Supreme Court of India Judgements

37260 Judgements hosted as on 28/05/2026 - Search (FREE), Subscribe, Read & Download

Category: Service

Service Matters
Service

Central Civil Services (Revised Pay) Rules, 2008; Seventh Central Pay Commission Recommendations — Non-Functional Upgradation (NFU) to Level 9 — Recommendation 7.4.13 (iv) (b) — Eligibility criteria — Completion of four years in Level 8 on seniority-cum-suitability basis — Interpretation of — Held, denial of NFU on the ground that Junior Engineers did not enter service at Grade Pay of Rs — 4,800/- amounts to adding an additional condition not contemplated by the recommendation.

Apr 6, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 311 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH UNION OF INDIA AND OTHERS Vs. SUNIL KUMAR RAI AND OTHERS ( Before : Pankaj Mithal and S.V.N. Bhatti, JJ. )…

Service Matters
Service

Service Law — Dismissal from Service — Disciplinary Proceedings — Violation of Natural Justice — Requirement of Oral Enquiry — Employer’s Burden of Proof — The Apex Court held that unless the charged employee clearly admits guilt, a disciplinary enquiry must be held — The employer must first present evidence and witnesses, allowing the employee to cross-examine — Only then should the employee be given an opportunity to present their defense — The Court emphasized that relying solely on documents without examining witnesses or making them available for cross-examination when charges are denied, vitiates the enquiry.

Apr 5, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 305 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH JAI PRAKASH SAINI Vs. MANAGING DIRECTOR, U.P. COOPERATIVE FEDERATION LTD. AND OTHERS ( Before : Sanjay Karol and Manoj Misra, JJ.…

Service Matters
Service

Service Law — Disciplinary proceedings — Punishment — Judicial review — The court’s power to review punishment is limited and generally does not allow substitution of its own judgment for that of the disciplinary authority unless the punishment is illogical, suffers from procedural impropriety, or shocks the conscience of the court

Apr 3, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 313 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH PUNJAB AND SIND BANK Vs. SH. RAJ KUMAR ( Before : Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma, JJ. ) Civil Appeal…

Service Matters
Service

Short Service Commission Women Officers (SSCWOs) — Eligibility for Permanent Commission (PC) and pensionary benefits — Applicability of Air Force Human Resource Policy — Refusal of benefits due to not meeting minimum average Annual Confidential Report (ACR) grading of 6.5 — Court’s refusal to grant benefits where minimum criteria not met and no demonstrated mitigating circumstances exist compared to other successful applicants.

Mar 26, 2026 sclaw

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA FULL BENCH SQN. LDR. NITU THAPLIYAL AND OTHERS Vs. UNION OF INDIA AND OTHERS ( Before : Surya Kant, CJI, Ujjal Bhuyan and Nongmeikapam Kotiswar Singh,…

Service Matters
Service

Air Force Act, 1950 — Short Service Commission Women Officers (SSCWOs) — Permanent Commission (PC) — Denial of PC — Assessment of performance and eligibility — HRP 01/2019 — Minimum Performance Criteria — ACR gradings — Mandatory In-Service Courses (MISCs) — Categorisation — Arbitrariness — Hurried implementation — Inadequate opportunity to meet criteria — Pregnancy — Deemed qualifying service for pension — One-time measure.

Mar 26, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 280 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA FULL BENCH WG. CDR. SUCHETA EDN Vs. UNION OF INDIA AND OTHERS ( Before : Surya Kant, CJI, Ujjal Bhuyan and Nongmeikapam Kotiswar…

Service Matters
Service

Army Act, 1950 — Short Service Commission Officers (SSCOs) — Permanent Commission (PC) — Annual Vacancy Cap — The Supreme Court examined the annual cap of 250 vacancies for PC, finding it not to be an immutable rule and that it had been breached historically for exigencies of service and policy changes, thus it should not act as an absolute bar to corrective relief, especially when the method of assessment was found to be unfair.

