Constitution of India, 1950 — Articles 14, 15(1), 16, 309 — Relaxation in qualifying examination (TET) marks for reserved category candidates — The provision of relaxation in qualifying marks in TET enables reserved category candidates to enter the zone of consideration and does not affect their inter se merit in the main selection process (TAIT) — Migration to the open category is permissible if recruitment rules do not expressly prohibit it or are silent on the matter — Decisions in Pradeep Kumar and Sajib Roy are distinguishable as they dealt with candidates not fulfilling essential eligibility criteria, unlike in this case where relaxation in TET marks is expressly permitted by NCTE guidelines — The High Court erred in not allowing meritorious reserved category candidates to be considered under the general category — Appeals allowed, impugned judgment set aside.
2026 INSC 277 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH CHAYA AND OTHERS Vs. THE STATE OF MAHARASHTRA AND ANOTHER ( Before : Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha and Alok Aradhe, JJ. )…
National Green Tribunal (NGT) — Adjudicatory Function — NGT cannot abdicate its powers and entrust its adjudicatory functions to a committee, even an expert committee — The role of such a committee is only to assist the NGT, not to decide the case.
2026 INSC 278 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH INDIAN OIL CORPORATION LTD. Vs. DEEPAK SHARMA AND OTHERS ( Before : Sanjay Kumar and K. Vinod Chandran, JJ. ) Civil…
Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 — Sections 2(30), 173, 174 — Compensation — Liability for accident during requisition of vehicle — Bus owned by a school was requisitioned by the appellant (District Magistrate) for election purposes — Accident occurred while the bus was under the control of the appellant — Issue of shifting of liability from the insurance company to the requisitioning authority — Held, when a public authority requisitions a privately owned vehicle for public purposes, the nature of possession and control changes entirely, and the requisitioning authority assumes responsibility for consequences arising from such compelled use — The owner is divested of custody and decision-making power, and the vehicle is placed at the disposal of the State for governmental functions — During this period, the owner neither directs its use nor derives any benefit from it — It only stands to reason that in such circumstances, if an untoward incident occurs, responsibility would properly to rest with the requisitioning authority and not with the insurer engaged by the owner for ordinary, private or commercial use — The requisitioning authority, by assuming control and deploying the vehicle for its own purposes, assumes with that control the corresponding responsibility — Appeal dismissed.
2026 INSC 279 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH DISTRICT MAGISTRATE AND DISTRICT ELECTION OFFICER AND COLLECTOR, GWALIOR, M.P. Vs. NATIONAL INSURANCE COMPANY LIMITED AND OTHERS ( Before : Sanjay…
Service Law — Disciplinary proceedings post-superannuation — Where service regulations permit continuation of disciplinary proceedings initiated before superannuation, they can be concluded thereafter — Punishment of reduction in pay scale can be implemented by computing pension based on the reduced salary.
2026 INSC 266 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH VIRINDER PAL SINGH Vs. PUNJAB AND SIND BANK AND OTHERS ( Before : Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha and Manoj Misra, JJ. )…
Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC) — Section 482 — Quashing of criminal proceedings — Summoning order based on complaint allegations lacking specific details of copyright infringement and without application of mind by Magistrate — Superior Court’s duty to examine proceedings for being frivolous, vexatious, or malicious — Held, allegations in complaint were bald and unsubstantiated, failing to disclose similarity between film and script.
SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH SUJOY GHOSH Vs. THE STATE OF JHARKHAND AND ANOTHER ( Before : Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha and Alok Aradhe, JJ. ) Criminal Appeal No….of 2026…
Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC) — Section 31(1) — Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) — Resolution Plan — “Clean Slate” Principle — Effect of Approval — Claims not part of resolution plan stand extinguished — No affirmative relief can be granted for such claims — Division Bench judgment set aside.
2026 INSC 268 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH UJAAS ENERGY LTD. Vs. WEST BENGAL POWER DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION LTD. ( Before : Dipankar Datta and Augustine George Masih, JJ. )…
Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 — Section 2 — Forest land — Deemed forest — Master Plan — Statutory plan prevails over subsequent growth of vegetation — Land earmarked for project under an approved Master Plan, which was not forest land at the time of the plan’s inception, cannot subsequently be declared as forest or deemed forest thereby overriding the Master Plan’s statutory force.
2026 INSC 270 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH NAVEEN SOLANKI AND ANOTHER Vs. RAIL LAND DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY AND OTHERS ( Before : Dipankar Datta and Augustine George Masih, JJ.…
Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 read with Bihar Special Courts Act, 2009 (BSCA) — Confiscation proceedings against family members of a deceased public servant — Death of the public servant during pendency of appeal — Whether confiscation proceedings can continue against the family members — Held, the BSCA provides for specific circumstances for return of confiscated property, namely, modification/annulment by High Court or acquittal by Special Court — The Act does not provide for abatement of proceedings upon death of the public servant, especially when family members were also put to notice — proceedings against family members cannot be automatically set aside due to the death of the public servant, and appeals should be decided on merits.
2026 INSC 272 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH THE STATE OF BIHAR THROUGH VIGILANCE Vs. SUDHA SINGH ( Before : Sanjay Karol and Nongmeikapam Kotiswar Singh, JJ. ) Criminal…
Gratuity — Withholding of gratuity due to non-vacation of company-allotted accommodation — SAIL Gratuity Rules, 1978, Rule 3.2.1(c) expressly empowers management to withhold gratuity for non-compliance with company rules, including non-vacation of accommodation — No interest payable on gratuity withheld for period of unauthorized occupation — Management is entitled to adjust penal rent accrued for retention beyond permissible period from gratuity amount — Order of March 31, 2017 in Ram Naresh Singh’s case was a concession based on specific facts and not binding precedent, unlike the order of December 15, 2020 in S.L.P — (C) No — 11025 of 2020 which clarified principles of penal rent adjustment
2026 INSC 263 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH THE MANAGEMENT OF STEEL AUTHORITY OF INDIA AND OTHERS Vs. SHAMBHU PRASAD SINGH AND OTHERS ( Before : Pankaj Mithal and…
Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 — Section 166 — Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal (MACT) — Assessment of compensation — Functional disability vs — Physical disability — High Court reduced functional disability from 63% assessed by Medical Board to 30% without providing cogent reasons, constituting an erroneous appreciation of evidence and misapplication of legal principles — Such reduction, without convincing evidence impeaching medical certificates and without assigning adequate reasons, was unjustified — Supreme Court, to do complete justice and avoid further delay, examined functional disability on merits, considering medical and neuropsychological reports indicating severe cognitive impairment, partial blindness, and orthopedic limitations — Held, functional disability for calculating loss of earning capacity should be assessed at 100% given the claimant’s managerial role and the profound impact of injuries on his cognitive and functional abilities — Compensation recalculated accordingly, enhancing the award from Rs — 35,61,000/- to Rs — 97,73,011/-.
2026 INSC 260 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH R. HALLE Vs. RELIANCE GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY LIMITED ( Before : Prashant Kumar Mishra and Sandeep Mehta, JJ. ) Civil Appeal…