Supreme Court of India Judgements

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Environment Law — Environmental Clearance — Prior clearance — Mandatory character — Prior environmental clearance under EIA Notification, 2006 is mandatory, being founded on the precautionary principle and couched in imperative terms — Word “prior” and the graded four-stage screening, scoping, public consultation and appraisal process render an anterior assessment the sine qua non of the clearance regime — Decriminalisation of contraventions under Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023 does not alter this mandatory character. Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 — Section 415 — Appeal — Maintainability — Conviction recorded for first time by appellate court reversing acquittal — An appeal under Section 374 CrPC (Section 415 BNSS) is not maintainable against a judgment of conviction recorded by a Sessions Court while exercising appellate jurisdiction and reversing an order of acquittal passed by the Trial Court — No such second appeal is contemplated under CrPC or BNSS — The only remedy available is revision under Section 397 r/w 401 CrPC (Section 438 r/w 442 BNSS) Income Tax Act, 1961 — Section 44B — “Carriage” of passengers — Meaning and scope of — Cruise operations by non-resident shipping entity — Held, the word “carriage” under Section 44B cannot be restrictively construed to mean movement only from Port A to Port B. A round-trip cruise voyage, where passengers have the option to disembark at intermediate ports without compulsion to return to the originating port, constitutes carriage of passengers within the meaning of Section 44B. Provision of incidental on-board entertainment and hospitality does not alter the essential character of the activity as carriage of passengers. Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC) — Section 482 — Quashing of FIR — Scope of inquiry — Mini-trial impermissible — At the stage of considering quashing of an FIR, the Court’s inquiry is confined to whether the allegations, taken at face value, prima facie disclose commission of a cognizable offence — Court cannot conduct a “mini-trial” by sifting evidence, assessing probabilities, or evaluating witness credibility — High Court exceeding these limits by examining trap proceedings, absence of personal recovery, and departmental enquiry findings, held impermissible. Succession Act, 1925 — Sections 33, 35 and 38 — Hindu/Christian Succession — Applicability of S. 33 confined to property owned by deceased male; erroneous application by High Court set aside — Where property was purchased and registered in the joint names of two wives, the same is owned by them and not by the husband, notwithstanding that he provided the consideration — Section 33, which governs devolution on intestacy of a male’s property between his widow and lineal descendants, is not attracted to property never vested in the husband’s name — High Court’s application of S. 33 to the entirety of the suit property held misconceived.
Environment

Environment Law — Environmental Clearance — Prior clearance — Mandatory character — Prior environmental clearance under EIA Notification, 2006 is mandatory, being founded on the precautionary principle and couched in imperative terms — Word “prior” and the graded four-stage screening, scoping, public consultation and appraisal process render an anterior assessment the sine qua non of the clearance regime — Decriminalisation of contraventions under Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023 does not alter this mandatory character.

Aug 2, 2026 sclaw
Bhartiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita Cr P C

Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 — Section 415 — Appeal — Maintainability — Conviction recorded for first time by appellate court reversing acquittal — An appeal under Section 374 CrPC (Section 415 BNSS) is not maintainable against a judgment of conviction recorded by a Sessions Court while exercising appellate jurisdiction and reversing an order of acquittal passed by the Trial Court — No such second appeal is contemplated under CrPC or BNSS — The only remedy available is revision under Section 397 r/w 401 CrPC (Section 438 r/w 442 BNSS)

