Justice Surya Kant

Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai vs Pankaj Babulal Kotecha 2025 INSC 792 - Environmental Law - Delayed Grievances - Public Trust Doctrine

Environmental Law - Environmental grievances must be raised promptly when alleged violations commence, not after transformative changes have materialized and become entrenched. (Para 19) [Context: SC set aside High Court’s direction to restore the Subject Property to its original condition as a pond and observed: Though made with laudable

Constitutional Law

Kamla Nehru Memorial Trust vs U.P. State Industrial Development Corporation Limited 2025 INSC 791 - Legal Notice - Land Allotment - Public Trust Doctrine

❓What are the essential elements of a legal notice? Legal Notice - The essential elements of a legal notice would include: a. It should contain a clear and concise set of facts which convey the information leading to the relevant circumstances. This element is also fulfilled when reference is made

Human Rights Act

Arif Md. Yeasin Jwadder vs State of Assam 2025 INSC 785 - Fake Encounters

Fake encounters - Fake encounters are extra-judicial killings and must be subject to strict legal scrutiny- Referred to (Para 13)the use of excessive or unlawful force by public authorities, irrespective of the nature of the offence or the antecedents of the victim, cannot be condoned or legitimised on any

Contempt Of Court

Bindu Kapurea vs Subhashish Panda 2025 INSC 784- Contempt Of Court

Constitution of India - Article 129 - Supreme Court, being a court of record, is vested with inherent powers to punish contempt-These broad- ranging powers are not merely procedural but are central to preserving the dignity, authority, and effective functioning of the judiciary. In fact, the contempt powers are integral

Education Matters

State of Kerala vs Principal, KMCT Medical College 2025 INSC 518 - Kerala Medical Education -Corpus Fund

Kerala Medical Education (Regulation and Control of Admission to Private Medical Educational Institutions) Act, 2017 - Kerala HC judgment quashing Government Order (MS) No. 107/2018/H&FWD dated 06.06.2018 upheld - If the State seeks to establish a corpus fund or any other such mechanism to

Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996

South Delhi Municipal Corporation of Delhi vs SMS Limited 2025 INSC 693 - Valid Arbitration Agreement -Elemental Test

Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996 - Section 7 - A dispute resolution clause may only rise to the level of a valid arbitration clause or agreement when it signifies a clear intent to arbitrate, entails a binding adjudicatory process, and contemplates compliance with general arbitral norms. i. Clear Intent to

Criminal

Harpreet Singh Talwar @ Kabir Talwar vs State of Gujarat 2025 INSC 662 - S.43D(5) UAPA - Bail

Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 1967 - Section 43D(5) - The court, at the stage of bail is not required to meticulously examine the admissibility and reliability of evidence. The degree of satisfaction required under this provision has to be lower than the proof beyond reasonable doubt, but must still

Code Of Civil Procedure

Tushar Himatlal Jani vs Jasbir Singh Vijan 2025 INSC 663 - Order XXXIX CPC- Interim Injunctions

Code of Civil Procedure 1908 - Order XXXIX - Before granting an interim injunction, the Court must satisfy itself of three essential prerequisites: firstly, the existence of a prima facie case in favour of the applicant evincing a reasonable probability of success at trial; secondly, that the balance of convenience

Land Acquisition Act 1894

Krishan Kumar vs State of Haryana 2025 INSC 638 - Land Acquisition - Belting & Comparable Sales Method - Development Cut & Collector’s Rates

Krishan Kumar vs State of Haryana - Land Acquisition - Belting & Comparable Sales Method - Development Cut Land Acquisition - Adacent lands or villages possessing similar potential and advantages must be compensated equitably, unless distinctions are clearly and substantially justified. (Para 14) The ‘belting method’ is a recognized technique

Land Acquisition Act 1894

Barla Ram Reddy vs State of Telangana 2025 INSC 531 - Land Acquisition -Sale Instances & Market Value

Land Acquisition Act 18994 - Section 23- The computation of compensation for acquisition must be guided by the “market value of the land as on the date of publication of the Section 4 notification” - ‘Market value’ to represent ‘the price that a willing buyer would pay to a willing

Criminal

Janshruti (People's Voice) vs Union Of India 2025 INSC 536 - S. 498A IPC - Constitutional Validity Upheld

Indian Penal Code 1860 - Section 498A : Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 - Section 84 - Constitutional Validity upheld -While it is acknowledged that certain individuals may face hardship due to the misuse of the provision, it is equally important to look beyond these instances and recognize that the provision serves

IPR

Cryogas Equipment Private Limited vs Inox India Limited 2025 INSC 483 - Copyright Act - Design Act

Copyright Act - Section 15(2) ; Designs Act - There may be some designs that could be entitled to copyright protection, and conversely, there can be certain artistic works which lose their copyright protection when industrially applied (Para 17)- The original artistic work, which initially enjoys copyright protection, does

Constitutional Law

Siddharth Dalmia vs Union Of India 2025 INSC 351 - PIL Against Exploitation By Private Hospitals

Constitution of India - Article 21 - The provision of medical facilities to one and all is an essential component of the right to life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution - PIL seeking direction to restrain private hospitals from compelling the patients to purchase medicines/ devices/ implants/ consumables

Criminal

State Of Himachal Pradesh vs Rajesh Kumar @ Munnu 2025 INSC 331 - Rape Cases - Non-Allowance Of Medical Examination By Rape-Victim

Indian Penal Code 1860 - Section 376 - Non- allowance of medical examination by an alleged rape- victim raises negative inferences against them. (Para 10) 2025 INSC 331 State Of Himachal Pradesh vs Rajesh Kumar @ Munnu - Rape Cases - Non-Allowance Of Medical Examination By Rape-Victim2025 INSC 331 State Of

Civil Law

Tomorrowland Limited vs Housing and Urban Development Corporation Limited 2025 INSC 207 - S 34 CPC - Award Of Interest - Contract - Equity - Commercial Disputes

Code of Civil Procedure 1908 - Section 34 - The award of interest is a discretionary exercise steeped in equitable considerations - The power to award interest ought to be exercised judiciously, aligning with equitable considerations and also ensuring neither undue enrichment nor unfair deprivation. Courts are duty-bound to assess

Miscellaneous

Union of India vs Tarsem Singh 2025 INSC 146 - S 3J National Highways Act

National Highways Act, 1956 - Section 3J - In Union of India & Anr. v. Tarsem Singh, SC held that Section 3J of the NHAI Act, by excluding the applicability of the 1894 Act and thereby denying ‘solatium’ and ‘interest’ for lands acquired under the NHAI Act, is violative of

Indian Evidence Act 1872 : Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023

Ivan Rathinam vs Milan Joseph 2025 INSC 115 - S 112 Evidence Act - DNA Test - S 7 Family Courts Act

Indian Evidence Act - Section 112 -Legitimacy determines paternity under Section 112 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, until the presumption is successfully rebutted by proving ‘non-access’ (Para 70) The contention that ‘paternity’ and ‘legitimacy’ are distinct or independent concepts is a misdirected notion - An ‘additional’ access or ‘multiple’