Supreme Court of India Judgements

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Category: I P C

Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita I P C

Penal Code, 1860 — Sections 45, 53 — Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 — Sections 2(17), 4 — “Life imprisonment” — Meaning — Life imprisonment under Section 53 read with Section 45 IPC (and correspondingly under the BNS) means imprisonment for the rest of the convict’s natural life, terminable only by commutation or remission by competent authority, and not a fixed term of 14 years.

Jul 30, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 764 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH RAMASREY @ FAKKAD Vs. STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH ( Before : Sanjay Karol and Augustine George Masih, JJ. ) Writ Petition…

I P C

Multiple FIRs across States cannot be quashed or clubbed under Article 32 where they relate to distinct transactions, victims, and offences despite similar modus operandi. A. Cyber Fraud — Multiple FIRs across States — Clubbing declined — Clubbing/consolidation of FIRs registered in different States was declined where each FIR was lodged by a different complainant induced to part with money on separate occasions, with distinct victims, amounts and transactions, notwithstanding a common bank account and similar modus operandi; clubbing at a nascent investigation stage involving complex cyber-forensic tracing would impede fair investigation and cause hardship to complainants.

Jul 25, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 740 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH RUTVIJ BHAGAT SINGH WAKHARE Vs. THE STATE OF MAHARASHTRA AND OTHERS ( Before : Sanjay Karol and Augustine George Masih, JJ.…

I P C

Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) — Section 294(b) — Obscenity — Distinction between “obscene” and “abusive”/”vulgar” language — Test of — Held, to attract S. 294(b) IPC, prosecution must prove: (i) an obscene act done, or obscene word/song/ballad uttered, in or near a public place; and (ii) such act/utterance caused annoyance to others — Word “obscene” undefined under IPC but judicially construed, in the context of S. 292 IPC, to mean material which, taken as a whole, is lascivious, appeals to prurient interest, and tends to deprave and corrupt persons likely to be exposed to it — “Community standard test” (Aveek Sarkar) applicable, not the Hicklin test — Mere vulgarity, abuse or profanity, however distasteful, uncivil or shocking, does not ipso facto constitute obscenity — Vulgarity may evoke disgust or revulsion but lacks the depraving/corrupting tendency essential to obscenity — Appellant’s utterance of abusive and expletive-laden words against complainant during a quarrel, though coarse and offensive, held neither lascivious nor appealing to prurient interest nor shown to have caused annoyance to others in the public place — Conviction under S. 294(b) IPC set aside.

Jul 19, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 719 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH MANI @ SUBRAMANIYAM Vs. STATE REP BY THE DEPUTY SUPERINTENDENT OF POLICE ( Before : Sanjay Karol and Vipul M. Pancholi,…

I P C

Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) — Sections 420, 467, 468, 471 — Forgery and use of forged documents in judicial proceedings — Appeal confined to quantum of sentence, conviction upheld — Occurrence of offence in 2014, appellant facing proceedings for over a decade, no prior or subsequent criminal antecedents, forged document detected at early stage, no irreversible consequences — These factors warrant reconsideration of substantive sentence on grounds of proportionality and mitigating circumstances.

Jun 24, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 654 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH ISRAFIL @ PAPPU @ NAIMUDDIN KHAN Vs. STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH ( Before : Prashant Kumar Mishra and N.V. Anjaria, JJ.…

I P C

Criminal Law — Kidnapping for ransom under Section 364A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 — Essential ingredients for conviction — The act of stopping children at pistol point and forcibly abducting a child satisfies the condition of threatening to cause death or hurt. –Proof of ransom demand — While Call Detail Records (CDRs) and Section 65-B of the Evidence Act are valuable, their absence is not fatal if the demand is established through cogent and corroborated oral testimonies of multiple witnesses, including the victim’s family and the investigating officer.

May 31, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 569 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH HARJINDRA SINGH ETC. Vs. THE STATE OF U.P. ( Before : Pankaj Mithal and Prasanna B. Varale, JJ. ) Criminal Appeal…

I P C

Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC) — Section 482 — Quashing of criminal proceedings — High Court’s power to quash proceedings is distinct from compounding offences under Section 320 CrPC and can be invoked even for non-compoundable offences — Inherent power to be exercised to secure ends of justice or prevent abuse of process of court — Nature and gravity of offence to be considered — Heinous offences generally not quashed, but cases with overwhelming civil flavour, particularly arising from commercial/financial transactions, may be quashed if parties have settled disputes and conviction is remote, to prevent oppression and injustice.

