Supreme Court of India Judgements

47000 Judgements hosted as on 19/12/2025 - Search (FREE), Subscribe, Read & Download

Category: Evidence Act

Evidence Act I P C

Criminal Law — Conviction — Circumstantial Evidence — Last Seen Together Theory — Must establish acquaintance between accused and deceased for theory to apply as a circumstance linking chain; mere fact of accused and deceased being in the same vicinity shortly before the crime, without proven acquaintance, is insufficient to propound the ‘last seen together theory’ as a conclusive link, though presence in same vicinity remains a relevant initial fact. (Para 6)

Dec 18, 2025 sclaw

2025 INSC 1449 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH SHAIK SHABUDDIN Vs. STATE OF TELANGANA ( Before : Ahsanuddin Amanullah and K. Vinod Chandran, JJ. ) Criminal Appeal No….of 2025…

Evidence Act

Evidence — Video Conference Deposition — Procedure for Confronting Witness — The Supreme Court clarified and directed that in cases where a witness’s statement is recorded via video conferencing and a previous written statement is to be used for confrontation, a copy of the statement must be transmitted electronically to the witness, and the procedure under Sections 147 and 148 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (or corresponding sections of the Evidence Act) must be followed to ensure fairness and integrity of the trial. Such directions are issued to avoid procedural irregularities and uphold the principles of fair trial, effective cross-examination, and proper appreciation of evidence.

Nov 23, 2025 sclaw

2025 INSC 1322 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH RAJ KUMAR @ BHEEMA Vs. STATE OF NCT OF DELHI ( Before : Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta, JJ. ) Criminal…

Evidence Act

Evidence Act, 1872 — Section 50 — Opinion as to relationship, when relevant — Opinion expressed by conduct of person with special knowledge on relationship is relevant — Essentials are court’s opinion, expression through conduct, and person having special knowledge — Conduct alone is not proof but an intermediate step to infer opinion — Opinion must be proved by direct evidence — Court needs to weigh evidence to form its own conclusion; Trial Court erred in treating opinion of witnesses as fact rather than evidence to be weighed and failed to independently assess credibility.

Oct 12, 2025 sclaw

2025 INSC 1187 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH DHARMRAO SHARANAPPA SHABADI AND OTHERS Vs. SYEDA ARIFA PARVEEN ( Before : Ahsanuddin Amanullah and S.V.N. Bhatti, JJ. ) Civil Appeal…

Evidence Act Partition

Family Law — Partition Suit — Evidence — Testimony of a credible witness with special means of knowledge, coupled with presumption of marriage from prolonged cohabitation and absence of rebuttal by the opposing party, is sufficient to establish a valid marital relationship and grant a decree for partition.- Evidence Act, 1872 — Section 50 — Opinion on relationship, when relevant — Testimony of a witness with special means of knowledge of the relationship, including opinion expressed by conduct, is relevant — Witness resided in the same village, had long-standing familiarity, and spoke from personal observation, thus satisfying the requirement of special means of knowledge.

Sep 2, 2025 sclaw

2025 INSC 1038 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH CHOWDAMMA (D) BY LR AND ANOTHER Vs. VENKATAPPA (D) BY LRS AND ANOTHER ( Before : Sanjay Karol and Prashant Kumar…

Evidence Act

Evidence Act, 1872 — Appreciation of Evidence — Testimony of victim’s family witnesses admitted no dowry demand until examination-in-chief in court — Neighbour’s testimony stating no dowry demand, although brushed aside by lower courts, is relevant and gains credibility when other evidence is lacking — Reason for discarding neighbour’s testimony as speculative was erroneous, as information about dowry harassment can spread widely.

Aug 31, 2025 sclaw

2025 INSC 1051 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH SMT. BHAGWATI DEVI Vs. STATE OF UTTARAKHAND ( Before : Aravind Kumar and N.V. Anjaria, JJ. ) Criminal Appeal No. 2616…

Evidence Act Juvenile Justice

Evidence Act, 1872 — Section 35 — Relevancy of entries in public records — Entries made by public servants in discharge of official duty or by other persons in performance of a duty enjoined by law are relevant facts. — Family Register maintained under the U.P. Panchayat Raj Act, 1947, and Voters’ List are considered public records and public documents. — School records from a private, though government-recognized, school are not public documents, and the headmaster is not a public servant for the purposes of Section 35.

