Supreme Court of India Judgements

47295 Judgements hosted as on 02/08/2026 - Search (FREE), Subscribe @ Rs 99/- for 6 months, sclaw@sclaw.in, WA +91 9417245693.

Category: Constitution

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,…

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…

Constitution

Supreme Court Rules, 2013 — Order 12 Rule 3 — Correction of clerical or arithmetical mistakes or errors from accidental slip or omission — Application seeking clarification and correction regarding variance between dictated order and signed order — Held, Apex Court dismissed the application as not maintainable in law and on merits — Digitally signed order uploaded on the website is the final order — Miscellaneous applications in disposed of matters are maintainable only for correcting clerical or arithmetical errors or when the order is executory and impossible to implement due to subsequent events.

May 14, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 483 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH FAKIR MAMAD SULEMAN SAMEJA AND OTHERS Vs. ADANI PORTS AND SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONES LTD. AND OTHERS ( Before : J.K. Maheshwari…

Constitution

Constitution of India, 1950 — Article 226 — Exercise of Writ Jurisdiction — High Court’s power under Article 226 is extraordinary and discretionary, subject to self-imposed restrictions — Ordinarily, it should not be exercised when an effective alternative remedy is available to the aggrieved person, such as pursuing remedies under statutory frameworks like the CrPC or BNSS, unless specific exceptions apply.

May 12, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 442 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH SUJAL VISHWAS ATTAVAR AND ANOTHER Vs. THE STATE OF MAHARASHTRA AND OTHERS ( Before : Sanjay Karol and Augustine George Masih,…

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.…

Constitution Cr P C I P C

Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC) — Registration of FIR — Mandatory upon disclosure of cognizable offence (Lalita Kumari v. Govt. of U.P.) — No preliminary inquiry generally permissible — Remedies for non — registration under Section 154(3) and 156(3) are efficacious.- Magistrate’s power to direct FIR registration and investigation is pre-cognizance — Sanction under Sections 196 & 197 CrPC operates at cognizance stage, not investigation stage.

Apr 30, 2026 sclaw

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH ASHWINI KUMAR UPADHYAY Vs. UNION OF INDIA AND OTHERS ( Before : Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta, JJ. ) Writ Petition (Civil) No. 943…

Constitution

Protracted Government Inaction and Third — Party Rights — Despite an initial timeline of two months for an inquiry and subsequent hopes for completion within six months, the government showed significant delay, stretching over six years without a final decision — During this period, extensive third — party rights were created through land sales and construction of villas and flats by innocent purchasers — The Court observed that it’s inappropriate for a welfare state to attempt to undo decades — old transactions, especially when innocent citizens have invested their hard — earned money, and basic amenities should not be denied to occupants of constructed properties.

Apr 28, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 407 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH THE SECRETARY, GOVERNMENT OF TAMIL NADU, AND OTHERS ETC. Vs. S. RAJA AND OTHERS ETC ( Before : Sanjay Kumar and…

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Environment

Environment Law — Environmental Clearance — Prior clearance — Mandatory character — Prior environmental clearance under EIA Notification, 2006 is mandatory, being founded on the precautionary principle and couched in imperative terms — Word “prior” and the graded four-stage screening, scoping, public consultation and appraisal process render an anterior assessment the sine qua non of the clearance regime — Decriminalisation of contraventions under Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023 does not alter this mandatory character.

Aug 2, 2026 sclaw
Bhartiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita Cr P C

Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 — Section 415 — Appeal — Maintainability — Conviction recorded for first time by appellate court reversing acquittal — An appeal under Section 374 CrPC (Section 415 BNSS) is not maintainable against a judgment of conviction recorded by a Sessions Court while exercising appellate jurisdiction and reversing an order of acquittal passed by the Trial Court — No such second appeal is contemplated under CrPC or BNSS — The only remedy available is revision under Section 397 r/w 401 CrPC (Section 438 r/w 442 BNSS)

Aug 2, 2026 sclaw
Direct Taxation Income Tax Act

Income Tax Act, 1961 — Section 44B — “Carriage” of passengers — Meaning and scope of — Cruise operations by non-resident shipping entity — Held, the word “carriage” under Section 44B cannot be restrictively construed to mean movement only from Port A to Port B. A round-trip cruise voyage, where passengers have the option to disembark at intermediate ports without compulsion to return to the originating port, constitutes carriage of passengers within the meaning of Section 44B. Provision of incidental on-board entertainment and hospitality does not alter the essential character of the activity as carriage of passengers.

Aug 2, 2026 sclaw
Cr P C

Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC) — Section 482 — Quashing of FIR — Scope of inquiry — Mini-trial impermissible — At the stage of considering quashing of an FIR, the Court’s inquiry is confined to whether the allegations, taken at face value, prima facie disclose commission of a cognizable offence — Court cannot conduct a “mini-trial” by sifting evidence, assessing probabilities, or evaluating witness credibility — High Court exceeding these limits by examining trap proceedings, absence of personal recovery, and departmental enquiry findings, held impermissible.

Aug 2, 2026 sclaw