B PARDIWALA

The case arose from a murder investigation where the FIR named nine persons, but the police filed a charge sheet against only three, filing a closure report for the remaining six. Based on oral eyewitness testimony, the first informant applied under Section 319 CrPC to have the six dropped co-accused added as accused; …

The petitioners, who claim to be subsequent purchasers of a suit property, challenged a High Court order directing the execution court to grant possession to the decree‑holders (plaintiffs) in a suit for specific performance of a sale agreement. The trial court had decreed specific performance but did not expressly awa…

The respondents owned an 85‑year‑old dilapidated house on Ansari Road and applied in 2010 to the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) to dismantle it and rebuild a new residential dwelling. After the corporation failed to act, the respondents obtained a deemed sanction of their plans from the MCD Tribunal under Sec…

The appellant Balvir Singh was convicted of murder under s.302 IPC and dowry harassment under s.498A IPC, while his mother‑in‑law Maheshwari Devi was convicted of s.498A IPC read with s.34 IPC. The prosecution proved that the victim died from aluminium phosphide poisoning, a fumigant not explainable by her heart medica…

The petitioner, Sarvesh Mathur, filed a writ petition under Article 32 challenging the denial of video‑conferencing and hybrid hearing facilities by High Courts and tribunals. The Supreme Court examined the widespread variation in adoption of technology, the absence of uniform SOPs, arbitrary age restrictions, lack of …

The Gujarat High Court recorded an undertaking, made by counsel on behalf of the respondents, that certain property would not be sold until the main petition was decided. Despite this, the appellants executed multiple sale deeds in favour of various purchasers, breaching the undertaking. The High Court held the appella…

The appellant was convicted under several provisions of the IPC, the POCSO Act and the SC/ST Atrocities Act and sentenced to a maximum of four years’ rigorous imprisonment, to run concurrently. While his appeal against conviction was pending before the Allahabad High Court, he filed an application under Section 389 of …

The plaintiff, the owner of a premises, sued the defendant, the son of the original tenant, for recovery of possession. In his written statement the defendant unequivocally admitted that his father was the sole tenant and that the plaintiff was the owner, and that rent had been paid till May 2021. Relying on these admi…

The appellants Jamin and Akil were summoned as accused under Section 319 of the CrPC after the original murder trial had concluded and the co‑accused were convicted. They challenged the summoning order, arguing that the trial court could not entertain a Section 319 application after the trial and that the High Court ha…

Shri Sendhur Agro & Oil Industries, a proprietorship based in Coimbatore, defaulted on an overdraft facility and Kotak Mahindra Bank filed a complaint under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act in the Judicial Magistrate Court at Chandigarh. The petitioner sought transfer of the criminal case to a court in Tam…

The petitioners, Amit Kumar and others, filed an interlocutory application in Criminal Appeal No. 1425 of 2025 seeking the appointment of Dr. T.C.A. Anant, former Chief Statistician of India, as a Technical Consultant to the National Task Force tasked with analysing survey data on student mental health and suicide prev…

The Supreme Court heard a miscellaneous application filed by amicus curiae Ms. Jayna Kothari seeking the inclusion of Ms. Aparna Mehrotra, Senior Associate of the Centre for Law and Policy Research, as a member of the Advisory Committee constituted on 17 October 2025 to address the concerns of the transgender community…

The appellant, an individual with salary and partnership income, filed his income‑tax returns for AY 2011‑12 and AY 2013‑14 well after the statutory due dates, attracting show‑cause notices under section 276CC of the Income Tax Act. He sought compounding of the offences under the 2014 Guidelines; the first application …

The appellant was convicted under Section 20(b)(ii)(c) of the NDPS Act for possession of ganja and appealed on the ground that the trial was vitiated by non‑compliance with Section 52A, which governs inventory, sampling and magistrate certification of seized narcotics. The Supreme Court examined the legislative purpose…

A constable of the Border Security Force was dismissed after pleading guilty before a Summary Security Force Court (SSFC) to an allegation that he photographed a lady doctor while she bathed. The constable challenged the dismissal, arguing that the plea of guilty was obtained without complying with procedural safeguard…

The appellants Harilal and Parasram were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for murder under Section 302 IPC based on the testimony of two eye‑witnesses and the seizure of a lathi and clothes allegedly belonging to them. The Supreme Court examined the credibility of the witnesses, noting that the FIR was lodg…

The petition challenged the order of the trial court and the High Court that summoned Kallu Nat alias Mayank Kumar Nagar as an accused under Section 193 of the CrPC in a murder‑rape case, despite his name being omitted from the charge‑sheet. The core issue was whether a Court of Session, after a case is committed to it…

The Odisha State Financial Corporation (OSFC) financed a bleaching powder unit that defaulted, leading to its possession of the unit and subsequent litigation. Respondent Vigyan Chemical Industries sued the defaulting borrower and later impleaded OSFC, claiming repayment with interest calculated under the repealed Inte…

