Supreme Court of India Judgements

47260 Judgements hosted as on 24/05/2026 - Search (FREE), Subscribe, Read & Download

Month: May 2026

State Laws

Land Revenue Records — Evidentiary Value for Title — Revenue records like Faisal Patti, Vasool Baqi, and Pahanies are primarily for fiscal purposes and do not confer title or ownership — Mutation entries do not create or extinguish title and have no presumptive value regarding ownership — Such records cannot be the sole basis for declaring title, especially when the primary document of title (patta) is not produced.

May 11, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 450 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH VADIYALA PRABHAKAR RAO AND OTHERS Vs. THE GOVERNMENT OF ANDHRA PRADESH AND OTHERS ( Before : Pankaj Mithal and S.V.N. Bhatti,…

Service Matters
Service

Recruitment Process — Advertisement and Selection — While filling vacancies, State instrumentalities must adhere to comparative merit and avoid discrimination — A candidate in a select list does not gain an indefeasible right to appointment without specific rules to that effect.

May 11, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 459 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH DURGAPUR STEEL PLANT AND OTHERS Vs. BIDHAN CHANDRA CHOWDHURY AND OTHERS ( Before : Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha and Alok Aradhe, JJ.…

C P C Specific Relief Act

Specific Relief Act, 1963 — Section 28 — Rescission of contract for failure to pay purchase money within time limit prescribed by decree — Court’s discretion to extend time or rescind — Dismissal of appeal for non-prosecution does not result in merger of trial court decree — Permitting deposit of balance amount does not extinguish judgment-debtor’s right to seek rescission — Court can consider extending time to balance equities and compensate judgment-debtor for delay, but not automatically — Judgment-debtor’s conduct showing willful negligence is a factor for rescission.

May 11, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 463 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH ANAND NARAYAN SHUKLA Vs. JAGAT DHARI ( Before : Manoj Misra and Manmohan, JJ. ) Civil Appeal No. 7355 of 2026…

Property Matters

Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988 — Section 45 — Bar of jurisdiction of civil courts — This section bars civil courts from entertaining suits or proceedings related to matters within the jurisdiction of authorities, Adjudicating Authorities, or the Appellate Tribunal under the Act — However, the question of whether a suit falls under this bar is itself a matter that can be considered in the context of Order 7 Rule 11 or Order XIV Rule 2.

May 10, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 465 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH MANJULA AND OTHERS Vs. D.A. SRINIVAS ( Before : J.B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan, JJ. ) Civil Appeal No. 7370 of…

I P C

Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) — Section 34 — Common intention — Requires proof of pre-arranged plan or prior meeting of minds, which must be clearly discernible from the material on record — Mere presence at the scene of offence without proof of participation or shared intention is insufficient to sustain conviction with the aid of Section 34 IPC — Prosecution must establish that accused shared a common intention and acted in furtherance thereof.

May 10, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 467 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH SANJAY SINGH Vs. STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH ( Before : Sanjay Karol and Augustine George Masih, JJ. ) Criminal Appeal No.440…

Service Matters
Service

Police Manual, Jharkhand, Rule 828 read with Appendix 49 — Procedure for imposition of major penalties — Respondent No — 1 was provided with charge memorandum, relevant materials, afforded adequate defence opportunity, participated in enquiry, received enquiry report, and submitted representation, satisfying procedural fairness.

May 10, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 466 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH THE STATE OF JHARKHAND AND OTHERS Vs. RANJAN KUMAR AND OTHERS ( Before : Ahsanuddin Amanullah and R. Mahadevan, JJ. )…

Electricity Act

Electricity Act, 2003 — Section 61(d), Section 62, Section 125 — Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (Terms and Conditions for Determination of Generation Tariff) Regulations, 2011 — Regulation 6.32, Regulation 4.1 — Capital Cost Recovery — Depreciation — Consumers’ Interest — The Electricity Act mandates that tariff determination must safeguard consumer interests and allow reasonable cost recovery — Depreciation recovery for a power plant cannot extend beyond the period for which electricity was actually supplied to consumers or the approved operational period under a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), even if the plant has a longer technical useful life

