Supreme Court of India Judgements

47280 Judgements hosted as on 09/07/2026 - Search (FREE), Subscribe @ Rs 99/- for 6 months, sclaw@sclaw.in, WA +91 9417245693.

Category: Constitution

Constitution Election Laws

SIR ::: Constitution of India, 1950 — Article 324 — Representation of the People Act, 1950 — Sections 21(3) — Electoral Rolls — Special Intensive Revision (SIR) — Election Commission of India (ECI) has power to conduct SIR — Commission’s authority under Article 324 operates in conformity with valid law made by Parliament, but parliamentary legislation cannot extinguish Commission’s constitutional function — ECI’s powers supplement law where necessary but cannot override express statutory prohibition — SIR exercise was not in direct conflict with RP Act and 1960 Rules — Exercise subserves constitutional goal of free and fair elections.

May 31, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 564 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH ASSOCIATION FOR DEMOCRATIC REFORMS AND OTHERS Vs. ELECTION COMMISSION OF INDIA AND OTHERS ( Before : Surya Kant, CJI. and Joymalya…

Constitution

Constitution of India, 1950 — Articles 21, 32, 226 — Illegal detention — Definition — Illegal detention may be defined as the deprivation of liberty by the State without lawful authority or in violation of provisions of the Constitution — It involves actual custody such that the individual is not free to leave — The detention must lack a valid legal basis, including situations where authority is void or expired — Even where a law permits detention, it becomes illegal if the procedure followed is not just, fair and reasonable, including failure to observe essential safeguards — Also covers situations where the power to detain is exercised arbitrarily, for an improper purpose, or in bad faith.

May 31, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 599 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH DAUDAYAL Vs. THE STATE OF RAJASTHAN AND OTHERS ( Before : Sanjay Karol and Augustine George Masih, JJ. ) Criminal Appeal…

Constitution Service

Constitution of India, 1950 — Article 21 — Right to Livelihood and Dignity — Prolonged non-payment of salaries and retiral dues of employees of State-owned Corporations led to severe humanitarian consequences, including destitution and even suicides, impacting the right to livelihood and dignity guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution.

May 31, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 607 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH BIHAR STATE ARDH SARKARI ARAJPATI KARAMCHARI MAHA SANGH AND OTHERS Vs. STATE OF BIHAR AND OTHERS ( Before : Vikram Nath…

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

2026 INSC 509 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH AMIT KATYAL AND ANOTHER Vs. STATE OF HARYANA AND ANOTHER ( Before : Pankaj Mithal and Prasanna B. Varale, JJ. )…

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

2026 INSC 503 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH SYED IFTIKHAR ANDRABI Vs. NATIONAL INVESTIGATION AGENCY, JAMMU ( Before : B.V. Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan, JJ. ) Criminal Appeal No….of…

Constitution

Constitution of India, 1950 — Article 142 — Extraordinary powers of Supreme Court — Directions issued by Supreme Court cannot supplant substantive law or disregard express statutory provisions unless necessary for complete justice, considering public policy and balancing equities. [Paras 50-54] – Stray Dog Management — Public Safety vs. Animal Welfare — Supreme Court must strike a balance between public safety under Article 21 and humane treatment of stray animals, prioritising human life and safety

May 23, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 506 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA FULL BENCH IN RE: “CITY HOUNDED BY STRAYS, KIDS PAY PRICE” ( Before : Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and N.V. Anjaria, JJ. )…

Service Matters
Constitution Service

Administrative Law — Fairness and Consistency in Public Employment — Courts examine executive action for conformity with constitutional standards, especially when the State has long relied on certain workers — Courts scrutinize the manner of discretion, not just the outcome, to ensure actions are reasoned, non-arbitrary, and constitutional.

May 23, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 523 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH SUKHENDU BHATTACHARJEE AND OTHERS Vs. THE STATE OF ASSAM AND OTHERS ( Before : Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta, JJ. )…

Constitution I P C

Criminal Law — Murder and Conspiracy — Appreciation of Evidence — Supreme Court’s Role in Appeals Against Acquittal — The Supreme Court reiterated that its role in an appeal against an acquittal is to examine whether the High Court committed an error in disturbing the Trial Court’s findings, especially when two competent courts have reached opposite conclusions on the same evidence — The Court must re-appreciate the evidence to deliver a final finding.

May 21, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 507 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH THE STATE OF TAMIL NADU Vs. PONNUSAMY AND OTHERS ( Before : M. M. Sundresh and Satish Chandra Sharma, JJ. )…

Constitution

[Central Sales Tax Act, 1956, S. 3] – No State can levy VAT on inter-State sales; taxation power for inter-State trade vests exclusively with the Union. – Constitution of India, 1950 — Article 269 — Taxes on sale or purchase of goods in the course of inter-State trade or commerce — Levied and collected by Union but assigned to States — Parliament’s power to formulate principles for determining when such sale/purchase takes place — State legislature’s power restricted to intra-State sales.

May 17, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 491 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH AND OTHERS Vs. RELIANCE INDUSTRIES LIMITED AND OTHERS ( Before : J.K. Maheshwari and Atul S. Chandurkar,…

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Constitution

Constitution of India, 1950 — Article 226 — Writ jurisdiction — Maintainability — Inclusion of advocate’s name in IBA “Caution List” — High Court dismissing writ petition on ground that Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) is not “State” under Art. 12 — Held, focus of maintainability has shifted from formal character of respondent body to nature of function performed and effect of impugned action on legally protected rights — Caution List operates as sector-wide adverse accreditation mechanism with public law element, having direct bearing on advocate’s right to practise profession under Art. 19(1)(g) — Writ petition against IBA held maintainable notwithstanding IBA not being “State” — Kishor S. Bhat v. Indian Banks’ Association, 2018 SCC OnLine Bom 2857, distinguished — Andi Mukta Sadguru Shree Muktajee Vandas Swami Suvarna Jayanti Mahotsav Smarak Trust v. V.R. Rudani, (1989) 2 SCC 691; Zee Telefilms Ltd. v. Union of India, (2005) 4 SCC 649; S. Shobha v. Muthoot Finance Ltd., 2025 SCC OnLine SC 177, relied on.

Jul 9, 2026 sclaw
C P C

Civil Procedure Code, 1908 (CPC) — Section 100 — Second appeal — Scope of interference with concurrent findings on genuineness of a Will — Whether suspicious circumstances surrounding execution of a Will exist, and stand explained, is essentially a question of fact; a second appellate court cannot re-appreciate evidence and substitute its own view merely because another view is possible — Interference is permissible only where the finding is perverse, based on circumstances that are mere “figments of a doubting mind,” or is vitiated by an erroneous placement of onus — High Court exceeded its jurisdiction under S. 100 CPC in reversing well-reasoned concurrent findings of the Trial Court and First Appellate Court discarding the Will.

Jul 7, 2026 sclaw
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