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National Highways Act, 1956 — Amendments and compensation provisions — Section 3-J introduced in 1997 removed applicability of Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (1894 Act) provisions for solatium and interest — Overturned by various High Courts, including reading down Sections 3-G and 3-J to grant solatium and interest — Subsequently, Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 (2013 Act) and its amended provisions extended to NH Act — Court clarified that landowners acquired lands under NH Act between 1997 and 2015 are entitled to solatium and interest — Review Petition filed by NHAI arguing financial burden was underestimated rejected, but clarification on delayed claims issued. Civil Procedure Code, 1908 (CPC) — Order 21 Rule 102 — Applicability — Provision contemplates a situation where a judgment debtor transfers property after institution of suit to a person who then obstructs execution — Not applicable where respondents derived title from independent registered sale deeds, not from the judgment debtor. Land Acquisition Act, 1894 — Section 28-A — Re-determination of compensation — Second application for re-determination based on High Court award maintainable even after accepting compensation based on Reference Court award — Principle of merger means appellate court’s award supersedes earlier award, entitling landowners to benefit from higher compensation — Object of Section 28-A is to ensure equality in compensation among similarly placed landowners. Electricity Act, 2003 — Section 61, 86 — Tariff determination and Generation Based Incentive (GBI) — State Electricity Regulatory Commission (SERC) has exclusive power to determine tariff — Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) introduced GBI to incentivise renewable energy generation — GBI is intended to be over and above the tariff fixed by SERC — SERC must consider GBI while determining tariff, but not necessarily deduct it — SERC’s power to determine tariff includes considering incentives — Parliament’s allocation of funds for GBI does not prevent SERC from considering it in tariff — SERC must exercise its power harmoniously with other stakeholders to achieve policy objectives. Contract Law — Award of Tender — Judicial Review — High Court should exercise restraint when reviewing tender evaluation processes, especially in technical matters, unless there is clear evidence of mala fide, arbitrariness, or irrationality — A marginal difference in scores, as seen in this case, does not automatically warrant interference, especially when the owner has the right to accept or reject bids and the contract is already underway.

DTAA, India-UAE, Article 5(1) — Permanent Establishment — Definition of “fixed place of business” — The definition of Permanent Establishment requires a fixed place of business through which the business of an enterprise is wholly or partly carried on. The key test is whether the place is “at the disposal” of the enterprise, meaning the enterprise has the right to use the premises to carry on its business. Factors like stability, productivity, and a degree of independence are also considered.

2025 INSC 891 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH HYATT INTERNATIONAL SOUTHWEST ASIA LTD. Vs. ADDITIONAL DIRECTOR OF INCOME TAX ( Before : J.B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan, JJ. )…

Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 — Section 129 — Detention, seizure and release of goods and conveyances in transit — Show cause notice — Payment of penalty — Obligation to pass final order — Where a show cause notice is issued under Section 129(3) of the CGST Act and the taxable person files objections against the proposed levy, the proper officer is duty-bound to pass a reasoned, speaking order under Section 129(3), even if the penalty is paid. Such an order is crucial for enabling the taxpayer to exercise their statutory right of appeal under Section 107 of the CGST Act.

2025 INSC 890 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH M/S ASP TRADERS Vs. STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH AND OTHERS ( Before : J.B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan, JJ. ) Civil…

Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC) — Section 174 — Inquiry by Police into cause of unnatural death — Requirement of fair and impartial investigation — Evidence considered — Inconsistencies in CCTV footage, suspicious medical findings, and failure to preserve crucial forensic evidence indicated failures in local investigation.

2025 INSC 893 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH SUKDEB SAHA Vs. THE STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH AND OTHERS ( Before : Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta, JJ. ) Criminal…

Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 — Section 156(3) — FIR Registration — Application to Magistrate without approaching Police/SP — While a Magistrate ought not ordinarily entertain an application under Section 156(3) CrPC directly without the informant having availed and exhausted remedies under Section 154(3) CrPC, the Magistrate is competent to direct FIR registration if allegations disclose cognizable offence — Such an order is not without jurisdiction and not vitiated on this count, but it is a procedural irregularity.

2025 INSC 895 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH ANURAG BHATNAGAR AND ANOTHER Vs. STATE (NCT OF DELHI) AND ANOTHER ( Before : Pankaj Mithal and S.V.N. Bhatti, JJ. )…

Constitution of India, 1950 — Article 170(3) — Proviso — Readjustment of seats in Legislative Assemblies — Constitutional bar on readjustment of seats in State Legislative Assemblies until publication of census data after 2026 — Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, Section 26 — Increase in seats subject to Article 170(3) — Petitioners’ claim for delimitation in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana dismissed as it contravened constitutional mandate.

2025 INSC 894 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH K. PURUSHOTTAM REDDY Vs. UNION OF INDIA AND OTHERS ( Before : Surya Kant and Nongmeikapam Kotiswar Singh, JJ. ) Writ…

Insurance Law — Motor Insurance Policy — Guidelines (IMT) — Guidelines issued by the Tariff Advisory Committee (IMT) regulate the issuance of policies but cannot bind the insured unless specified in the insurance policy itself. – – Personal Accident Cover — Contractual liability — Claim based on personal accident cover is a contractual liability, not a statutory one — The question is whether the liability was limited or not, which depends on the terms specified in the policy.

2025 INSC 896 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH MANJUSHA AND OTHERS Vs. UNITED INDIA ASSURANCE COMPANY LIMITED AND ANOTHER ( Before : Sudhanshu Dhulia and K. Vinod Chandran, JJ.…

Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 — Section 138 — Dishonour of cheque — Territorial jurisdiction — Where a payee maintains his bank account in a particular branch and deposits cheques issued by the drawer for collection through that account, the complaint for dishonour of such cheques must be filed in the court having jurisdiction over the location of the payee’s bank branch, even if the cheques were presented at a different branch of the bank for the purpose of crediting the payee’s account.

2025 INSC 897 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH PRAKASH CHIMANLAL SHETH Vs. JAGRUTI KEYUR RAJPOPAT ( Before : Sanjay Kumar and Satish Chandra Sharma, JJ. ) Criminal Appeal Nos.…

Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 — Section 200 — Complaint — Amendment — Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 — Section 138 — Dishonour of Cheque — Power of Criminal Court to amend complaint — Amendments not alien to Cr.P.C. even post-cognizance, provided no prejudice to accused — Supreme Court in S.R. Sukumar and Modi Distillery cases allowed amendments to correct curable infirmities, even after cognizance.

2025 INSC 899 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH BANSAL MILK CHILLING CENTRE Vs. RANA MILK FOOD PRIVATE LTD. AND ANOTHER ( Before : B.V. Nagarathna and K. V. Viswanathan,…

Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 — Section 6 — Aggravated Penetrative sexual assault — Punishment introduced by 2019 amendment — Retrospective application — Constitution of India — Article 20(1) — Prohibition against ex-post facto laws and enhanced penalty — Offence committed before amended Act came into force — Sentencing under amended provisions violates constitutional bar against imposing greater penalty than that which was permissible at the time of commission of the offence.

2025 INSC 892 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH SATAURAM MANDAVI Vs. THE STATE OF CHHATTISGARH AND ANOTHER ( Before : Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta, JJ. ) Criminal Appeal…

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.

2025 INSC 860 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH SHIV BARAN Vs. STATE OF U.P. AND ANOTHER ( Before : Sanjay Karol and Joymalya Bagchi, JJ. ) Criminal Appeal No.…

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