Supreme Court Daily Digest [20 December 2025]

Managing Director, M.P. State Agricultural Marketing Board v. Harpal Singh; 2025 INSC 1490 - Compassionate Appointment

Compassionate Appointment - The policy of compassionate appointment is not a concession, largesse or mercy shown to hapless dependents of a deceased employee, but a structured response of the State to ensure that the death of an employee does not mark the beginning of economic calamity for those left behind (Para 11)- a narrow or mechanical construction of the rules governing compassionate appointment cannot be permitted to override the welfare-oriented purpose of the scheme. Where a procedural rigidity ceases to advance the humanitarian intent of the policy and instead operates as an obstacle to its effective implementation, such a procedure must be construed liberally to ensure that justice is not sacrificed at the altar of technicality.(Para 17) -Compassionate appointment, being a narrowly tailored welfare measure, stands on a distinct footing and does not militate against the principles governing open competition in public employment. (Para 19)

Chandra Prakash Gupta v. Shanti Devi (D) 2025 INSC 1489 - Tenancy Matters

Tenancy Matters - While allowing appeal, SC held: When there is no conclusion recorded regarding the default, there could not have been an eviction ordered. The challenge made against the revisional order could not have been disposed of without substituting the deceased-respondent/tenant with his LR’s. The order passed against the deceased tenant is non est. 

Uppaluri Eswaramma v. State of Andhra Pradesh 2025 INSC 1488 - Doctrine Of Merger - Fraud Vitiates Everything

Law of Precedents - There is no merger of the judgment of the High Court, if the SLP has been rejected without any observation on merits, in which event, the parties before the High Court could exercise their right to seek review. (Para 9)

Fraud - ‘fraud vitiates everything’; even a judgment obtained from a competent court based on such fraud perpetrated. (Para 13)

Kousik Pal v. B.M. Birla Heart Research Centre 2025 INSC 1487 - West Bengal Clinical Establishments (Registration, Regulation and Transparency) Act

West Bengal Clinical Establishments (Registration, Regulation and Transparency) Act, 2017 - Commission in its jurisdiction would have the power to ensure that the personnel employed by clinical establishments are in accordance with the requirements laid down, thereby, complying with the benchmark - The definition of ‘service provider’ given in the Act applies to both a medical doctor and other paramedical professional - he power to grant compensation as is given under this Act, is separate and distinct from the power of the State Medical Council to examine the presence or absence of medical negligence on the part of a professional, and it nowhere interferes with the power of the State Medical Council to adjudicate the complaints of medical negligence.  (Para 13-14)

Amit Arya v. Kamlesh Kumari; 2025 INSC 1486 - S.28 Specific Relief Act - Doctrine Of Merger

Specific Relief Act - Section 28 - The power to extend the time granted within the decree for performance of its conditions can be extended on such terms as the Court may deem fit- However, such non-grant of extension of time cannot, in our view, be the end of the transaction. (Para 7)

Doctrine of merger - The doctrine of merger means that at one point in time, only one decree can subsist. The doctrine of merger is founded on the rationale that there cannot be more than one operative decree at a given point of time. The doctrine of merger applies irrespective of whether the appellate court has affirmed, modified or reversed the decree of the trial court - when a higher forum entertains an appeal on merits, the doctrine of merger would apply. (Para 9-12)

Tarachandra v. Bhawarlal 2025 INSC 1485 - Will - Mutation - MP Land Revenue Code

Madhya Pradesh Land Revenue Code, 1959 - There is nothing in the 1959 Code proscribing acquisition of rights in land through a will. As a sequitur, if a will is set up, the application for mutation based thereupon will have to be considered on merits and it cannot be rejected merely because it is based on a will. (Para 15) Mutation - Mutation does not confer any right, title or interest on a person. Mutation in the revenue records is only for fiscal purposes , therefore, where there is no serious dispute raised by any natural legal heir, if any, of the tenure holder, in absence of any legal bar, mutation based on a will should not be denied as it would defeat the interest of Revenue. (Para 19)

Syed Shahnawaz Ali v. State of Madhya Pradesh 2025 INSC 1484 - CrPC/BNSS - Criminal Revision - Abatement - Substitution

Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 - Section 397 -401 - The law of abatement that applies to an appeal does not apply to a revision proceeding, more particularly when revision is not at the instance of an accused - Where the revision is at the instance of an accused/convict, the revisional court may refuse to continue the proceedings on his death, inter alia, where (a) the revisional proceeding emanates from an order passed during trial; or (b) the revisional proceeding is against an order of conviction, or affirmance of conviction. In situation (a) (supra), on death of accused the trial would abate and so would ancillary proceedings emanating therefrom. In situation (b) (supra), the sentence or fine cannot be executed against a dead person, therefore, in absence of any application from a person seeking leave to pursue the revision, the court may terminate the proceedings as having abated. However, where the revision is at the instance of an informant or a complainant, on his death, the proceedings will not abate and, therefore, revisional court may exercise its discretion and proceed to test the correctness, legality or propriety of an order passed by the court subordinate to it. (Para 17) Once a revision is entertained, the Court exercising revisional power has discretion to proceed with the revision and test the correctness, legality or propriety of the order under challenge before it, regardless of the death of the person who had invoked the revisional jurisdiction. However, while doing so, the Court may, in its discretion, allow a person to assist it in discharge of its statutory functions provided that person has no conflict of interest. In that context, a victim of the crime would ordinarily be the most suitable person to provide assistance because of his interest in overturning a decision that went against him- When revisional powers are invoked by a victim of the crime, and he dies during pendency of the revision, other victims of that crime, who fall within the scope of its definition, as provided in Section 2 (wa) of Cr.P.C., may be allowed to assist the Court in effectively discharging its statutory function. In that regard, the Court would be well within its jurisdiction in granting leave to such a person to pursue the revision. However, in absence of a provision for substitution, though a person may not have a legal right to claim substitution as a revisionist, there is no legal restriction on revisional court’s power in allowing a person to assist the Court in furthering the cause of justice, more particularly, when strict rule of locus does not apply to a criminal revision. (Para 18)

Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 - Section 397-401 - Revisional Powers - (a) revisional power under Cr.P.C. is a discretionary power, the exercise of which cannot be claimed as of right; (b) exercise of revisional power is not entirely dependent on who petitions the Court, inasmuch as it can be exercised suo motu; (c) the role of the revisionist is essentially that of a person who invites attention of the Court that an occasion to exercise the revisional power has arisen; (d) once a Rule is issued, ordinarily, that Rule has to be heard and determined in accordance with law, whether or not the petitioner is alive or dead, or whether he is represented in court by a legal practitioner; and (e) the Court while exercising revisional power discharges a statutory function of supervising the administration of justice on the criminal side and in furtherance thereof examines the correctness, legality or propriety of an order passed by the court subordinate to it. (Para 15) Though the strict rule of locus may not apply for invocation of that power, the court must be circumspect in entertaining petitions at the behest of complete strangers to the dispute, otherwise the discretionary power may become a tool in the hands of those who, though have suffered no injury, have an axe to grind. Therefore, in our view, to ensure that revisional power is not abused by those who have an axe to grind, the definition of a victim, contained in Section 2(wa) of the Code, may be used as a guide to determine whether a revision should be entertained at the instance of the person who has invoked the revisional power. (Para 16)

Lakshmanan v. State 2025 INSC 1483 - S.15A SC-ST Act - Bail -S.219 CrPC

Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act - Section 15A - Section 15A(5) incorporates the principle of audi alteram partem for victims under the SC/ST (POA) Act. Where such a right is conferred, the Court must provide the victim or their dependent an opportunity of audience, either personally or through counsel, including the Special Public Prosecutor. The statutory right to be heard presupposes that the victim is made aware of the proceedings and is not excluded therefrom- The provision guarantees an opportunity to be heard, not a right to a favourable outcome or to a detailed adjudication of every objection raised by the victim. Once the victim has been notified, permitted to participate, and allowed to place objections on record, the statutory mandate stands satisfied-Cancellation of bail on the ground of violation of Section 15A(5) is justified only in cases where no notice of the bail proceedings was served upon the victim, the victim was completely excluded from the proceedings, or the 20 victim was denied any opportunity of audience. In such circumstances, the violation strikes at the root of jurisdiction and renders the bail order legally unsustainable. However, bail cannot be cancelled merely because the court did not accept the victim’s submissions, the bail order does not specifically deal with or rebut each objection raised, or the victim alleges that the hearing was “mechanical” despite having been granted an opportunity - Courts, particularly at the stage of bail, are required only to form a prima facie view and bail orders are not expected to contain elaborate or exhaustive reasoning. Section 15A(5) does not mandate a detailed analysis or express rejection of every submission advanced by the victim. (Para 11)

