(481) KAPILDEO MANDAL AND ANOTHER Vs. STATE OF JHARKHAND[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 16-03-2026 Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) — Section 304 Part II — Alteration of conviction from Section 302 to Section 304 Part II — Sentence reduced to period already undergone — Conviction upheld for culpable homicide not amounting to murder due to trivial nature of the incident and peculiar facts and circumstances of the case, considering the time elapsed since the occurrence and the period of sentence already served by the appellants. [Paras 3–14] India Law Library Docid # 2441762
(482) BHAJI RANJIT KUMAR Vs. BHAJI RANJIT DEEPA[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 16-03-2026 Family Law — Child Custody — Interim Custody — While deciding interim custody of a child, the court must consider the child's well-being and any stated reluctance of the child to live with a parent, as well as the principle of parens patriae — An order granting interim custody to a parent against the child's wishes, especially when the child has been living with the other parent for a significant period, may not be in the child's best interest and can be set aside — The court should expedite the India Law Library Docid # 2441763
(483) AMIR KHAN AND ANOTHER Vs. THE UNION OF INDIA AND ANOTHER[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 16-03-2026 Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1988 (NDPS Act) — Bail — Release on bail granted by Supreme Court considering the duration of incarceration of appellants and lack of opposition regarding their criminal antecedents, despite High Court rejecting their bail plea, and setting aside the High Court's order — Application for bail allowed. [Paras 4-8] India Law Library Docid # 2441769
(484) AMIT KUMAR @ CHHOTU @ AMIT KUMAR PANDIT Vs. THE STATE OF BIHAR[PATNA HIGH COURT] 16-03-2026 Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 — Sections 15, 19 — Trial of a child as an adult — Mandatory provisions — Preliminary assessment by Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) and subsequent decision by Children's Court to try a child as an adult are mandatory requirements — Non-compliance with these India Law Library Docid # 2441895
(485) GAUTAM KUMAR Vs. RAJESH KUMAR SINHA AND OTHERS[PATNA HIGH COURT] 16-03-2026 Civil Procedure Code, 1908 (CPC) — Order 47 Rule 1 and Section 114 — Scope of Review Jurisdiction — Review court cannot re-appreciate evidence or correct erroneous decisions on merits unless the error is manifest, patent, and apparent on the face of the record — Review is not an appeal in disguise and is to prevent miscarriage India Law Library Docid # 2441896
(486) MAHENDRA KUMAR SINHA @ MAHENDRA KUMAR Vs. KAMESHWAR PRASAD SINGH AND OTHERS[PATNA HIGH COURT] 16-03-2026 Civil Procedure Code, 1908 (CPC) — Section 114 and Order 47 Rule 1 — Scope of Review Jurisdiction — Review jurisdiction is limited and cannot be used as an appeal in disguise to rehear a matter on merits or correct every erroneous decision — It can only be exercised for correction of a mistake or for discovery of new evidence, India Law Library Docid # 2441897
(487) MD. MANOWAR AND OTHERS Vs. THE STATE OF BIHAR[PATNA HIGH COURT] 16-03-2026 Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC) — Sections 374(2) and 389(1) — Appeal against conviction and sentence — Appellants challenged judgment of conviction and order of sentence passed by Sessions Judge, Katihar — Convicted for offences under Sections 328/34, 379/34, and 411/34 of Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) — Sentenced to India Law Library Docid # 2441898
(488) MD. GUDDU IDRISH AND OTHERS Vs. STATE OF BIHAR[PATNA HIGH COURT] 16-03-2026 Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) — Section 304B — Dowry Death — Essential ingredients — Death of a woman caused by burns or bodily injury or otherwise than under normal circumstances; within seven years of marriage; subjected to cruelty or harassment by husband or relative for demand of dowry; cruelty or harassment must India Law Library Docid # 2441899
(489) ANOKHA DEVI Vs. ASHOK PRASAD SAH AND OTHERS[PATNA HIGH COURT] 16-03-2026 Civil Procedure Code, 1908 (CPC) — Order 6 Rule 17 — Amendment of plaint — Addition of relief after 12 years — Amendment sought to add prayer for execution of sale deed based on an unregistered agreement to sell — Amendment fundamentally alters the nature of the suit from a declaratory suit to one for specific performance of contract. India Law Library Docid # 2441900
(490) SATYANAND MOHAN RAJU AND OTHERS Vs. SHIVJEE SHARMA[JHARKHAND HIGH COURT] 16-03-2026 Transfer of Property Act, 1882 — Section 54 — Sale — Consideration — Voids sale deeds — Sale deeds recited consideration paid by cheques, but cheques were returned and never encashed — Defendant claimed subsequent payment to creditors and relatives, but failed to prove it — Sale deeds were void for want of consideration. India Law Library Docid # 2442054
