Service Archives - Supreme Court of India Judgements

June 6, 2026 1:56 am

Service Law — Promotion — Entitlement to promotion to Chief Medical Director (Higher Administrative Grade) in Indian Railway Medical Service — Appellant was denied promotion despite being eligible, with a junior officer being promoted instead — Appellant’s case was rejected by the Tribunal and High Court based on her grading in Annual Confidential Reports

Jun 4, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 553 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH DR. INDIRA SARANATH Vs. UNION OF INDIA AND ANOTHER ( Before : J. K. Maheshwari and Atul S. Chandurkar, JJ. )…

Service

All India Service (Death-cum-Retirement Benefits) Rules, 1958 — Rule 16(2A) — Voluntary Retirement — Acceptance by Central Government — Central Government has the ultimate authority to accept or reject a Voluntary Retirement (VRS) notice — It is not bound by the State Government’s recommendation and must apply its mind to all relevant facts and circumstances — This power is not unconstrained and is guided by DoPT Guidelines, requiring consideration of pending or contemplated disciplinary proceedings that could lead to a major penalty — The Central Government can accept a VRS request even if a major penalty is possible, but this requires a conscious and well-informed decision — Appeals allowed, order of Central Government rejecting VRS set aside, and matter remitted for fresh consideration.

Jun 2, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 550 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH ABDUR RAHMAN Vs. UNION OF INDIA AND OTHERS ( Before : Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha and Alok Aradhe, JJ. ) Civil Appeal…

Service

Andaman & Nicobar Administration (Police Department) Group ‘C’ Post Recruitment Rules, 2008 — Amendment by Substitution — Effect of — Word “substituted” in amending legislation means deletion of old provision and making new one operative — The process of substitution has two steps: old rule ceases to exist, and new rule comes into existence — Unless legislature intends otherwise, substitution has effect of deleting old rule and making new rule operative, prospective in effect.

May 31, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 572 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH JAGDISH PRASAD AND OTHERS Vs. P.M. MANOJ KUMAR AND OTHERS ( Before : Pankaj Mithal and S.V.N. Bhatti, JJ. ) Civil…

Service

Service Law — Termination of probationer — Regulation 16(3)(a) of Vijaya Bank (Officers’) Regulations, 1982 — Termination simpliciter vs — punitive termination — Termination deemed punitive if based on allegations of misconduct without due process, even if framed as unsatisfactory performance — Bank’s attempt to terminate for misconduct shifted to termination for unsatisfactory performance to bypass inquiry, rendering it unsustainable.

May 31, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 589 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH GENERAL MANAGER, BANK OF BARODA AND OTHERS Vs. ASHOK KUMAR SINGH AND OTHERS ( Before : J.K. Maheshwari and Atul S.…

Service

Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 (RTE Act) — Section 23 — Applicability to in-service teachers — Sub-section (1) governs eligibility for future appointments (prospective), while the first proviso to sub-section (2) specifically addresses teachers already in service, allowing them time to acquire qualifications — The second proviso, added by the 2017 Amendment Act, further extends this window for teachers appointed or in service as of March 31, 2015 — The legislative intent is to recognize existing appointments while providing a time-bound mechanism for qualification, not to invalidate past appointments retrospectively or impose immediate disqualification

May 31, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 597 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH STATE OF U.P. Vs. ANJUMAN ISHAAT-E-TALEEM TRUST AND OTHERS ( Before : Dipankar Datta and Manmohan, JJ. ) Review Petition (Civil)…

Service

Andhra Pradesh Charitable and Hindu Religious Institutions and Endowments Act, 1987 (1987 Act) — Section 51(2) — Principles of Natural Justice — Failure to supply charge memo and supporting documents to the appellant — Enquiry conducted ex-parte — Order of removal vitiated — High Court erred in holding that opportunity at show cause stage cured the defects — Supreme Court set aside the removal order, confirmation order, and enquiry report.

May 31, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 592 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH ARJUN DASS Vs. THE STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH AND OTHERS ( Before : J.K. Maheshwari and Atul S. Chandurkar, JJ.…

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…

Service

Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, 1964 — Railway Services (Conduct) Rules, 1966 — Proviso to Rule 1(3) of CCS (Conduct) Rules clarifies that railway servants are Government servants, though different rules apply — Separate service rules are for administrative convenience and do not change their status.

May 28, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 562 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH BENCY JOHN Vs. KERALA STATE ELECTRICITY BOARD LTD AND OTHERS ( Before : Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma, JJ. )…

Service

Rajiv Gandhi National Aviation University Act, 2013 — Section 46(b) — Appointment of First Registrar — Appointment of the first Registrar was made by the Visitor [President of India] on the recommendation of the Vice-Chancellor for a term of three years — The power to appoint necessarily includes the power to dismiss or terminate the services of the appointee — Therefore, the Visitor, who was the appointing authority, was competent to take disciplinary action against the First Registrar.

May 23, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 520 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH VICE CHANCELLOR, RAJIV GANDHI NATIONAL AVIATION UNIVERSITY Vs. JITENDRA SINGH AND OTHERS ( Before : Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha and Alok Aradhe,…

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. )…

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Service

Service Law — Promotion — Entitlement to promotion to Chief Medical Director (Higher Administrative Grade) in Indian Railway Medical Service — Appellant was denied promotion despite being eligible, with a junior officer being promoted instead — Appellant’s case was rejected by the Tribunal and High Court based on her grading in Annual Confidential Reports

Jun 4, 2026 sclaw

Arbitration

Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 — Section 29A — Mandate of Arbitrator — Extension of mandate — In the absence of specific statutory provisions, party autonomy and minimal judicial intervention are guiding principles — If a party participates in proceedings and does not object to the extension of mandate, they may be estopped from challenging the award on that ground after it is passed.

Jun 4, 2026 sclaw

Arbitration

Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (the Act) — Section 33 and Section 34(3) — Limitation for filing application to set aside arbitral award — Exclusion of time spent in disposal of applications under Section 33 — Court held that period spent in disposal of Section 33 applications by Arbitral Tribunal must be excluded for computing limitation under Section 34(3) of the Act, regardless of whether the Section 33 applications were ultimately allowed or dismissed.

Jun 4, 2026 sclaw

Constitution

Constitution of India, 1950 — Article 14, 15(1), 16, 39(a) & 39(c) — Uttar Pradesh Essential Commodities (Regulation of Sale and Distribution Control) Order, 2016 (2016 Order) — Clause 2(p) — Government Order (G.O.) No — 6 of 2019 — Paragraph IV(10) — Exclusion of married daughter from definition of ‘family’ for compassionate appointment as fair price shop dealer — Held, exclusion is based on gender stereotypes and lacks rational nexus with the object of the scheme, violating Articles 14 and 15(1) of the Constitution — Marital status cannot be the sole criterion for dependency — Dependency is a question of fact.

Jun 4, 2026 sclaw

Category: Service

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