Aug 5, 2025 sclaw

2025 INSC 918 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH SURESH Vs. STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH AND ANOTHER ( Before : Pankaj Mithal and Ahsanuddin Amanullah, JJ. ) Criminal Appeal No.…

Evidence Act

Criminal Law — Circumstantial Evidence — Admitted Facts — Cause of death by gunshot from a specific weapon in appellant’s home undisputed — Appellant admitted removing the body and cleaning the scene — Discovery of articles linked to the incident from appellant’s disclosure relevant for Section 201 IPC.

Jun 8, 2025 sclaw

2025 INSC 800 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH VAIBHAV Vs. THE STATE OF MAHARASHTRA ( Before : B.V. Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma, JJ. ) Criminal Appeal No. 1643…

Evidence Act

The interpretation of a written agreement to determine if it grants a ‘leave and license’ (potentially attracting deemed tenancy under S.15A Bombay Rent Act) or merely permits ‘conducting a business’ depends primarily on its written terms construed under Ss. 91/92 Evidence Act, excluding contradictory oral evidence.

Apr 10, 2025 sclaw

2025 INSC 466 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH ANNAYA KOCHA SHETTY (DEAD) THROUGH LRS Vs. LAXMIBAI NARAYAN SATOSE SINCE DECEASED THROUGH LRS AND OTHERS ( Before : Pankaj Mithal…

You missed

Service

Cochin University of Science and Technology Act, 1986 — Section 31(10) and 31(11) — Selection and Appointment — Validity of Rank List and Communal Rotation — Harmonious Construction — Section 31(10) stipulates that the Rank List remains valid for two years, and vacancies arising during this period “shall be filled up from the list so published” — Section 31(11) mandates that “Communal rotation shall be followed category-wise” — These sub-sections operate in distinct spheres but are not mutually exclusive; the Rank List’s validity period (Sub-sec 10) co-exists with the mandatory application of communal rotation (Sub-sec 11) for every appointment made therefrom — Interpreting Sub-section (11) as becoming operative only after the Rank List expires would render the reservation/rotation requirement otiose during the list’s validity, defeating legislative intent and violating the doctrine of harmonious construction. (Paras 5, 5.2, 5.4, 5.5, 5.5.1, 5.5.2

Dec 19, 2025 sclaw
Acquittal I P C

Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) —Section 302 read with Sections 149 and 148 — Murder —Conviction affirmed by High Court — Appeal to Supreme Court — Sufficiency of evidence — Role of interested/related witnesses — Deposition of PW-4 (mother of deceased and alleged eyewitness) scrutinized closely — Material contradictions found in PW-4’s evidence regarding the manner of assault and who informed her — Failure of prosecution to examine key witness (deceased’s granddaughter, who initially informed PW-4) — Independent witnesses (PW-1, PW-2, PW-3 and PW-9) turned hostile — Recovery of weapons based on accused’s memorandum/statement rendered unreliable when supporting witnesses hostile. (Paras 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 13, 14, 15)

Dec 19, 2025 sclaw
Constitution

Employees’ State Insurance Act, 1948 — Section 45A — Determination of contributions in certain cases — Preconditions for invoking Section 45A — Section 45A is a special provision for best-judgment assessment applicable only when an employer fails to submit, furnish, or maintain returns, particulars, registers, or records as required by Section 44, OR obstructs an Inspector or official in discharging duties under Section 45 — It is not an alternative mode of assessment available at the option of the Corporation — When records (ledgers, cash books, vouchers, etc.) are produced and the employer cooperates by attending multiple personal hearings, the mere allegation of inadequacy or deficiency of supporting documents does not satisfy the statutory threshold of “non-production” or “obstruction” to invoke Section 45A — Mere inadequacy of records does not confer jurisdiction under Section 45A. (Paras 14.6, 14.7, 24, 25, 27, 30)

Dec 19, 2025 sclaw
Tenders & Contracts

Tender and Contract — Eligibility Criteria — Interpretation of “prime contractor” and “in the same name and style” — Requirement of work experience — Where an NIT’s pre-qualification document requires “each prime contractor in the same name and style (tenderer)” to have completed previous work, and the term “prime contractor” is undefined, its meaning must be derived from common parlance as the tenderer primarily responsible for the contract offer; however, the requirement must be construed from the standpoint of a prudent businessman, considering the credentials and capacity to execute the work, not merely the name. (Paras 17, 20, 21.3)

Dec 19, 2025 sclaw