The appellants obtained a decree for specific performance and possession of a suit property against the vendors, but the vendors failed to execute the sale deed. The appellants sought execution of the decree, while the respondents (nephews of the vendors) claimed to be cultivating tenants and objected to the delivery o…

The case involved a dispute in which the deceased Prem Lal was assaulted by his brother Pyare Singh and two friends, Sita Ram and Onkar, who struck him on the head with a sickle (darat) and beat him. The victim later lodged an FIR himself, was hospitalized, developed gastroenteritis and died nine days later; the post‑m…

The dispute arose from a Leave and License Agreement between Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd. and Santosh Cordeiro, which contained an arbitration clause in Clause 33. The respondent filed a Section 11 application under the Arbitration & Conciliation Act, 1996 seeking appointment of a sole arbitrator, which the Hi…

The appellant, Bhagheeratha Engineering Ltd., was awarded four road‑maintenance contracts under the Kerala State Transport Project and, after disputes over payments, referred the matters to an adjudicator under the contract’s General Conditions. The adjudicator decided in favour of the appellant on two disputes and aga…

The appellants, a consortium formed by Bhadra International (India) Pvt. Ltd. and Novia International Consulting Aps, entered into a license agreement with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) that provided for arbitration by a sole arbitrator appointed by the AAI Chairman. After disputes arose in 2015, the AAI unilat…

The appellant, an Additional District Judge with 27 years of unblemished service, was removed from service after a departmental inquiry relied solely on four bail orders in which he allegedly failed to refer to Section 59‑A of the Madhya Pradesh Excise Act. A complaint alleged that the judge took bribes through his ste…

The respondents, co‑owners of a 42‑room residential building in Bangalore, leased the property to a company which sub‑let it as a hostel for students and working professionals. The respondents sought an advance ruling that the rent received was exempt from GST under Entry 13 of Notification 9/2017, which provides exemp…

Operation Asha, a not‑for‑profit society registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, provides health services to the under‑privileged. After the society’s CEO terminated co‑founder Dr. Shelly Batra, she and her mother filed a suit under Section 92 of the Code of Civil Procedure alleging financial impropriety…

The appellant, Narayan Yadav, lodged a First Information Report (FIR) in which he confessed to killing Ram Babu Sharma during a drunken quarrel. The trial court convicted him of murder under Section 302 IPC, a conviction later altered by the High Court to culpable homicide not amounting to murder under Section 304 Part…

The petitioner challenged the High Court of Madhya Pradesh's rejection of his application to recall a witness under Order 18 Rule 17 of the CPC. The Supreme Court examined the scope of that rule, noting that it confers a power exclusively on the court trying the suit to recall and re‑examine a witness, and that parties…

The appellant, a construction contractor, entered into a contract with the Rajasthan Housing Board for the construction of houses and later claimed non‑payment of escalation costs. Clause 23 of the contract provided for a Standing Committee to settle disputes, but the Board failed to constitute such a committee, prompt…

The parties, Ankhim Holdings and Zaveri Construction, formed a partnership to develop an SRA project and later fell into dispute. The Bombay High Court appointed an arbitrator under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 to resolve the dispute. While arbitration was pending, the respondent was admitted to corporate…

The Cosmos Co. Operative Bank Ltd. (appellant) challenged a High Court order that held Central Bank of India (respondent No.1) had the first charge over a flat mortgaged by the original borrowers. Both banks had received security documents: the appellant bank held the share certificate of ownership, while the responden…

The deceased, Rajeev Jain, a 23‑year employee of Hindustan Lever Ltd., committed suicide on 3 November 2006 after a meeting where senior officers allegedly humiliated him and forced him to accept a lower‑grade posting under a Voluntary Retirement Scheme. The appellants, senior officers of the company, were charged unde…

The respondents filed a suit for specific performance of a 2005 sale agreement, which was eventually decreed by the appellate court directing the appellants to execute the sale deed upon payment of the balance consideration. While the execution application was pending, the appellants sought rescission of the contract u…

The appellant, Vaibhav Motors, was a dealer of Hindustan Motors and was sued for compensation after a Hindustan Motors employee died in a test‑drive accident involving a vehicle that had not been sold to the dealer. The key question was whether the dealer could be deemed the "owner" of the vehicle and thus jointly liab…

Javed Gulam Nabi Shaikh was arrested in February 2020 with a large consignment of counterfeit currency and charged under Sections 489B, 489C, 120B read with 34 of the IPC and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. The investigation was taken over by the NIA and, after four years of custody, the trial court had…

The appellant, Achin Gupta, was the sole accused in a chargesheet under IPC sections 323, 406, 498A and 506 arising from an FIR filed by his wife alleging dowry demands and cruelty. The FIR was lodged in April 2021, more than two years after the husband had filed a divorce petition and after the wife’s mother filed a d…

The petitioner, Devinder Kumar Bansal, an Audit Inspector, was alleged to have demanded and facilitated a bribe during an audit of development work while the complainant's wife served as Sarpanch, with co‑accused Prithvi Singh collecting the money on his behalf. An FIR was lodged under Section 7 of the Prevention of Co…