Aug 2, 2026 sclaw
Environment Law — Environmental Clearance — Prior clearance — Mandatory character — Prior environmental clearance under EIA Notification, 2006 is mandatory, being founded on the precautionary principle and couched in imperative terms — Word “prior” and the graded four-stage screening, scoping, public consultation and appraisal process render an anterior assessment the sine qua non of the clearance regime — Decriminalisation of contraventions under Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023 does not alter this mandatory character.
Environment
Environment Law — Environmental Clearance — Prior clearance — Mandatory character — Prior environmental clearance under EIA Notification, 2006 is mandatory, being founded on the precautionary principle and couched in imperative terms — Word “prior” and the graded four-stage screening, scoping, public consultation and appraisal process render an anterior assessment the sine qua non of the clearance regime — Decriminalisation of contraventions under Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023 does not alter this mandatory character.
Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 — Section 415 — Appeal — Maintainability — Conviction recorded for first time by appellate court reversing acquittal — An appeal under Section 374 CrPC (Section 415 BNSS) is not maintainable against a judgment of conviction recorded by a Sessions Court while exercising appellate jurisdiction and reversing an order of acquittal passed by the Trial Court — No such second appeal is contemplated under CrPC or BNSS — The only remedy available is revision under Section 397 r/w 401 CrPC (Section 438 r/w 442 BNSS)
Bhartiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita Cr P C
Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 — Section 415 — Appeal — Maintainability — Conviction recorded for first time by appellate court reversing acquittal — An appeal under Section 374 CrPC (Section 415 BNSS) is not maintainable against a judgment of conviction recorded by a Sessions Court while exercising appellate jurisdiction and reversing an order of acquittal passed by the Trial Court — No such second appeal is contemplated under CrPC or BNSS — The only remedy available is revision under Section 397 r/w 401 CrPC (Section 438 r/w 442 BNSS)
Income Tax Act, 1961 — Section 44B — “Carriage” of passengers — Meaning and scope of — Cruise operations by non-resident shipping entity — Held, the word “carriage” under Section 44B cannot be restrictively construed to mean movement only from Port A to Port B. A round-trip cruise voyage, where passengers have the option to disembark at intermediate ports without compulsion to return to the originating port, constitutes carriage of passengers within the meaning of Section 44B. Provision of incidental on-board entertainment and hospitality does not alter the essential character of the activity as carriage of passengers.
Direct Taxation Income Tax Act
Income Tax Act, 1961 — Section 44B — “Carriage” of passengers — Meaning and scope of — Cruise operations by non-resident shipping entity — Held, the word “carriage” under Section 44B cannot be restrictively construed to mean movement only from Port A to Port B. A round-trip cruise voyage, where passengers have the option to disembark at intermediate ports without compulsion to return to the originating port, constitutes carriage of passengers within the meaning of Section 44B. Provision of incidental on-board entertainment and hospitality does not alter the essential character of the activity as carriage of passengers.
Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC) — Section 482 — Quashing of FIR — Scope of inquiry — Mini-trial impermissible — At the stage of considering quashing of an FIR, the Court’s inquiry is confined to whether the allegations, taken at face value, prima facie disclose commission of a cognizable offence — Court cannot conduct a “mini-trial” by sifting evidence, assessing probabilities, or evaluating witness credibility — High Court exceeding these limits by examining trap proceedings, absence of personal recovery, and departmental enquiry findings, held impermissible.
Cr P C
Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC) — Section 482 — Quashing of FIR — Scope of inquiry — Mini-trial impermissible — At the stage of considering quashing of an FIR, the Court’s inquiry is confined to whether the allegations, taken at face value, prima facie disclose commission of a cognizable offence — Court cannot conduct a “mini-trial” by sifting evidence, assessing probabilities, or evaluating witness credibility — High Court exceeding these limits by examining trap proceedings, absence of personal recovery, and departmental enquiry findings, held impermissible.
Cr P C

Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC) — Sections 468, 469, 470, 472, 473 and 341 — Limitation for taking cognizance of offence — Relevant date for computation of period of limitation is date of filing of complaint or date of initiation of criminal proceedings, not date on which Magistrate takes cognizance — Constitution Bench decision in Sarah Mathew v. Institute of Cardio Vascular Diseases [(2014) 2 SCC 62] holds good law.