Mar 26, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 281 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA FULL BENCH LT. COL. POOJA PAL AND OTHERS Vs. UNION OF INDIA AND OTHERS ( Before : Surya Kant, CJI, Ujjal Bhuyan and…

Service Matters
Service

Service Law — Indian Navy — Short Service Commission Officers (SSCOs) — Grant of Permanent Commission (PC) — Assessment of suitability for PC — Whether casual grading of ACRs and “Not Recommended for PC” endorsements prejudiced officers’ chances of PC — Held yes, as officers were considered ineligible for PC at the time of their ACRs, leading to a distorted assessment of their inter se merit for PC — This circularity transformed past ineligibility into deemed unsuitability for career progression, creating an uneven playing field.

Mar 26, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 282 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA FULL BENCH YOGENDRA KUMAR SINGH Vs. UNION OF INDIA AND OTHERS ( Before : Surya Kant, CJI, Ujjal Bhuyan and Nongmeikapam Kotiswar Singh,…

Service Matters
Service

Army Pension Regulations, 1961 — Condonation of shortfall in qualifying service for second pension for Defence Security Corps (DSC) personnel — The Union of India’s contention that condonation for shortfall in qualifying service for a second pension is not applicable to DSC personnel is rejected— The court finds that the Pension Regulations for the Army, specifically Paragraphs 125 (1961) and 44 (2008), which allow for condonation of service deficiency, are applicable to DSC personnel by incorporation by reference, unless there is an explicit inconsistency with DSC-specific provisions— The court finds no such inconsistency— Letters issued by the Ministry of Defence attempting to exclude DSC personnel from this condonation are ineffective as they cannot override statutory regulations.

Mar 26, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 286 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH UNION OF INDIA AND OTHERS Vs. BALAKRISHNAN MULLIKOTE (EX HAV 256812 M) ( Before : Manoj Misra and Manmohan, JJ. )…

Service Matters
Service

Karnataka Recruitment of Gazetted Probationers (Appointment by Competitive Examinations) Rules, 1997 — Rule 11(1), 11(3) & Rule 4(3) — Selection process for Gazetted Probationers — Vacancy arising from non-joining candidate — Claims of next eligible candidate — Held, select list is not an open-ended reservoir of candidates but is prepared for notified vacancies & operates within statutory framework — Inclusion in select list does not confer indefeasible right to appointment — Appointment governed by Rules & notified vacancies — No provision for reserve/waiting list under 1997 Rules — Post left unfilled due to non-completion of pre-appointment formalities or non-joining cannot be filled by operating the same select list & claiming by next candidate in absence of express statutory provision — High Court erred in allowing writ petition & setting aside Tribunal’s order.

Mar 24, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 276 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH STATE OF KARNATAKA AND OTHERS Vs. SANTHOSH KUMAR C ( Before : Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta, JJ. ) Civil Appeal…

You missed

Anticipatory Bail Bail Declined

Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC) — Section 438 — Anticipatory Bail — Grant of — Grounds for — High Court granted anticipatory bail based on reasons that one co-owner was abroad during agreement execution, agreement was only notarized and not registered, part payment received, and complainant sought refund indicating civil dispute — Supreme Court found these reasons to be peripheral and not bearing direct nexus to parameters governing anticipatory bail — Seriousness of allegations, criminal antecedents, and requirements of investigation in economic offence were overlooked by High Court.

May 28, 2026 sclaw
Cheque Dishonour

Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 (NI Act) — Sections 138 and 141 — Quashing of criminal proceedings — Vicarious liability of office bearers — For a person other than the drawer or signatory of a dishonoured cheque to be prosecuted under Section 141 of the NI Act, it must be specifically averred in the complaint that such person was in charge of and responsible for the conduct of the business of the company or society at the time the offence was committed.

May 28, 2026 sclaw
Arbitration

Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 — Sections 34 and 37 — Scope of powers of Court to set aside or modify arbitral award — Modification of award is a limited power compared to annulment, aimed at achieving more just outcomes and avoiding hardship and delay, especially in India where litigation takes years — Appellate jurisdiction under Section 37 is coterminous with and as broad as jurisdiction under Section 34.

May 28, 2026 sclaw
C P C

Civil Procedure Code, 1908 (CPC) — Order 6 Rule 7 — Pleadings should not raise new claims or inconsistent allegations — A defendant cannot retract their initial stand taken in the written statement and introduce a completely new and contradictory case, especially after issues have been framed and the trial has commenced.

May 28, 2026 sclaw