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.

Category: Constitution

Constitution

Constitution of India, 1950 — Article 170(3) — Proviso — Readjustment of seats in Legislative Assemblies — Constitutional bar on readjustment of seats in State Legislative Assemblies until publication of census data after 2026 — Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, Section 26 — Increase in seats subject to Article 170(3) — Petitioners’ claim for delimitation in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana dismissed as it contravened constitutional mandate.

Jul 27, 2025 sclaw

2025 INSC 894 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH K. PURUSHOTTAM REDDY Vs. UNION OF INDIA AND OTHERS ( Before : Surya Kant and Nongmeikapam Kotiswar Singh, JJ. ) Writ…

Constitution

Constitution of India, 1950 — Article 227 — Penal Code, 1860 — Sections 147, 323, 341, 325, 307, 427, 149 — Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 — Sections 439, 439(2) — Supreme Court’s Role and Judicial Restraint — High Courts should generally refrain from passing strictures against judicial officers. Strictures should only be passed in exceptional circumstances and after providing an opportunity to the officer to explain — The proper procedure is to report such matters to the Chief Justice for administrative action — Supreme Court expunged strictures against a judicial officer due to lack of opportunity and reversal of a key judgment cited by the High Court.

Jul 20, 2025 sclaw

2025 INSC 871 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA FULL BENCH KAUSHAL SINGH Vs. THE STATE OF RAJASHTAN ( Before : Vikram Nath, Sanjay Karol and Sandeep Mehta, JJ. ) Criminal Appeal…

Constitution

Legal Profession — Autonomy and Independence — Administration of Justice — Role of Lawyers — Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution of India — Impact of direct summons to defence counsel by Investigating Agencies on the autonomy of the legal profession and the independence of the administration of justice — Need for judicial oversight.

Jun 28, 2025 sclaw

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH ASHWINKUMAR GOVINDBHAI PRAJAPATI Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT AND ANOTHER ( Before : K.V. Viswanathan and Nongmeikapam Kotiswar Singh, JJ. ) Petition(s) for Special Leave…

Constitution

Constitution of India — Article 20(3) — Right Against Self-Incrimination — Constitutional Validity of Narco-Analysis Test — Forced Tests Raise Serious Questions — Involuntary Administration Hit by Article 20(3) – Involuntary Narco-Analysis Test — Contravention of Rights — Results Not ‘Material Evidence’ — Violates ‘Substantive Due Process’ — Breaches Privacy Boundaries.

Jun 11, 2025 sclaw

2025 INSC 810 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH AMLESH KUMAR Vs. THE STATE OF BIHAR ( Before : Sanjay Karol and Prasanna B. Varale, JJ. ) Criminal Appeal No…..of…

Constitution

High Court directing construction of a verandah and laying of green paver blocks for parking in a World Heritage Site area — Challenged by Chandigarh Administration citing threat to heritage status and environmental impact — Court to strike a just balance between environment and development, resorting to mitigating measures where required if legitimate development is possible in harmony with environmental protection and preservation, including sustainable development

May 30, 2025 sclaw

2025 INSC 786 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH CHANDIGARH ADMINISTRATION Vs. REGISTRAR GENERAL, HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA, CHANDIGARH AND OTHERS ( Before : Vikram Nath and Sandeep…

Constitution Cr P C

Fake encounters constitute extra-judicial killings and must undergo strict legal scrutiny — Cannot be treated as justified solely on police self-defence claim — Use of excessive or unlawful force by public servants cannot be condoned or legitimised on any pretext — Derogation from due process erodes democratic society foundation.

May 30, 2025 sclaw

2025 INSC 785 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH ARIF MD. YEASIN JWADDER Vs. STATE OF ASSAM AND OTHERS ( Before : Surya Kant and Nongmeikapam Kotiswar Singh, JJ. )…

Constitution Contempt

Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 — Section 2(c) — Criminal Contempt — Obstruction of administration of justice — Conscious non-disclosure of material facts before the Court that contaminates judicial sanctity and causes irreparable prejudice amounts to grave contempt and obstruction of justice, falling within criminal contempt.

May 30, 2025 sclaw

2025 INSC 784 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH BINDU KAPUREA Vs. SUBHASHISH PANDA AND OTHERS ( Before : Surya Kant and Nongmeikapam Kotiswar Singh, JJ. ) Contempt Petition (Civil)…

You missed

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