Apr 12, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 336 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH ROMA AHUJA Vs. THE STATE AND ANOTHER ( Before : Prashant Kumar Mishra and N.V. Anjaria, JJ. ) Criminal Appeal Nos.…

Service Matters
Service

Uttar Pradesh Civil Services (Extraordinary Pension) Rules, 1981 — Rule 4 — Sanction of Governor for award — Extraordinary pension award requires sanction of the Governor, who exercises administrative discretion based on the rules — The Supreme Court held that the authority on whom the power to take a decision is conferred should be the one to take it, especially when the rules enumerate the considerations — The Court would be slow to substitute its own decision unless the authority has refused to decide or the decision is arbitrary — In such cases, a direction to the authority to decide afresh would be more appropriate than the Court substituting its own decision.

Apr 12, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 337 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH THE STATE OF UTTARAKHAND Vs. SARITA SINGH AND OTHERS ( Before : J.K.Maheshwari and Atul S. Chandurkar, JJ. ) Civil Appeal…

Constitution

Rajasthan Co-operative Societies Act, 2001 — Section 32, Section 8 read with Schedule B — Bye-laws framed by District Milk Producers’ Co-operative Unions — Validity — Election to Management Committee — Eligibility criteria — Held, bye-laws are valid as they operate within the statutory scheme and are traceable to the enabling power under Section 8 read with Schedule B — Provisions of bye-laws regulate eligibility and representation in a manner consistent with the object and scheme of the Act — They neither curtail any fundamental or statutory right nor introduce disqualifications dehors the statute — High Court erred in striking down the bye-laws.

Apr 12, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 347 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH RAM CHANDRA CHOUDHARY AND OTHERS Vs. ROOP NAGAR DUGDH UTPADAK SAHAKARI SAMITI LIMITED AND OTHERS ( Before : B.V. Nagarathna and…

Rent

Karnataka Rent Act, 1999 — Section 46 — Revisional jurisdiction of High Court — Scope — High Court cannot re-appreciate evidence or substitute its own findings for those of the trial court — Revisional power is supervisory and limited to examining legality, correctness, or propriety of an order, not to act as a court of first appeal — Interference is warranted only for perversity, lack of evidence, or manifest illegality

Apr 12, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 348 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH SRI M.V. RAMACHANDRASA SINCE DECEASED REPRESENTED BY LEGAL HEIRS Vs. M/S. MAHENDRA WATCH COMPANY REPRESENTED BY ITS PARTNERS AND OTHERS (…

Service Matters
Service

Uttar Pradesh Public Services (Reservation for Economically Weaker Sections) Act, 2020 — Advertisement dated 15.12.2021 for 9212 posts of Health Worker (Female) — Economically Weaker Section (EWS) reservation — Clause 8.3 of advertisement requiring candidates to submit EWS certificate issued till the last date of application or advertisement — Prescribed proforma requires certificate to be for the financial year preceding the year of application — Certificates submitted by appellants were not in respect of the correct financial year or were issued before the closure of the relevant financial year — Certificates thus invalid for claiming EWS reservation — High Court rightly dismissed the claim — Appeals dismissed.

Apr 12, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 351 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH POONAM DWIVEDI AND OTHERS Vs. STATE OF U.P. AND OTHERS ( Before : Manoj Misra and Prasanna B. Varale, JJ. )…

Constitution Service

Contitution of India — Articles 14 & 16 — Equality in employment — Denial of promotion on discriminatory grounds — Appellant denied promotion despite long service, experience, and possessing a qualification that was accepted for similarly situated employees — High Court Division Bench erroneously set aside Single Judge’s order granting relief, creating contradiction in reasoning by first stating discretion lies with Board of Directors and then upholding Registrar’s refusal — Supreme Court allowed appeal, finding non-acceptance of promotion unsustainable and a violation of equality principles.

Apr 12, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 353 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH KAMAL PRASAD DUBEY Vs. THE STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH AND OTHERS ( Before : Prashant Kumar Mishra and N.V. Anjaria, JJ.…

Constitution

Constitution of India, 1950 — Article 14 — Equality before law — Dearness Allowance (DA) and Dearness Relief (DR) — Sanctioning different rates of enhancement for DA for serving employees and DR for pensioners, when both are intended to mitigate inflation, is discriminatory and violates Article 14.

