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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.

Defamation — Imputation in Good Faith for Protection of Interests — Exception 9 to S. 499 IPC engrafts the principle of qualified privilege, stating it is not defamation to make an imputation on the character of another, provided it is made in good faith for the protection of the interest of the person making it, or of any other person, or for the public good

2025 INSC 502 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH SHAHED KAMAL AND OTHERS Vs. M/S A. SURTI DEVELOPERS PVT. LTD. AND ANOTHER ( Before : K. V. Viswanathan and N.…

ESI – The definition of ‘principal employer’ under Section 2(17) is wide and includes not only the owner or occupier of a factory (or head of department in government establishments) but also the managing agent or any person responsible for the supervision and control of the establishment — Designation is immaterial if the person functions as a managing agent or supervises/controls the establishment

2025 INSC 500 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH AJAY RAJ SHETTY Vs. DIRECTOR AND ANOTHER ( Before : Sudhanshu Dhulia and Ahsanuddin Amanullah, JJ. ) Criminal Appeal No. ….of…

Habitual Offender/Criminal Antecedents — Consideration of Nature of Current Offence — While the criminal antecedents and alleged status of an accused as a habitual offender are extremely relevant factors that ordinarily weigh against the grant of anticipatory bail, the High Court’s discretion in granting such bail may not warrant interference

2025 INSC 501 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH ANKIT MISHRA Vs. THE STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH AND ANOTHER ( Before : Sanjay Karol and Prashant Kumar Mishra, JJ. )…

Murder (Filicide) vs. Suicide — In cases based on circumstantial evidence where the question is whether the death was homicidal (filicide) or suicidal, the prosecution must establish a complete chain of circumstances that points exclusively to the guilt of the accused and is inconsistent with any hypothesis of innocence

2025 INSC 499 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH SUBHASH AGGARWAL Vs. THE STATE OF NCT OF DELHI ( Before : Sudhanshu Dhulia and K. Vinod Chandran, JJ. ) Criminal…

To attract S. 307 IPC, the crucial element is the intention or knowledge to cause death with which the act is done, irrespective of the nature or severity of the injury actually caused. S. 307 uses the word ‘hurt’, not ‘grievous hurt’ or ‘life-threatening hurt’ — Therefore, an accused cannot be acquitted merely because the injury inflicted was not grievous or dangerous to life, if the evidence establishes that the act was done with the requisite intention or knowledge to cause death

2025 INSC 503 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH STATE OF HIMACHAL PRADESH Vs. SHAMSHER SINGH ( Before : Pankaj Mithal and S.V.N. Bhatti, JJ. ) Criminal Appeal No. 476…

However, the non-service of a S. 21 notice on a person does not, by itself, preclude the arbitral tribunal from impleading that person if they are found to be a party to the arbitration agreement — The primary purpose of S. 21 relates to commencement and time-related aspects, while other functions like informing about claims or potential arbitrators are incidental.

2025 INSC 507 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH ADAVYA PROJECTS PVT. LTD. Vs. M/S VISHAL STRUCTURALS PVT. LTD. AND OTHERS ( Before : Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha and Manoj Misra,…

Divergent Opinions — Where there is a divergence of opinion between judges on a Bench regarding the acceptance of an apology tendered by advocates for misconduct and the appropriate consequential orders, the matter should be placed before the Hon’ble Chief Justice of India for appropriate orders.

2025 INSC 509 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH N. ESWARANATHAN Vs. STATE REPRESENTED BY THE DEPUTY SUPERINTENDENT OF POLICE ( Before : Bela M. Trivedi and Satish Chandra Sharma,…

Validity of State rule providing for cancellation of Form C declaration — The power to prescribe the form of declaration (Form C) required under Section 8(4) of the CST Act, and the particulars to be contained therein, is conferred upon the Central Government under Section 13(1)(d) — The Central Government exercised this power by framing the Central Sales Tax (Registration and Turnover) Rules, 1957, which prescribe Form C (Rule 12(1)) but do not contain any provision empowering any authority to cancel such a declaration once issued.

2025 INSC 496 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH STATE OF RAJASTHAN AND OTHERS Vs. COMBINED TRADERS ( Before : Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan, JJ. ) Civil Appeal…

Cancellation of Bail — Factors for Consideration — Child Trafficking — Appeals preferred by victims (kith and kin of trafficked children) assailing High Court orders granting bail to accused involved in a large-scale, organized, interstate child trafficking racket — The offences alleged involve kidnapping, buying, and selling of minor children primarily from impoverished backgrounds, punishable under Ss. 363, 311 & 370(5) IPC —High Court’s approach found to be callous, overlooking critical aspects including the organized nature of the crime and the subsequent absconding of several accused post-bail, thereby jeopardizing the trial.

2025 INSC 482 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH PINKI Vs. STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH AND ANOTHER ( Before : J.B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan, JJ. ) Criminal Appeal No.…

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