May 2026 - Page 9 of 13 - Supreme Court of India Judgements

June 16, 2026 9:18 pm

Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 — Section 166 — Claim for compensation — Deduction of Mediclaim benefits — Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal — Award of compensation — Mediclaim policy is a contract of insurance purchased by an individual to cover uncertainties of life, with no specific accidental coverage — Compensation under Motor Vehicles Act is a statutory remedy arising from negligence and injury — Mediclaim reimbursement is a contractual benefit independent of the Motor Vehicles Act claim — Deduction of Mediclaim benefits would denude claimant of benefits from premiums paid and unduly benefit insurer of offending vehicle — Compensation awarded under Motor Vehicles Act is a beneficial legislation intended to put the injured in the position as if the accident had not occurred — Medical expenses claimed and paid under Mediclaim are not deductible from compensation awarded by the Tribunal under the Motor Vehicles Act — These two stand on different footing; one is statutory, the other is contractual.

May 17, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 498 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH NEW INDIA ASSURANCE COMPANY LIMITED Vs. DOLLY SATISH GANDHI AND ANOTHER ( Before : Sanjay Karol and Vipul M. Pancholi, JJ.…

Joint Family Property

Hindu Succession Act, 1956 — Proviso to Section 6 (erstwhile) and Section 8 — Devolution of interest on Class I heirs upon intestate death of a male — If a male Hindu dies intestate leaving a Class I female heir, his interest in coparcenary property devolves by intestate succession under Section 8 and not by survivorship — A notional partition is deemed to take place for ascertaining the deceased’s share.

May 17, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 499 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH B.S. LALITHA AND OTHERS Vs. BHUVANESH AND OTHERS ( Before : Sanjay Karol and Augustine George Masih, JJ. ) Civil Appeal…

Education

Medical Education — Relocation of Students — Financial Liability — Supreme Court intervened to protect academic future of students admitted to a college (SRMCH) facing deficiencies, by directing their relocation to other recognized colleges — The primary issue became the financial liability for the education provided at the transferee colleges.

May 16, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 488 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH SOUMYA RANJAN PANDA AND OTHERS Vs. SUBHALAXMI DASH AND OTHERS ( Before : Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta, JJ. ) Civil…

Direct Taxation Income Tax Act

Income Tax Act, 1961 — Section 147 and 148 — Reopening of assessment — Validity — Tangible material — Change of opinion — Assessing Officer has no power to review an assessment; reassessment must be based on tangible material, not a mere change of opinion — The discovery of fresh information during a survey, which reveals the true nature of a transaction and suggests income has escaped assessment, can form the basis for reopening an assessment, even if certain disclosures were made during the original assessment.

May 14, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 472 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH SANAND PROPERTIES P. LTD. Vs. JT. COMMR. OF I.T. RANGE 6 AND OTHERS ( Before : J.B. Pardiwala and K.V. Viswanathan,…

Matrimonial

Wife’s pursuit of professional career and desire to provide safe environment for child are not grounds for cruelty or desertion. -Family Law — Divorce — Grounds — Cruelty and Desertion — Wife’s pursuit of professional career and desire to provide safe environment for child are not grounds for cruelty or desertion.

May 14, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 475 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH ANN SAURABH DUTT Vs. LIEUTENANT COLONEL SAURABH IQBAL BAHADUR DUTT ( Before : Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta, JJ. ) Civil…

Constitution Education

Constitution of India, 1950 — Article 19(1)(a) and Article 21A — Right to education — Medium of instruction — Freedom of speech and expression includes the right to receive information in a comprehensible manner — Education must be imparted in a language that the child understands best — Right to primary education in a language of choice is part of freedom of speech and expression — State cannot impose controls on such choice.

May 14, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 476 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH PADAM MEHTA AND ANOTHER Vs. STATE OF RAJASTHAN AND OTHERS ( Before : Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta, JJ. ) Civil…

Accident

Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 — Compensation — Enhancement — Deceased was an engineering student with good academic record and potential future earnings — High Court enhanced compensation but it was found to be on the lower side — The Supreme Court assessed the monthly income at Rs. 12,000/-, added 40% for future prospects, deducted half for personal expenses, and applied a multiplier of 18 — Compensation under conventional heads was also enhanced — The motorcycle damage was awarded as per the surveyor’s report.

May 14, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 477 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH MOHINDER KAUR (D) THROUGH L.R. Vs. BRIJ LAL ARORA AND OTHERS ( Before : S.V.N. Bhatti and Vijay Bishnoi, JJ. )…

Service

. Canara Bank Officer Employees’ (Discipline and Appeal) Regulations, 1976 — Regulation 10 — Common Proceedings — The word “may” in Regulation 10, which empowers the competent authority to direct common disciplinary proceedings against multiple employees, is directory and not mandatory — This interpretation allows for discretion to be exercised by the employer based on the circumstances and the varying roles of the employees involved — The failure to hold a joint inquiry does not automatically vitiate individual disciplinary proceedings.