(491) RANJIV RANJAN Vs. UNION OF INDIA AND OTHERS[JHARKHAND HIGH COURT] 16-03-2026 Public Interest Litigation (PIL) — Scope of — Personal grievances vs. public interest — Reliefs regarding alleged medical negligence and cybercrime misuse of email are personal to the petitioner and not suitable for a PIL. India Law Library Docid # 2442057
(492) ANAWORA BEGAM Vs. STATE OF TRIPURA[TRIPURA HIGH COURT] 16-03-2026 Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) — Section 46(4) and 50A, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) — Section 43(5) — Arrest of Woman after Sunset and Before Sunrise — Violation of Provisions — The court held that while Section 46(4) CrPC (or Section 43(5) BNSS) aims to protect women, its strict compliance may not always be feasible or practicable, especially in urgent situations — Therefore, non-compliance does India Law Library Docid # 2442128
(493) YUMNAM DIJENDRO MEITEI Vs. STATE OF MANIPUR AND OTHERS[MANIPUR HIGH COURT] 16-03-2026 Administrative Law — Judicial Review — Location of public institutions — The decision of where to locate public bodies like a DIET Centre falls within the realm of administrative policy and is largely left to the executive branch of the government — Courts will generally not interfere unless there are compelling reasons, such as illegality, irrationality, or procedural impropriety, which were not established in this case — The petitioner’s objection based solely on the change in assembly constit India Law Library Docid # 2442286
(494) RAJ BAHADUR SINGH Vs. STATE OF UTTARAKHAND[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 13-03-2026 Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (PC Act) — Sections 7 and 13(2) — Appeal against conviction and sentence — Supreme Court upheld the concurrent findings of the Trial Court and High Court regarding the guilt of the appellant based on ocular evidence and corroboration from independent witnesses — No error found in India Law Library Docid # 2440693
(495) RAJENDRA AND OTHERS Vs. STATE OF UTTARAKHAND[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 13-03-2026 Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) — Sections 376(2)(g) and 506 — Conviction based on sole testimony of prosecutrix — Delay in lodging FIR — Lack of corroborative evidence — Court held that conviction can be based on sole testimony of prosecutrix only if it inspires confidence — In this case, the prosecutrix's version did not inspire confidence due to unexplained delay and lack of disclosure to family, inconsistencies India Law Library Docid # 2440694
(496) OM SAKTHI SEKAR Vs. V. SUKUMAR AND OTHERS[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 13-03-2026 Debts Recovery Tribunal Act, 1993 — Auction Sale — Revaluation of Property — High Court's direction to reconsider valuation after confirmation of auction sale is permissible if there are credible issues regarding adequacy of valuation or fairness of process for fixing reserve price, to ensure best possible value is realised for the secured asset. India Law Library Docid # 2440695
(497) MIZO CHIEF COUNCIL MIZORAM, THR. PRESIDENT SHRI L. CHINZAH Vs. UNION OF INDIA AND OTHERS[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 13-03-2026 Constitution of India, 1950 — Article 32 — Writ Petition — Delay and Laches — Doctrine of laches is a flexible rule of practice, not a rigid rule of law, to be applied on case-to-case basis based on judicial discretion — It requires balancing the equity of not allowing stale claims against the constitutional duty to enforce fundamental rights — Key considerations include inordinate delay, explanation for delay, and India Law Library Docid # 2440696
(498) BRAHMANE MANISHA SADANANDBHAI AND OTHERS Vs. UNION OF INDIA[GUJARAT HIGH COURT] 13-03-2026 Railway Claims Tribunal Act, 1987 — Section 123(c) and Section 124 — Untoward Incident — Compensation for death — Deceased travelling in a train, fell due to a jerk and jolt, and died — Tribunal rejected the claim on the ground that the incident occurred within the train compartment and did not constitute an untoward India Law Library Docid # 2440710
(499) UNION OF INDIA AND OTHERS Vs. EX NK PARKASH SINGH NO 4458340A AND ANOTHER[PUNJAB AND HARYANA HIGH COURT] 13-03-2026 Armed Forces Tribunal Act, 2007 — Section 30 — Armed Forces Tribunal Rules, 2008 — Rule 13 — Condonation of shortfall in qualifying service for pension — Armed Forces Tribunal directed grant of service pension by condoning a shortfall of 10 months and 14 days — Petitioners sought stay pending Supreme Court decision in a related SLP — High Court held that decisions of Supreme Court laid down that India Law Library Docid # 2440711
(500) SMT. LAKSHMI R. AND OTHERS Vs. THE STATE OF KARNATAKA[KARNATAKA HIGH COURT] 13-03-2026 Karnataka Protection of Interest of Depositors in Financial Establishments Act, 2004 (KPID Act) — Applicability — Allegations of misappropriation of funds deposited by employees and retired employees with a Cooperative Society — Prima facie case made out for offences under the KPID Act — Invocation of KPID Act India Law Library Docid # 2440712