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Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 — Section 166 — Claim Petition for death of bachelor — Selection of Multiplier — Multiplier to be determined based on age of deceased and not age of dependents/parents — Deceased was 33 years old at the time of accident — Correct multiplier applicable according to standardized matrix in Sarla Verma and Pranay Sethi is 16 — Argument of insurer that multiplier should correspond to age of parents rejected — MACT and High Court rightly applied multiplier of 16. Legal Representatives Can Claim Motor Accident Compensation Even Without Financial Dependency On Deceased Execution Of Unregistered Agreement To Sell Does Not Terminate Subsisting Landlord-Tenant Relationship Nor Entitle Tenant To Section 53A TP Act Protection A. Transfer of Property Act, 1882 — Section 111(e) & (f) — Landlord and Tenant — Determination of lease by express or implied surrender — Execution of agreement to sell by landlord in favour of tenant — Effect on jural relationship — Held, mere execution of an agreement to sell between landlord and tenant does not ipso facto determine the subsisting tenancy — Tenancy is determined only when terms of agreement or unequivocal conduct of parties disclose express or implied surrender — Where agreement to sell contained clause for cancellation and restoration of possession in case loan was not sanctioned, existing possession was referable to tenancy and not to agreement to sell — Landlord-tenant relationship continued to subsist. Appellate Courts Should Not Remand Cases Under Order 41 Rule 23 CPC As A Matter Of Course When Sufficient Evidence Is Available On Record. A. Civil Procedure Code, 1908 (CPC) — Order 41 Rules 23 and 24 — Power of Appellate Court to remand — Remand of case to Trial Court for framing of additional issues and fresh evidence — Permissibility — High Court remitted suit regarding one item of property for framing issues on whether sale deed was sham, limitation, and possession — Held, remand is not to be adopted as a matter of ordinary course and reflects incorrect exercise of discretion when sufficient evidence is available on record — Issues already framed by Trial Court were comprehensive enough to cover core disputes — Appellate Court is fully empowered to decide issues on merits or admit additional evidence if warranted, rather than remitting matter to cause unnecessary delay — Remand set aside and appeals restored to High Court for fresh disposal on merits. Extended Period Of Limitation Under Proviso To Section 11A, Central Excise Act Cannot Be Invoked When Facts Are Known To Department Without Wilful Suppression A. Central Excise Act, 1944 — Section 35L — Maintainability of appeal before Supreme Court — Preliminary objection raised by Department that appeal does not come under Section 35L as issue had no relation to rate of duty or valuation — Held, issue raised regarding extended period of limitation on ground of non-inclusion of certain costs in assessable value has an inextricable link with valuation of goods for purposes of assessment — Issue raised in show cause notice fundamentally dealt with valuation of goods — Supreme Court declined to relegate matter to High Court after almost a decade of pendency — Preliminary objection rejected.
Service Matters

Constitution of India, 1950 — Article 311(2) second proviso (b) — Dismissal from service without departmental inquiry — Requirement of reasonable practicability — Mere presumption or belief by disciplinary authority not sufficient — Must be based on objective facts and material on record. Article 311(2) second proviso (b) — Dispensing with departmental inquiry — Decision of disciplinary authority not binding on courts; subject to judicial review — Reasons for dispensing must be plausible and based on definite material.

2026 INSC 234 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH MANOHAR LAL Vs. COMMISSIONER OF POLICE AND OTHERS ( Before : J.K. Maheshwari and Atul S. Chandurkar, JJ. ) Civil Appeal…

Artificial Intelligence (AI) — Use in Legal Proceedings — Reliance on AI-generated judgments by a court is a serious matter concerning the integrity of the judicial process — Such judgments, if non-existent or fake, amount to misconduct rather than a simple error of judgment — Supreme Court orders examination of consequences and accountability for such practices — Notice issued to the Attorney General, Solicitor General, and Bar Council of India to address this institutional concern.

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH GUMMADI USHA RANI AND ANOTHER Vs. SURE MALLIKARJUNA RAO AND ANOTHER ( Before : Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha and Alok Aradhe, JJ. ) Petition(s) for…

Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) / Power Supply Agreement (PSA) — Interpretation of Contract — Surrounding Circumstances — Evidence Act, 1872, Sections 92, 94, 95 — Contractual terms can be clarified by attending circumstances and conduct of parties, even if contract is reduced to writing, to give meaning to terms that may otherwise be meaningless or unworkable.

