Supreme Court of India judgments

Supreme Court holds that penalty under Section 4A(3)(b) of the Employees’ Compensation Act, 1923 is personal to the employer and cannot be indemnified by insurers.

Supreme Court holds that conviction under Section 135 Customs Act cannot rest solely on Section 108 statements; independent corroboration essential for validity.

Supreme Court holds that evidence seized during illegal search under PCPNDT Act remains admissible if relevant and genuine, upholding prosecution despite procedural flaws.

Supreme Court holds that vicarious liability under Section 149 IPC applies when unlawful assembly inflicts multiple injuries sufficient to cause death, regardless of who delivered the fatal blow.

Supreme Court upholds conviction in murder case based on circumstantial evidence, emphasizing that the chain must be complete and exclude all reasonable hypotheses of innocence.

Supreme Court holds that failure to maintain Schedule-M/U records under Drugs and Cosmetics Act attracts prosecution under Section 27(d), not merely Section 18-B, clarifying jurisdiction and limitation.

Supreme Court holds that landowners under a JDA cannot be held jointly liable for delay in flat possession unless directly involved in construction or breach.

Supreme Court holds that builders cannot evade statutory liability for delay in handing over possession by relying on one-sided contractual clauses under the Consumer Protection Act.

Supreme Court holds that telecom licensees must pay reserve price from 2.2.2012, the date licences were quashed, not from later extension dates. Key precedent for regulatory liability.

Supreme Court holds that unimplemented restructuring proposals cannot reset default date under Section 7 IBC; admission requires only proof of financial debt and default.

Supreme Court holds that degrees obtained before a university's legal invalidation cannot be grounds for termination; reinstates librarians with continuity but no back wages.

Supreme Court holds that lapse of time and compensation cannot substitute punishment for life-threatening assault; proportionality and deterrence are paramount in sentencing.

Supreme Court holds that participation in a mutual suicide pact constitutes abetment under Section 306 IPC, even if the accused survives. Key forensic evidence exonerates rape and strangulation claims.

Supreme Court sets aside bail granted to accused with multiple FIRs, forged IDs, and history of absconding, emphasizing that parity cannot override criminal record and societal risk.

Supreme Court strikes down preferential housing allotments to governing body members, upholding transparency and equal opportunity in public-interest societies.

Supreme Court strikes down preferential housing allotments to governing body members, upholding transparency and non-arbitrariness in public-spirited societies.

Supreme Court holds that Section 27 of the Evidence Act requires accused to be in police custody at time of disclosure; DNA match and last seen theory insufficient without corroborative chain.

Supreme Court holds that spectrum, as a public natural resource held in trust, cannot be subjected to IBC proceedings; ownership remains with the Union, not TSPs.

Supreme Court holds that long-serving casual workers with perennial duties, similarly situated to regularized peers, are entitled to regularization despite procedural lapses under Uma Devi doctrine.

Supreme Court holds that conviction under E.C. Act requires proof of a subsisting statutory order on the date of offence; decontrol renders prosecution unsustainable.

Supreme Court holds that district cricket associations are not legally bound to mirror BCCI's constitution, clarifying limits of judicial intervention in sports governance.

Supreme Court holds that State Eligibility Test for Higher Secondary School Teachers must be in the concerned subject, not any subject, under Kerala Education Rules.

Supreme Court holds that dismissal for forgery in disciplinary proceedings requires handwriting expert verification; failure to do so renders findings perverse.

Supreme Court holds that employees of Heavy Water Plant under DAE are excluded from Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 as they are governed by CCS Pension Rules, reinforcing statutory exclusions.