Bail - Pendency of civil litigation neither dilutes criminal liability nor overrides considerations of gravity, antecedents, or witness safety. Reliance on the civil nature of the dispute, without addressing the serious criminal dimensions of the case, constitutes a misdirection in law. (Para 12.4)

Code of Criminal Procedure 1973- Section 219 [Section 242 BNSS] - Joinder of charges as an exception and not as the rule - separate trial is the norm, and joint trial is permissible only where the offences form part of the same transaction or where the statutory conditions under Sections 219 to 223 Cr.P.C (and corresponding BNSS provisions) are satisfied. This Court further held that even where statutory conditions permitting a joint trial are fulfilled, the conduct of a joint trial is a matter of judicial discretion and not compulsion. The decision must ordinarily be taken at the beginning of the trial, and must be guided by two paramount considerations, namely, whether a joint trial would cause prejudice to the accused and whether it would result in delay or wastage of judicial time. It was also emphasised that evidence recorded in one trial cannot be automatically imported into another and that procedural complications may arise if distinct trials are improperly clubbed. (Para 13)

Bhika Ram vs State of Rajasthan 2025 INSC 1482 - Policy Decision - Binding Nature

Constitution of India - Article 14- A policy decision though executive in nature binds the Government, and the Government cannot act contrary thereto, unless the policy is lawfully amended or withdrawn. Any action taken in derogation of such a policy, without amendment or valid justification, is arbitrary and violative of Article 14 of the Constitution of India. [Context: SC restored HC Single Bench order quashing notification naming Revenue Villages as Amargarh and Sagatsar holding that these names were derived from the names of individuals, namely Amarram and Sagat Singh]

Sharp Business System v. Commissioner of Income Tax-III; 2025 INSC 1481 - S.37 Income Tax Act - Non Compete Fee

Income Tax Act, 1961 -Section 37- Any expenditure incurred wholly and exclusively for the purposes of the business shall be allowed in computing the income chargeable under the head ‘profits and gains of business or profession.’ For such an expenditure to be allowed, it should fulfill the following criteria: i) it should not be an expenditure described in Sections 30 to 36; ii) it should not be in the nature of capital expenditure or personal expenses of the assessee - Such expenditure should be incurred during the previous year relevant to the assessment year under consideration -the length of time over which the enduring advantage may enure to the payer is not determinative of the nature of expenditure. As long as the enduring advantage is not in the capital field, where the advantage merely facilitates in carrying on the business more efficiently and profitably, leaving the fixed assets untouched, the payment made to secure such advantage would be an allowable business expenditure, irrespective of the period over which the advantage may accrue to the payer (assessee) by incurring of such expenditure.(Para 27)

Non-compete fee - Non-compete fee is paid by one party to another to restrain the latter from competing with the payer in the same line of business. It may be by way of a written agreement or by an oral understanding. The restriction may be limited to a specified territory or otherwise; similarly, it can be for a specified period or otherwise. Purpose of non-compete payment is to give a head start to the business of the payer. It can also be for the purpose of protecting the business of the payer or for enhancing the profitability of the business of the payer by insulating the payer from competition. on-compete fee only seeks to protect or enhance the profitability of the business, thereby facilitating the carrying on of the business more efficiently and profitably. Such payment neither results in creation of any new asset nor accretion to the profit earning apparatus of the payer. The enduring advantage, if any, by restricting a competitor in business, is not in the capital field(Para 25)

Income Tax Act, 1961 -Section 36 - Assessee is entitled to claim allowance of interest on the funds invested in sister concern for acquiring of controlling interest - The advances were made to the sister concern and its directors would also be covered by the principle of commercial expediency. (Para 39-40)

Union of India vs Pranab Kumar Nath; 2025 INSC 1479 - CISF Rules - Disqualification - Disciplinary Proceedings