May 8, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 461 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH DELHI ELECTRICITY REGULATORY COMMISSION Vs. TATA POWER DELHI DISTRIBUTION LIMITED ( Before : Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha and Alok Aradhe, JJ. )…

Education

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) — Engagement of para-teachers on contract basis — Part of Government of India’s flagship program for universal elementary education — Aimed to address human resource gaps in employing teachers — Jharkhand Education Project Council responsible for implementation in Jharkhand — Para-teachers engaged since 2002 — Primarily vehicle for Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 (RTE Act)

May 8, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 462 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH SUNIL KUMAR YADAV AND OTHERS Vs. THE STATE OF JHARKHAND AND OTHERS ( Before : Pankaj Mithal and S.V.N. Bhatti, JJ.…

State Laws

Karnataka Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prohibition of Transfer of Certain Lands) Act, 1978 — Applicability — Interpretation of delay in initiating proceedings — While delay is generally discouraged, it may not be fatal in cases of beneficial legislation aimed at protecting Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes lands, especially when parties to the original transaction are privy to the proceedings.

May 8, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 457 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH SEETHAMMA W/O LATE SATHYAPPA Vs. THE STATE OF KARNATAKA AND OTHERS ( Before : Sanjay Kumar and K. Vinod Chandran, JJ.…

Arbitration

Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 — Section 11(6) — Privity of Contract — Collaborator invoked arbitration clause — High Court rejected petition claiming no privity of contract — Supreme Court granted leave and held Collaborator as veritable party with joint and several liability.

May 8, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 458 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH ELECON ENGINEERING COMPANY LIMITED Vs. BHARTIYA RAIL BIJLEE COMPANY LIMITED AND ANOTHER ( Before : Sanjay Kumar and K. Vinod Chandran,…

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Constitution

Constitution of India, 1950 — Article 32 — Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC) — Sections 154, 173 — Clubbing/Transfer of FIRs — Multiple FIRs registered against petitioners in different jurisdictions arising from same set of transactions relating to a real estate project — Held, multiplicity of FIRs and parallel investigations on same facts leads to avoidable multiplicity of proceedings, conflicting findings and serious prejudice to the accused — Principle laid down in T.T — Antony v — State of Kerala, (2001) 6 SCC 181, that there cannot be multiple FIRs for the same occurrence or transaction, squarely applies — FIR No. 30/2019 (EOW, Delhi) directed to be transferred and clubbed with FIR No. 439/2024 (Gurugram, Haryana) for investigation — Blanket direction restraining coercive steps in future FIRs declined, but petitioners permitted to avail remedies in law if future FIRs are based on the same transaction.

May 24, 2026 sclaw
Cr P C

Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC) — Section 482 — Abuse of Process of Court — Discharge of Accused — Vague Allegations — Where allegations in FIR and charge sheet are general and do not specify the role of the accused, continuation of criminal proceedings amounts to abuse of process of court and may cause prejudice.

May 24, 2026 sclaw
C P C

Civil Procedure Code, 1908 (CPC) — Section 2(2), Order 20 Rule 18 — Preliminary vs. Final Decree — A Preliminary Decree declares rights and liabilities, leaving actual results to be worked out in further proceedings — A Final Decree is passed after further inquiries, completely disposing of the suit — A Preliminary Decree cannot be executed directly unless it is partly final — Provisions of Order 20 Rule 18 allow a court to pass a Preliminary Decree declaring rights and giving further directions if partition cannot be conveniently made without further inquiry in suits for partition of immovable property — The Supreme Court noted that the High Court erred by focusing on the nomenclature of the decree rather than its executable portions, especially when the property was not divisible by metes and bounds.

May 24, 2026 sclaw
Constitution Narcotics Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act

Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 — Section 43-D(5) — Bail — Constitutional Courts’ power to grant bail — The Supreme Court reiterated that statutory restrictions on bail under the UAP Act do not oust the power of constitutional courts to grant bail on grounds of violation of fundamental rights, particularly the right to a speedy trial under Article 21 of the Constitution — The Court emphasized that the rigors of Section 43-D(5) can “melt down” when there is no likelihood of trial completion within a reasonable time and the period of incarceration is substantial.

May 24, 2026 sclaw