The dispute concerned a 2,005‑sq‑m parcel in Malad, Mumbai, originally declared a slum and reserved as Recreational Ground under the 1991 Development Plan. Jyoti Builders (appellant) claimed that the 2015 order of the CEO‑SRA required the State Government to acquire the land under s.14(1) of the Maharashtra Slum Areas …

The appellant, the original complainant, filed an FIR for murder and related offences, after which the accused was released on bail by the High Court with specific conditions prohibiting intimidation of witnesses. Subsequent FIRs alleged that the accused threatened a key witness, prompting the appellant to seek cancell…

The appellant Rajan was convicted for murder under Sections 302/34 of the IPC and Sections 25 and 27 of the Arms Act based primarily on the ocular testimony of two eyewitnesses, despite the alleged firearm not being recovered. He appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing that the High Court’s delay of two years and five m…

The appellant, Kishore Balkrishna Nand, filed a written complaint with the Sub‑Divisional Magistrate alleging that the respondent had encroached land and set up a shop that caused nuisance. The respondent subsequently lodged a private defamation complaint before a Judicial Magistrate, relying on the appellant's complai…

Wazir Khan was charged under Sections 302 and 201 IPC for the murder of his wife, Bushra, whose body bore 17 incised wounds. The trial court acquitted him, finding the prosecution had not proved guilt beyond reasonable doubt, but the Uttarakhand High Court reversed the acquittal, holding that Khan's failure to explain …

The respondent, Shapoorji Pallonji and Company Private Limited (SPCPL), filed counter-claims in an arbitration initiated by Black Canyon SEZ Pvt. Ltd. (BCSPL) against BCSPL and two non-signatory entities, ASF Buildtech Private Limited (ABPL) and ASF Insignia SEZ Pvt. Ltd. (AISPL), invoking the group of companies doctri…

The Supreme Court examined whether visually impaired candidates are suitable for judicial service and whether recent amendments to the Madhya Pradesh Judicial Service Rules (Rule 6A and the proviso to Rule 7) violated constitutional equality and the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016. The Court held that vis…

The petitioner, a 25% permanently disabled candidate with focal hand dystonia, sought a scribe, compensatory time and other accommodations for various recruitment examinations, arguing that the Office Memorandum dated 10.08.2022 limited such facilities to only Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwBD). The Court exami…

The petitioners Omi (Omkar) Rathore and another were named in the FIR for a murder case but the investigating officer filed a closure report exonerating them and they were not included in the charge‑sheet. During trial, the first informant reiterated his FIR testimony implicating the petitioners, leading the trial cour…

The petitioners, revenue officers, challenged the High Court's order that set aside the valuation of two sale deeds which the Joint Sub-Registrar had deemed undervalued and referred to the Special Deputy Collector under Section 47‑A of the Indian Stamp Act, 1899. The Registering Officer issued Form I notices fixing inf…

The petitioner, Santosh Devi, filed a suit in 2012 seeking cancellation of a sale deed and related mutation, alleging that the deed was obtained through fraud. The trial court dismissed the suit on the ground of limitation, a decision affirmed by the first appellate court and the High Court. The petitioner contended th…

The appellant, K.R. Suresh, paid Rs.20,00,000 as advance under an agreement of sale that required the balance to be paid within four months, failing which the advance would be forfeited. He did not pay the balance on time, and the respondents forfeited the advance and later sold the property to third parties. The appel…

The appellant, a licensed stamp vendor, was caught in a sting operation after demanding Rs 12 for a Rs 10 stamp paper and was convicted under Sections 7, 13(1)(d) and 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. The key issue was whether a licensed stamp vendor qualifies as a “public servant” under Section 2(c)(i) …

The complainant, wife of a deceased, filed a criminal complaint against three police officials—Assistant Commissioner Sankaran Moitra and two subordinate officers, S.M. Kundu and Sudhir Sikdar—alleging that the latter two murdered her husband on the direction of Moitra. The trial court took cognizance and the accused w…

The appellants, I.K. Merchants Pvt. Ltd. and others, sold their shares in a state-owned company in 1973 for Rs.11.50 per share and later sought a higher valuation, which was finally fixed at Rs.640 per share by a court-appointed valuer. The State of Rajasthan, as respondent, delayed payment for over five decades, leadi…

M/s Jupiter Capital Pvt. Ltd. held a 99.88% share in Asianet News Network Pvt. Ltd. which reduced its share capital from 15,35,05,750 to 10,000 shares, proportionately reducing Jupiter's holding to 9,988 shares and receiving Rs. 3,17,83,474 as consideration. The Revenue argued that this reduction did not constitute a "…

The Range Forest Officer alleged that the directors and office bearers of a company illegally uprooted trees using a JCB, violating Section 4 of the Punjab Land Preservation Act, 1900, and sought prosecution under Section 19. The Special Environment Court took cognizance of the complaint and issued process against the …