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.
C P C

Civil Procedure Code, 1908 — Order 7 Rule 11 — Rejection of plaint — Cause of action— Amendment of plaint — Substitution of proprietor for proprietorship concern — Held, a proprietorship concern is not a juristic person but a trade name for an individual business. The proprietor is the real party in interest. Substituting the proprietor for the proprietorship concern does not negate the cause of action, especially when the proprietor is the signatory to the lease deed.

Aug 31, 2025 sclaw

2025 INSC 1046 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH DOGIPARTHI VENKATA SATISH AND ANOTHER Vs. PILLA DURGA PRASAD AND OTHERS ( Before : Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta, JJ. )…

Service Matters
Service

Tripura State Rifles Act, 1983 and Tripura State Rifles (Recruitment) Rules, 1984 — Recruitment of Enrolled Followers — Cancellation of ongoing recruitment process midway due to a new policy decision — Held, executive instructions cannot override statutory rules or the Act — Cancellation of recruitment process under executive instructions without amending the Act and Rules is arbitrary and illegal — New Recruitment Policy (NRP) stating that recommendations would be applicable prospectively cannot be applied to an ongoing process where interviews were already conducted.

Aug 31, 2025 sclaw

2025 INSC 1049 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH PARTHA DAS AND OTHERS Vs. THE STATE OF TRIPURA AND OTHERS ( Before : J.K. Maheshwari and Rajesh Bindal, JJ. )…

Service Matters
Service

Boilers Act, 1923 — Sections 2(c), 28, 28A, 29 — Chief Inspector, Deputy Chief Inspector and Inspector (Qualification and Experience) Rules, 2012; Recruitment Rules, 2013 — Recruitment for Inspector of Boilers — Cancellation of ongoing recruitment process due to new recruitment policy framing weightage for interview — Held, new policy, being an executive instruction, cannot override statutory rules governing recruitment — Change of rules mid-game impermissible — Candidate has legitimate expectation of fair completion of recruitment — New policy, in absence of express retrospective application, applied prospectively and not to ongoing recruitment — Cancellation arbitrary and unjust.

Aug 31, 2025 sclaw

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH THE STATE OF TRIPURA AND OTHERS Vs. ARUNABHA SAHA AND ANOTHER ( Before : J.K. Maheshwari and Rajesh Bindal, JJ. ) Civil Appeal No.…

Service Matters
Service

Constitution of India, 1950 — Article 309 — Tripura Civil Service Rules, 1967 and Tripura Police Service Rules — Recruitment Rules framed under Article 309 have statutory force — Executive instructions (New Recruitment Policy) cannot override statutory rules unless rules are amended — Cancellation of a recruitment process at an advanced stage (after main examination) based on an executive policy change without amending statutory rules is unjustified and arbitrary.

Aug 31, 2025 sclaw

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH THE STATE OF TRIPURA AND ANOTHER Vs. SAMUDRA DEBBARMA AND OTHER ( Before : J.K. Maheshwari and Rajesh Bindal, JJ. ) Civil Appeal Nos.…

Direct Taxation Income Tax

Income Tax Act, 1961 — Section 276C(1) — Wilful attempt to evade tax — Prosecution for wilful attempt to evade tax requires proof of mens rea — Settlement Commission granted immunity from penalty after full disclosure, finding no suppression of facts or wilful evasion — Continuation of prosecution despite settlement order and lack of mens rea amounts to abuse of process of law.

Aug 31, 2025 sclaw

025 INSC 1048 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH VIJAY KRISHNASWAMI @ KRISHNASWAMI VIJAYAKUMAR Vs. THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF INCOME TAX (INVESTIGATION) ( Before : J.K. Maheshwari and Vijay Bishnoi,…

Corporate G S T

Andhra Pradesh Motor Vehicles Taxation Act, 1963 — Section 3 — Levy of tax — Requirement of motor vehicle being used or kept for use in a ‘public place’ — ‘Public place’ defined under Section 2(34) of Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 as a road, street, way or other place to which public has a right of access — Visakhapatnam Steel Plant premises, being a restricted area with controlled access, not a public place — Tax not leviable on vehicles used exclusively within such premises.

Aug 31, 2025 sclaw

025 INSC 1052 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH M/S. TARACHAND LOGISTIC SOLUTIONS LIMITED Vs. STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH AND OTHERS ( Before : Manoj Misra and Ujjal Bhuyan, JJ.…

Service Matters
Service

Disciplinary Proceedings — Charges — Proof — Constable found 12 kms from camp when permitted to visit hospital — Detained by civilians due to unwarranted activities affecting reputation of Force — Charge of leaving camp without permission not proved, but being found at distant residential colony instead of hospital and subsequent detention sufficiently proved conduct unbecoming of member of Armed Forces.

Aug 31, 2025 sclaw

2025 INSC 1055 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH CONST. AMAR SINGH Vs. UNION OF INDIA AND OTHER ( Before : Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha and Atul S. Chandurkar, JJ. )…

Evidence Act

Evidence Act, 1872 — Appreciation of Evidence — Testimony of victim’s family witnesses admitted no dowry demand until examination-in-chief in court — Neighbour’s testimony stating no dowry demand, although brushed aside by lower courts, is relevant and gains credibility when other evidence is lacking — Reason for discarding neighbour’s testimony as speculative was erroneous, as information about dowry harassment can spread widely.

Aug 31, 2025 sclaw

2025 INSC 1051 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH SMT. BHAGWATI DEVI Vs. STATE OF UTTARAKHAND ( Before : Aravind Kumar and N.V. Anjaria, JJ. ) Criminal Appeal No. 2616…

Service Matters
Service

Police Service — Discipline — Unauthorized Absence — Dismissal justified — Unauthorized absence from duty, especially in a disciplined force, constitutes gross indiscipline. When a member of a disciplined force remains absent without permission or intimation for a considerable period, dismissal from service is justified, provided due procedure is followed.

Aug 31, 2025 sclaw

2025 INSC 1056 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH STATE OF PUNJAB AND OTHERS Vs. EX. C. SATPAL SINGH ( Before : J.K. Maheshwari and Vijay Bishnoi, JJ. ) Civil…

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