding circumstances to be additionally considered include: (a) the nature of the business (including geography and category); (b) its growth pattern and the impact of the death on the business; (c) its potential/future growth, including capital-intensive businesses profitable only at scale; (d) the possibility of negative income in initial years not reflecting the true financial standing; and (e) any other relevant factor — The date of filing of an ITR is also relevant, since income may be inflated after the death/injury; such returns call for closer scrutiny against surrounding financial statements, though they are not to be excluded outright merely for being filed post-death, if adequately supported.

Jul 5, 2026 sclaw