2026 INSC 202 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA FULL BENCH WEST BENGAL STATE ELECTRICITY DISTRIBUTION CO. LTD. Vs. ADHUNIK POWER AND NATURAL RESOURCE LTD. AND OTHERS ( Before : Surya Kant,…

Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 — Section 31(7)(a) — Interest awarded by Arbitral Tribunal — Contractual bar — Where a contract expressly prohibits the award of pre-award and pendente lite interest, an Arbitral Tribunal cannot award such interest, even if termed as compensation, as the arbitrator is bound by the terms of the contract.

2026 INSC 203 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH UNION OF INDIA AND OTHERS Vs. LARSEN AND TUBRO LIMITED (L&T) ( Before : Sanjay Karol and Vipul M. Pancholi, JJ.…

Contract Act, 1872 — Section 133 — Discharge of surety by variance in terms of contract — A variance made without the surety’s consent in the terms of the contract between the principal debtor and the creditor discharges the surety only with respect to transactions occurring subsequent to the variance. The surety remains liable for the original amount guaranteed.

2026 INSC 205 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH BHAGYALAXMI CO-OPERATIVE BANK LTD. Vs. BABALDAS AMTHARAM PATEL (D) THROUGH LEGAL REPRESENTATIVES AND OTHERS ( Before : B.V. Nagarathna and Ujjal…

Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 — Committee of Creditors (CoC) — Commercial Wisdom — Legislative intent to vest decisive authority in CoC, which comprises financial creditors who bear economic consequences of failure — Decisions on viability, valuation, and haircuts are commercial, not judicial — Courts do not substitute their assessment for that of the CoC — Adjudicatory authority performs a supervisory role, ensuring statutory compliance and procedural fairness, but refrains from second-guessing economic bodies.

2026 INSC 206 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH TORRENT POWER LTD. Vs. ASHISH ARJUNKUMAR RATHI AND OTHERS ( Before : B.V. Nagarathna and R. Mahadevan, JJ. ) Civil Appeal…

Service Matters

Kerala Technical Education Service (Amendment) Rules, 2004 — Rule 6A — Exemption from PhD requirement — Rule 6A(i) and (ii) — Validity — Supreme Court judgment in Christy James Jose v. State of Kerala (2016) held appointments not contrary to AICTE qualifications and Special Rule 6-A(2) in tune with AICTE Notification dated 18-2-2003 — AICTE Regulations on qualifications are binding on State Rules to the extent of repugnancy — Rule 6A had no application after 05-03-2010 when AICTE issued new regulations mandating PhD for promotion to Professor, Associate Professor, and Principal posts.

2026 INSC 207 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH DR. JIJI K.S. AND OTHERS Vs. SHIBU K AND OTHERS ( Before : Dipankar Datta and Aravind Kumar, JJ. ) Civil…

Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 — Compensation — Deduction of amounts received under Haryana Compassionate Assistance to Dependents of Deceased Government Employees Rules, 2006 — Supreme Court clarifies that only benefits directly replacing lost income are deductible from compensation awarded under the Motor Vehicles Act. Other benefits, such as pensions or life insurance, remain unaffected.

2026 INSC 188 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH RELIANCE GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY LIMITED Vs. KANIKA AND OTHERS ( Before : Sanjay Karol and Augustine George Masih, JJ. ) Civil…

Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 — Section 7 — Adjudicating authority must satisfy itself that a financial debt exists and there is a default — Pre-existing dispute is not a bar to admitting an application by a financial creditor under Section 7, unlike in the case of an operational creditor under Section 9.

2026 INSC 186 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH CATALYST TRUSTEESHIP LTD. Vs. ECSTASY REALTY PVT. LTD. ( Before : Sanjay Kumar and K. Vinod Chandran, JJ. ) Civil Appeal…

Companies Act, 1956 — Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC) — Section 238 (IBC) — Overriding effect of IBC — Scheme of arrangement (SOA) under Companies Act vs. Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) under IBC — Delay and non-compliance with statutory timelines in the SOA process renders it defunct — IBC provisions prevail over inconsistent provisions in other laws — Adjudicating Authority under IBC can initiate CIRP even if SOA proceedings are pending, especially if SOA is defunct.

2026 INSC 189 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH OMKARA ASSETS RECONSTRUCTION PRIVATE LIMITED. Vs. AMIT CHATURVEDI AND OTHERS ( Before : Sanjay Kumar and K. Vinod Chandran, JJ. )…

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