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Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 — Section 319 — Power to proceed against other persons appearing to be guilty of offence — Application for summoning additional accused — High Court quashed summons issued against them — Whether High Court was justified — Held, no. — Evidence of eyewitnesses, though prima facie, suggested complicity of the applicant, assigning specific role and indicating presence at scene armed with weapon of offence — High Court applied standard of conviction rather than standard of satisfaction required for summoning — Standard for summoning is more than prima facie case but less than conviction — Summoning order restored. Transfer of Property Act, 1882 — Section 106 — Notice terminating tenancy — Service by registered post — Return with endorsement “ND” (Not Delivered) — General Clauses Act, 1897 — Section 27 — Deemed service — High Court set aside ejectment decree solely on ground of “ND” endorsement, misinterpreting deemed service provisions — Supreme Court held High Court erred in not considering Section 27 of GC Act regarding deemed service by registered post. Pension Law — Family Pension — Eligibility of ‘Substitutes’ in Railways — deceased husband of the appellant was appointed as a ‘Substitute Waterman’ and died in harness after serving for 9 years, 8 months, and 26 days — Railways denied family pension on the grounds that his service was not regularized and did not meet the 10-year qualifying period for family pension — Appellant contended that as per Indian Railway Establishment Manual Vol-I, Rule 1515 and Railway Service (Pension) Rules, 1993, especially Rule 75(2)(a), substitutes with continuous service of one year are entitled to family pension. Held, deceased had acquired temporary status and completed more than one year of continuous service, thus eligible for family pension. Hindu Succession Act, 1956 — Section 2(2) — Exclusion of Scheduled Tribes — The Act does not apply to members of Scheduled Tribes unless the Central Government directs otherwise by notification. Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act, 2006 (MSMED Act) — Section 18(2) — Conciliation proceedings — Referring time-barred claims — Time-barred claims can be referred to conciliation as the expiry of the limitation period does not extinguish the right to recover the amount, and a settlement agreement reached through conciliation is akin to a contract for repayment of a time-barred debt, recognized under Section 25(3) of the Contract Act

Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 — Section 11 — Appointment of Arbitrator — Existence of arbitration agreement — High Court dismissed appellant’s application under Section 11 on the ground that no arbitration agreement existed — Clause 13 of contract relied upon as arbitration agreement — Clause stated that for parties other than Govt. Agencies, redressal of disputes “may be sought” through arbitration — Supreme Court held that use of “may be sought” indicates no subsisting agreement to use arbitration — Clause was an enabling provision if parties agreed, not a binding agreement.

2025 INSC 874 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH BGM AND M-RPL-JMCT (JV) Vs. EASTERN COALFIELDS LIMITED ( Before : Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha and Manoj Misra, JJ. ) Civil Appeal…

Civil Procedure Code, 1908 — Order 22 Rules 3 & 4 — Abatement of appeal — Joint and indivisible decree — Non-substitution of LRs of deceased co-appellant — Fatal to the entire appeal — Possibility of conflicting and contradictory decrees — Defence based on common ground — joint claim.

2025 INSC 873 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH SURESH CHANDRA (DECEASED) THR. LRS. AND OTHERS Vs. PARASRAM AND OTHERS ( Before : Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha and Manoj Misra, JJ.…

Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 — Section 4 — Section 376 (3) IPC — Rape — Conviction upheld — Evidence of victim’s mother and medical evidence — Reliability of victim’s mother’s testimony confirmed despite lengthy cross-examination, finding it natural and trustworthy and corroborated by other witnesses and medical evidence — Medical evidence, though partially presented by defense, conclusively supported sexual assault, citing perineal tear and abrasions around anus

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH SHAMBHU YADAV Vs. THE STATE OF BIHAR ( Before : Sandeep Mehta and Prasanna B. Varale, JJ. ) Special Leave Petition (Criminal) No. 9155…

Hindu Succession Act, 1956 — Section 6 (as amended by Amendment Act, 2005) — Retrospective application — Validity of pre-amendment sale deeds — The prohibition contained in the amended Section 6 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, does not affect registered sale deeds executed prior to December 20, 2004 (date of introduction of the amending provision) — This principle aligns with the judgment in Vineeta Sharma v. Rakesh Sharma, (2020) 9 SCC 1.

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH RENAVVA @ LAKSHMI AND OTHERS Vs. SHANTILKUMARSWAMY R. SUBRAMANYA AND OTHERS ( Before : Sandeep Mehta and Prasanna B. Varale, JJ. ) Special Leave…

Judicial Process — Misuse of process — Challenging bail conditions previously offered voluntarily — Accused offering substantial deposits to secure bail and subsequently challenging the onerous nature of conditions or the counsel’s authority to make such offers — This practice is condemned for undermining the judicial process and preventing consideration of bail applications on their merits — Such conduct leads to setting aside of bail orders and remittal for fresh consideration.

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH KUNDAN SINGH Vs. THE SUPERINTENDENT OF CGST AND CENTRAL EXCISE ( Before : K.V. Viswanathan and Nongmeikapam Kotiswar Singh, JJ. ) Petition(s) for Special…

Social Media Posts — Content-Related Offenses — Retaliatory Action — Quashing of Proceedings — While the court made no final determination on the nature of the petitioner’s social media posts, it acknowledged the petitioner’s counsel’s submission that the tweets were ‘retaliatory’ and were made in response to an incident involving a social media influencer. This assertion formed part of the petitioner’s argument for quashing or consolidating the numerous FIRs, suggesting a motive beyond simple offensive content.

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH WAZAHAT KHAN Vs. UNION OF INDIA AND OTHERS ( Before : K.V. Viswanathan and Nongmeikapam Kotiswar Singh, JJ. ) Writ Petition (Criminal) No. 247…

Legal Profession — Autonomy and Independence — Administration of Justice — Role of Lawyers — Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution of India — Impact of direct summons to defence counsel by Investigating Agencies on the autonomy of the legal profession and the independence of the administration of justice — Need for judicial oversight.

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH ASHWINKUMAR GOVINDBHAI PRAJAPATI Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT AND ANOTHER ( Before : K.V. Viswanathan and Nongmeikapam Kotiswar Singh, JJ. ) Petition(s) for Special Leave…

Constitution of India — Article 20(3) — Right Against Self-Incrimination — Constitutional Validity of Narco-Analysis Test — Forced Tests Raise Serious Questions — Involuntary Administration Hit by Article 20(3) – Involuntary Narco-Analysis Test — Contravention of Rights — Results Not ‘Material Evidence’ — Violates ‘Substantive Due Process’ — Breaches Privacy Boundaries.

2025 INSC 810 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH AMLESH KUMAR Vs. THE STATE OF BIHAR ( Before : Sanjay Karol and Prasanna B. Varale, JJ. ) Criminal Appeal No…..of…

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