May 14, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 478 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH CANARA BANK Vs. PREM LATHA UPPAL (DEAD) THROUGH LRS. ( Before : S.V.N. Bhatti and Vijay Bishnoi, JJ. ) Civil Appeal…

I B C

Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 — Section 61 — Appeal against NCLT order — Requirement of certified copy of impugned order — Rules for filing appeal before NCLAT — Presentation of appeals under Rule 22 of NCLAT Rules, 2016 — Appeal must be accompanied by a certified copy of impugned order — Applying for certified copy before expiry of limitation period is crucial for excluding time taken to procure it — Failure to file certified copy or obtain exemption renders appeal incompetent — NCLAT wrongly condoned delay in filing and refiling appeal without ensuring compliance with essential requirements.

May 14, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 479 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH ANGELWOODS APARTMENT ALLOTTEES ASSOCIATION Vs. M LALITHA AND ANOTHER ( Before : Sanjay Kumar and K. Vinod Chandran, JJ. ) Civil…

Land Acquisition National Highways Authority Act

National Highways Act, 1956 — Section 3A(1) and 3G(1) — Compensation — Applicability of Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 (2013 LA Act) — Held that provisions of 2013 LA Act regarding determination of compensation apply to land acquisition under NH Act.

May 14, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 480 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH PROJECT DIRECTOR, NATIONAL HIGHWAYS AUTHORITY OF INDIA Vs. ALFA REMIDIS LTD. AND OTHERS ( Before : Sanjay Kumar and K. Vinod…

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Service

Constitution of India, 1950 — Art. 16 and 226 — Public Employment — Direct Recruitment — Eligibility Criteria — Workshop Experience — Pendency of workshop renewal applications — Effect on candidates — Where a recruitment notification mandates a minimum of one year of experience in a Government-approved workshop, candidates cannot be prejudiced or disqualified merely because the workshop’s application for renewal of approval was pending with the State authorities during the period they gained experience — Depriving an otherwise eligible candidate of employment due to an administrative “period of eclipse” or delay on the part of state machinery is arbitrary and discriminatory–Ashok Kumar Yadav v. State of Haryana, 1985 INSC 137, relied on; State of Uttar Pradesh v. Atul Kumar Dwivedi, 2022 INSC 24, Distinguished.

Jun 16, 2026 sclaw

RTI

Right to Information Act, 2005 — S. 24(4) — Madhya Pradesh Special Police Establishment Act, 1947 — S. 2(1), S. 3 — “Intelligence and Security Organisation” — Scope and Applicability of Exemption — Jurisdiction of Special Police Establishment (SPE) — The expression “intelligence and security organisations” under Section 24 of the RTI Act implies that the concerned entity must be statutory or institutionally empowered to handle matters of intelligence and national/state security — The Special Police Establishment (SPE) of Madhya Pradesh, established under Section 2(1) of the Act of 1947, is clothed with a limited jurisdiction restricted strictly to investigating offences punishable under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, and select economic/fraud offenses under Sections 409, 420, and Chapter XVIII of the Indian Penal Code — Because neither the Lokayukt nor the SPE handles matters connected to general ‘intelligence’ and ‘security’, the SPE cannot be deemed an “intelligence and security organisation” under Section 24(4) of the RTI Act — Principle of institutional parity cannot be invoked to grant blanket exemptions to a anti-corruption investigation agency.

Jun 16, 2026 sclaw

C P C

Civil Procedure Code, 1908 (CPC) — Section 11, Explanation IV — Constructive Res Judicata — Application of the principle depends on the facts and circumstances of each case, considering the ambit of earlier proceedings and the nexus of the matter to the controversy — It is founded on public policy to prevent multiplicity of proceedings and avoid parties being vexed twice over for the same litigation — Parties are expected to exercise reasonable diligence and bring forward every point that properly belonged to the subject of litigation and which they might and ought to have brought forward — Negligence, inadvertence, or accident in omitting a part of the case does not exempt from its application.

Jun 16, 2026 sclaw

Accident

Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 — Section 165 and 166 — Liability for injuries sustained due to falling tree branch — Injuries caused by falling tree branch while vehicle was stationary under the tree during rain — Held, not an accident “arising out of the use of a motor vehicle” as the motor vehicle did not play an active role. [

Jun 16, 2026 sclaw

Month: May 2026

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