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Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002 — Auction Sale — Compliance with Rule 9 — Mandatory Nature — Payment of Balance 75% Beyond 15-Day Period — No Written Agreement for Extension — Sale Set Aside — Article 142 — Redemption Opportunity Granted to Legal Heirs of Deceased Guarantor. Third Judge under S. 392 CrPC cannot disturb unanimous Division Bench findings; reference confined to disagreed accused only.–Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC) — Section 392 — Third Judge — Power to give independent opinion — Options available — When an appeal is heard by a Division Bench and the Judges are divided in opinion, the appeal is laid before a third Judge under S. 392 — The third Judge is not confined to choosing between the two views expressed by the Division Bench Judges — The third Judge may: (i) agree with either of the two opinions expressed; (ii) form an independent view at divergence with both opinions; or (iii) where warranted, receive additional evidence under S. 391 before forming an opinion — The opinion of the third Judge governs and the judgment follows therefrom. Constitution of India, 1950 — Article 226(1) — Territorial jurisdiction — Writ petition by CAPF personnel — Delhi High Court — Jurisdiction based on situs of respondent’s office —The Delhi High Court has territorial jurisdiction under Art. 226(1) of the Constitution to entertain a writ petition preferred by any enrolled member of the Border Security Force or any Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) who is aggrieved by an administrative order of termination of service, by reason of the situs of the offices of the Union of India and the Director General of the concerned CAPF in New Delhi — and this jurisdictional competence subsists notwithstanding that the impugned order of termination was issued from a place outside the territorial limits of the Delhi High Court and that no part of the cause of action arose within such limits — The Union of India and the Director General, BSF are necessary parties to such a writ petition by virtue of Ss. 4 and 5 of the BSF Act and the requirement under R. 22(4) of the BSF Rules that every order of dismissal/removal be reported to the Director General; there is, moreover, a presumption that official acts have been regularly performed. Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 — Section 168 — Compensation — Death of homemaker — New head of ‘Loss of Domestic Care’ — Basis and quantum — The conventional method of computing compensation upon the death of a homemaker suffers from an inherent disadvantage — Notional income, as assigned by earlier decisions, fails to capture the economic, emotional and managerial contributions that a homemaker makes to the household and to nation-building at large — In recognition of the multifarious yet unquantified roles of a homemaker — (i) contribution towards smooth functioning of the household; (ii) loss of maternal support to children; and (iii) loss of spousal/parental support — a composite sum of Rs. 30,000/- per month shall be added under the head ‘Loss of Domestic Care’ — This sum shall serve as the stand-in monthly income where the homemaker has no conventional monetary income — It shall be revised cumulatively by 10% every three years — Where the homemaker is part of the paid workforce, this head shall be in addition to the proved monthly income. Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, 1956 — Section 8(3) — Unauthorized alienation of minor’s property — Such alienation is voidable, not void ab initio, and can be challenged by the minor upon attaining majority or by someone claiming under the minor.

Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 — Sections 7, 13(1)(d), 13(2) read with Section 120B of Indian Penal Code, 1860 — Demand and acceptance of bribe — Essential to prove demand and acceptance by public servant — Mere acceptance of illegal gratification without demand is not an offence — Prosecution must prove foundational facts through oral or documentary evidence — Presumption under Section 20 is mandatory and subject to rebuttal; presumption of fact is discretionary — High Court erred in reversing acquittal based on inferences and conjectures, ignoring glaring contradictions in prosecution evidence.

2025 INSC 868 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH M SAMBASIVA RAO Vs. THE STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH ( Before : Pankaj Mithal and Ahsanuddin Amanullah, JJ. ) Criminal Appeal…

Penal Code, 1860 — Sections 406 and 420 — Cheating and Criminal Breach of Trust — FIR registered based on a property dispute, with conflicting allegations between FIR and civil suit pleadings — Discrepancies in alleged sale consideration and property descriptions indicate manipulation to create a criminal case out of a civil transaction.

2025 INSC 870 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH MALA CHOUDHARY AND ANOTHER Vs. STATE OF TELANGANA AND ANOTHER ( Before : Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta, JJ. ) Criminal…

Constitution of India, 1950 — Article 227 — Penal Code, 1860 — Sections 147, 323, 341, 325, 307, 427, 149 — Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 — Sections 439, 439(2) — Supreme Court’s Role and Judicial Restraint — High Courts should generally refrain from passing strictures against judicial officers. Strictures should only be passed in exceptional circumstances and after providing an opportunity to the officer to explain — The proper procedure is to report such matters to the Chief Justice for administrative action — Supreme Court expunged strictures against a judicial officer due to lack of opportunity and reversal of a key judgment cited by the High Court.

2025 INSC 871 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA FULL BENCH KAUSHAL SINGH Vs. THE STATE OF RAJASHTAN ( Before : Vikram Nath, Sanjay Karol and Sandeep Mehta, JJ. ) Criminal Appeal…

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…

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