Apr 12, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 352 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH THE STATE OF KERALA Vs. M. VIJAYAKUMAR AND OTHERS ( Before : Manoj Misra and Prasanna B. Varale, JJ. ) Civil…

Cr P C

Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC) — Section 389 — Suspension of sentence pending appeal — Suspension of sentence in serious offences should not be granted routinely — Appellate court must apply its mind to the nature of the offence, manner of commission, and gravity of trial court’s findings — Reasons must be recorded in writing, reflecting due consideration of relevant factors — Order granting suspension of sentence should not be passed mechanically — This principle applies even at the stage of considering interlocutory orders.

Apr 12, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 349 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH DHAN JEE PANDEY Vs. THE STATE OF BIHAR AND ANOTHER ( Before : Ahsanuddin Amanullah and R. Mahadevan, JJ. ) Criminal…

State Laws

Rajasthan Tenancy Act, 1955 — Section 88 — Khatedari rights — Claim for declaration of Khatedari rights and recovery of land unlawfully encroached upon — Trial Court decreed suit based on plaintiff’s inherited Khatedari rights from his father — Defendant contested case, later declared ex-parte — Appeal filed after significant delay rejected — Second appeal remanded by Board of Revenue, affirmed by High Court — Supreme Court held that original authority provided no opportunity to adduce evidence after specific date — Trial court proceeded ex-parte without proper service of summons, denying reasonable opportunity to defend — Sale deed not summoned, mutation ignored — Defendant’s unawareness of decree due to non-execution and delayed mutation change — High Court favoured defendant noticing her status as widow and illiterate.

Apr 12, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 350 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH HARI RAM Vs. STATE OF RAJASTHAN AND OTHERS ( Before : Sanjay Kumar and K. Vinod Chandran, JJ. ) Civil Appeal…

You missed

Environment

Environment Law — Environmental Clearance — Prior clearance — Mandatory character — Prior environmental clearance under EIA Notification, 2006 is mandatory, being founded on the precautionary principle and couched in imperative terms — Word “prior” and the graded four-stage screening, scoping, public consultation and appraisal process render an anterior assessment the sine qua non of the clearance regime — Decriminalisation of contraventions under Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023 does not alter this mandatory character.

Aug 2, 2026 sclaw
Bhartiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita Cr P C

Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 — Section 415 — Appeal — Maintainability — Conviction recorded for first time by appellate court reversing acquittal — An appeal under Section 374 CrPC (Section 415 BNSS) is not maintainable against a judgment of conviction recorded by a Sessions Court while exercising appellate jurisdiction and reversing an order of acquittal passed by the Trial Court — No such second appeal is contemplated under CrPC or BNSS — The only remedy available is revision under Section 397 r/w 401 CrPC (Section 438 r/w 442 BNSS)

Aug 2, 2026 sclaw
Direct Taxation Income Tax Act

Income Tax Act, 1961 — Section 44B — “Carriage” of passengers — Meaning and scope of — Cruise operations by non-resident shipping entity — Held, the word “carriage” under Section 44B cannot be restrictively construed to mean movement only from Port A to Port B. A round-trip cruise voyage, where passengers have the option to disembark at intermediate ports without compulsion to return to the originating port, constitutes carriage of passengers within the meaning of Section 44B. Provision of incidental on-board entertainment and hospitality does not alter the essential character of the activity as carriage of passengers.

Aug 2, 2026 sclaw
Cr P C

Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC) — Section 482 — Quashing of FIR — Scope of inquiry — Mini-trial impermissible — At the stage of considering quashing of an FIR, the Court’s inquiry is confined to whether the allegations, taken at face value, prima facie disclose commission of a cognizable offence — Court cannot conduct a “mini-trial” by sifting evidence, assessing probabilities, or evaluating witness credibility — High Court exceeding these limits by examining trap proceedings, absence of personal recovery, and departmental enquiry findings, held impermissible.

Aug 2, 2026 sclaw