CISF Rules, 2001 - Chapter IV - Section 18- Disqualification - Rules are premised on an institutional requirement for all members of the force(s) to maintain the highest standards of discipline, public confidence and integrity. It is generally understood that acts, whether in personal or professional life, if they involve the possibility of domestic discord, financial vulnerability or divided responsibilities, they have the potential to adversely impact operational efficacy given mental/psychological stability is key. It is also to be noted that these rules are not a moral censure, but simply a service condition, which, it need not be stated, an employer is perfectly within their rights to prescribe, so long as such conditions are not arbitrary, disproportionate or violative of constitutional protections, which in any event stand taken before us. For instance, where the personal law applicable to a service member permits either polygamy or polyandry or the first marriage of such a service member was void, voidable or the like, then, regulation by the employer without due regard therefor would step into the undesirable realms of overregulation, removed from the paramount interests of service discipline. (Para 7)

Constitution of India - Article 226 - Disciplinary Proceedings - Under Article 226 jurisdiction, the court is not akin to an appellate Court, its powers are limited to the extent of judicial review. They cannot set aside punishment or impose a different punishment unless they find that there is substantial non-compliance of the rules.  (Para 8)

Interpretation of Statutes -Any provision of law or rule framed under a statute prescribing penal consequences, has to be strictly construed for the conditions that can trigger such a clause must be flowing from the words employed therein. When such a rule presents any ambiguity, the interpretation which favours the person sought to be penalised, is to be preferred. (Para 9)

Legal Maxim - Dura lex sed lex - “The law is hard, but it is the law” - Inconvenience or unpleasant consequences of violation of law cannot detract from the prescription of the law. (Para 9)

Patchaiperumal @ Patchikutti & Anr. v. State 2025 INSC 1478 - Evaluation Of Testimony Of Witnesses

Criminal Trial - Witnesses - When oral evidence of eye-witnesses is scrutinised, especially when certain alterations of their previous statements appear during the trial, the court is normally required to focus on the factors of consistency (whether the current statements match the previous statements), 19 credibility (whether they are reliable, or are there reasons to doubt them), corroboration (whether there is other evidence on record supporting their testimony) and motive (whether there is a reason for them to change their version). Should there be discrepancies or contradictions that are glaring, their testimony has to be viewed as suspect. Since, however, the goal of the criminal justice system is to secure justice for both the victim and the accused, each case has to be evaluated on its own merits, appreciating and analysing all the evidence that is presented. Evaluating testimony of witnesses in the Indian context, acknowledging human imperfections and contextual factors - While looking at statements of witnesses given in court, every detail need not be nitpicked; the overall impact that the testimony generates has to be considered. Witnesses are prone to forget events and things; they are likely to exaggerate or even have motives to change their story. This seems to be normal especially for uneducated witnesses who might struggle to describe events perfectly (Para 34- 37)- The witnesses add embroidery to the prosecution story, perhaps for the fear of being disbelieved- any embroidery found cannot per se be a ground for throwing the prosecution case overboard, if there is a ring of truth in the main. It is the duty of the court to sift the grain from the chaff unless there is reason to believe that the inconsistencies or falsehood are so glaring as utterly to destroy confidence in the witnesses. (Para 50)

Evidence - Hostile Witness - The evidence of a hostile witness would not be outright rejected but would rather have to be subjected to closer scrutiny. (Para 42)

Ratnank Mishra v. High Court of Judicature at Allahabad; 2025 INSC 1477 - Administrative Functioning of High Courts - Equality & Fairness

Constitution of India - Article 14,16,21 - Administrative Functioning of High Courts - High Courts, being Constitutional Courts entrusted to uphold equality and fairness, are expected to encompass such principles within their own administrative functioning as well, and must exemplify the standards of a model employer. Such principles are at the risk of being undermined when discriminatory treatment is meted out to employees similarly situated within the same establishment. Such actions pose grave threat to the sacrosanct principles of nonarbitrariness and reasonableness as enshrined under Articles 14, 16 and 21 of the Constitution of India. (Para 29)

Mayankkumar Natwarlal Kankana Patel vs State of Gujarat 2025 INSC 1475 - S.311 CrPC - Minor Witness Recall

Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 - Section 311- Though the power under Section 311 is wide, it is to be exercised sparingly and only when the evidence sought is indispensable for arriving at the truth. [Context: High Court allowed Section 311 CrPC application seeking permission to examine the minor daughter of the deceased, as a prosecution witness - Allowing appeal, SC observed: child was of a very tender age at the time of the incident. More than seven years have elapsed since then. Memory at such a young age is vulnerable to distortion and external influence. The fact that the child has been residing with her maternal grandparents throughout this period raises a reasonable apprehension of tutoring. This significantly affects the reliability and evidentiary value of her proposed testimony-The application was filed after examination of 21 prosecution witnesses and at an advanced stage of trial.  Allowing the examination of the child witness would only protract the trial and cause prejudice to the accused.] (Para 10)

K.P. Kirankumar @ Kiran v. State ; 2025 INSC 1473 - Minor Victim - Immoral Trafficking

Criminal Trial - Minor Victim of Trafficking - Evidence - While appreciating the evidence of a minor victim of trafficking, the Court ought to bear in mind: i. Her inherent socio-economic and, at times, cultural vulnerability when the minor belongs to a marginalised or socially and culturally backward community. ii. Complex and layered structure of organised crime networks which operate at various levels of recruiting, transporting, harbouring and exploiting minor victims. Such organised crime activities operate as apparently independent verticals whose insidious intersections are conveniently veiled through subterfuges and deception to hoodwink innocent victims. Such diffused and apparently disjoint manner in which the crime verticals operate in areas of recruitment, transportation, harbouring and exploitation make it difficult, if not impossible for the victim, to narrate with precision and clarity the interplay of these processes as tentacles of an organised crime activity to which she falls prey. Given this situation, failure to promptly protest against ostensibly innocuous yet ominous agenda of the trafficker ought not to be treated as a ground to discard a victim’s version as improbable or against ordinary human conduct. iii. Recounting and narration of the horrible spectre of sexual exploitation even before law enforcement agencies and the Court is an unpalatable experience leading to secondary victimisation. This is more acute when the victim is a minor and is faced with threats of criminal intimidation, fear of retaliation, social stigma and paucity of social and economic rehabilitation. In this backdrop, judicial appreciation of victim’s evidence must be marked by sensitivity and realism. iv. If on such nuanced appreciation, the version of the victim appears to be credible and convincing, a conviction may be maintained on her sole testimony. A victim of sex trafficking, particularly a minor, is not an accomplice and her deposition is to be given due regard and credence as that of an injured witness. 

Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 - Section 15 - At the time of search, the police officer shall call upon two or more respectable inhabitants of the locality, including a woman (who may not be a member of the locality) to attend and witness the search and may issue an order in writing to such persons to do so- Infraction of such provision is an irregularity and does not per se vitiate the trial unless it is shown that there has been a failure of justice. (Para 16)

Age Determination - Date of birth recorded in the certificate from the school first attended by the victim would take precedence over medical opinion i.e. ossification test - Age determined through ossification test is a mere approximation and cannot be held to have better probative value than a certificate issued by the school. 

Belide Swagath Kumar v. State of Telangana & Anr., 2025 INSC 1471 - S.498A IPC - Financial Dominance Of Husband - Lack Of Care

Indian Penal Code 1860 - Section 498A - The monetary and financial dominance of the accused as alleged by the complainant cannot qualify as an instance of cruelty, especially in the absence of any tangible mental or physical harm caused. The said situation is a mirror reflection of the Indian society where men of the households often try to dominate and take charge of the finances of the women but criminal litigation cannot become a gateway or a tool to settle scores and pursue personal vendettas - Lack of care on the part of the husband-accused during pregnancy and postpartum and constant taunts about her afterbirth weight at best reflect poorly upon the character of the accused but the same cannot amount to cruelty - The term “cruelty” cannot be established without specific instances. The tendency of invoking these sections, without mentioning any specific details, weakens the case of prosecution and casts serious aspersions on the viability of the version of the complainant - In such cases involving allegations of cruelty and harassment, there would normally be a series of offending acts, which would be required to be spelt out by the complainant against perpetrators in specific terms to involve such perpetrators into the criminal proceedings sought to be initiated against them and therefore mere general allegations of harassment without pointing out the specifics against such persons would not be sufficient to continue criminal proceedings. (Para 23-24)