May 31, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 588 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH VIJAY KUMAR KELA AND ANOTHER Vs. CENTRAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION AND ANOTHER ( Before : B.V. Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan, JJ.…

I P C

Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) — Sections 147, 148, 436, 302/149, 324/34, 323, 379, 302/109, 436/109, 379/109, 324/109, 323/109 — Conviction for offences related to mass violence, murder, arson, and causing injury — Affirmation of conviction and sentence by High Court — Supreme Court found no merit in appeals and dismissed them, upholding concurrent findings of lower courts.

May 28, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 560 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH MAHENDRA RAI @ HARENDRA NARAIN SINGH AND OTHER ETC. Vs. THE STATE OF BIHAR ( Before : Sanjay Karol and Nongmeikapam…

Acquittal I P C

Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) — Section 304-A — Causing death by negligence — Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 — Section 134(b) and Section 187 — Duty of driver in case of accident and injury to a person and Punishment for offences relating to accident — Appeal against conviction and sentence — Driver convicted under Section 304-A IPC and Sections 134(b) and 187 MVA — High Court partly allowed revision, setting aside conviction for Section 279 IPC but maintaining conviction for Section 304-A IPC.

May 24, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 504 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH MAHADEVANNA D.M. Vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA AND ANOTHER ( Before : J.K. Maheshwari and Atul S. Chandurkar, JJ. ) Criminal Appeal…

I P C

Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) — Section 307 — Attempt to Murder — Essential ingredients are intention/knowledge to commit murder and an overt act in pursuance of that intention/knowledge. The nature of the injury is a relevant consideration, but not determinative; intention can be inferred from circumstances like weapons used, motive, etc.

May 24, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 524 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH ROSHAN LAL Vs. THE STATE OF HARYANA AND ANOTHER ( Before : Sanjay Karol and Nongmeikapam Kotiswar Singh, JJ. ) Criminal…

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Will & Succession

Hindu female’s property devolves equally on husband and daughter separately; gift of undivided coparcenary share needs no co-owner’s consent. A. Hindu Succession Act, 1956 — Section 15(1)(a) — Devolution of Female Intestate’s Property — Properties of a Hindu female dying intestate devolve, in the absence of sons/daughters’ issue predeceasing her, upon her husband and daughter in equal shares under Section 15(1)(a); such undivided share in the husband’s hands does not partake the character of coparcenary property.

Jul 30, 2026 sclaw
Service

Armed Forces — Air Force Order No. 33/2017 — Prior Permission for Civil Post — Mandatory Nature — Requirement of seeking prior permission before applying for a civil post, and subsequent grant of NOC, held mandatory and not merely procedural/directory, since AFO 33/2017 has necessary nexus with regulating premature discharge of Airmen and its object of maintaining operational preparedness of the Air Force.

Jul 30, 2026 sclaw
Consumer

Consumer Protection Act, 2019 — Deficiency of Service — Maintenance Contractor’s Liability — Elevator Malfunction — Comprehensive maintenance contractor, being both manufacturer and repair contractor with exclusive technical knowledge of safety interlocks and brake mechanisms, held principally deficient in service for failing to act on its own identified remedy (voltage stabiliser) despite repeated notice of persistent malfunction over several months preceding fatal accident.

Jul 30, 2026 sclaw
Service

Public Service Commission consultation before extending officiating appointment is directory not mandatory; ad-hoc service counts towards seniority computation. A. Uttaranchal Civil Services (Executive Branch) Rules, 2005 — Rule 24(4) — Uttaranchal Public Service Commission (Limitations of Functions) Regulations, 2003 — Regulation 5(a) — Nature of Requirement — Requirement of consulting Commission before continuation of officiating appointment beyond one year held directory, not mandatory, applying the classic test of statutory construction; non-compliance does not invalidate the appointment where treating it as void would cause serious inconvenience to persons with no control over the defaulting authority.

Jul 30, 2026 sclaw