(1) AIRPORT AUTHORITY OF INDIA AND OTHERS Vs. SHAM KRISHNA B AND OTHERS[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 16-01-2026 Reservation in Public Employment — Migration of Reserved Category Candidates — Reserved category candidates who score higher marks than the cut-off for General Category candidates must be treated as qualified against an open/unreserved post, provided they did not avail of any concession or relaxation. Their appointment on merit in the general category does not count against the reserved category quota. India Law Library Docid # 2438266
(2) MD. FIROZ MANSURI AND OTHERS Vs. THE STATE OF BIHAR AND OTHERS[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 16-01-2026 Bihar Pharmacists Cadre Rules, 2014 (as amended in 2024) — Rule 6(1) and Note in Appendix-I — Constitutional validity — Fixation of minimum qualification for recruitment of Pharmacist — Held valid — "Note" providing Bachelor’s/Master’s degree holders are eligible subject to possession of Diploma is not arbitrary or exclusionary — Supreme Court upheld the validity of the amended Cadre Rules, India Law Library Docid # 2438267
(3) TULASAREDDI @ MUDAKAPPA AND ANOTHER Vs. THE STATE OF KARNATAKA AND OTHERS[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 16-01-2026 Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) — Sections 302, 120-B, 201, 506 read with Section 34 — Conviction by High Court after acquittal by Trial Court — Supreme Court's role — Appellate court can review and reconsider evidence, but must respect the presumption of innocence accorded to an accused who has been acquitted. A plausible view taken by the trial court should not be overturned merely because another view is possible. India Law Library Docid # 2438268
(4) HT MEDIA LIMITED Vs. PRINCIPAL COMMISSIONER DELHI SOUTH GOODS AND SERVICE TAX[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 16-01-2026 Finance Act, 1994 — Section 65(105)(zu) — Event Management Service — Service Tax cannot be imposed if the activity does not fall strictly within the definition of "event management" as provided in the statute. Strict interpretation of taxing statutes is crucial. India Law Library Docid # 2438269
(5) X Vs. O/O SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF PEOPLE & ORS. . RESPONDENTS[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 16-01-2026 Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968 — Section 3(2), First Proviso — Constitution of Joint Committee — Proviso applies only when notices of motion given on the same day in both Houses are admitted by both Houses — Does not mandate a Joint Committee if the motion is admitted in one House and rejected in the other — Presiding Officer of the House where motion is admitted can independently proceed to constitute a India Law Library Docid # 2438270
(6) VIJAY MUKHIYA Vs. THE STATE OF BIHAR[PATNA HIGH COURT] 15-01-2026 Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 — Sections 20(b)(ii)(c), 22(c), 23(c) — Conviction for offence — Appeal against — Seizure of contraband from roof of appellant's house- Contraband not found in conscious physical possession — Prosecution failed to establish mandatory procedural safeguards under NDPS Act — Non-compliance with Section 52A of NDPS Act regarding sealing, India Law Library Docid # 2438185
(7) RAJASTHAN PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION, AJMER Vs. YATI JAIN AND OTHERS[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 15-01-2026 Public Service Commission — Recruitment — Waiting List — Validity — A waiting list has a limited validity period, usually determined by recruitment rules or a reasonable period until the next advertisement. Candidates on a waiting list do not have an indefeasible right to appointment, but can be considered if vacancies arise within the validity period and the appointing authority acts arbitrarily. India Law Library Docid # 2438221
(8) AMIT KUMAR AND OTHERS Vs. UNION OF INDIA AND OTHERS[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 15-01-2026 Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC) — Section 154 — Information as to the commission of cognizable offence — Mandatory registration of FIR — Court reiterates the mandatory duty to register an FIR upon disclosure of a cognizable offence and reminds educational institutions of their civic and legal obligation to promptly lodge an FIR in case of a student suicide on campus. India Law Library Docid # 2438222
(9) ELEGNA CO-OP. HOUSING AND COMMERCIAL SOCIETY LTD. Vs. EDELWEISS ASSET RECONSTRUCTION COMPANY LIMITED AND ANOTHER[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 15-01-2026 Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 — Section 7 — Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) — Admission of CIRP — Adjudicating Authority’s power and duty — Legal position is well-settled that once the Adjudicating Authority is satisfied that a financial debt exists and a default has occurred, it must admit the application — Inquiry under Section 7(5)(a) is confined strictly to determination of India Law Library Docid # 2438223
(10) THE AUTHORITY FOR ADVANCE RULINGS (INCOME TAX) AND OTHERS Vs. TIGER GLOBAL INTERNATIONAL II HOLDINGS[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 15-01-2026 Income Tax Act, 1961 — Section 197, 245Q, 245R(2)(iii) — Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) between India and Mauritius, Article 13(4) — Capital Gains Tax — Advance Ruling — Tax Avoidance — The Authority for Advance Rulings (AAR) rejected an application for an advance ruling on the grounds that the transaction (sale of shares of a Singapore company by a Mauritius company) was India Law Library Docid # 2438224
(11) SANJAY PALIWAL AND ANOTHER Vs. BHARAT HEAVY ELECTRICALS LTD. THROUGH ITS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 15-01-2026 Specific Relief Act, 1963 — Section 41(h) — Injunction when refused — Equally efficacious remedy — A suit for mandatory injunction for removal of a wall is barred if the plaintiff has not claimed possession, and possession is disputed, as a suit for possession would be a more efficacious remedy. India Law Library Docid # 2438225
(12) VAYYAETI SRINIVASARAO Vs. GAINEEDI JAGAJYOTHI[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 15-01-2026 Andhra Pradesh Stamp Act — Schedule I-A, Article 47A, Explanation I — Agreement to Sell — Deemed Conveyance — For an agreement to sell to be deemed a conveyance under Explanation I, the delivery of possession must be linked to the agreement to sell, either following it or evidenced by it. If possession existed prior to the agreement and was not surrendered or changed because of the agreement, it does India Law Library Docid # 2438226
(13) STATE OF HIMACHAL PRADESH Vs. CHAMAN LAL[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 15-01-2026 Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) — Section 302 — Murder — Dying declaration — Admissibility and weight — A dying declaration can be the sole basis for conviction if it is voluntary, truthful, and reliable, even without corroboration. The court must scrutinize it carefully for tutoring or manipulation and consider the declarant's opportunity to observe and identify the assailant and their fitness to make the India Law Library Docid # 2438227
(14) STATE OF KERALA Vs. P.H.MUNEER[KERALA HIGH COURT] 14-01-2026 Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 — Section 13(1)(e) r/w 13(2) — Dishonest and fraudulent retention of property — Disproportionate assets — Accused public servant alleged to have amassed assets disproportionate to known income — Calculation of assets and income involves disputed facts requiring evidence — Court at discharge stage should not conduct a mini-trial by evaluating evidence to resolve India Law Library Docid # 2438257
(15) P.G.THOMAS THARAKAN Vs. THE STATE LAND BOARD[KERALA HIGH COURT] 14-01-2026 Kerala Land Reforms Act, 1963 — Sections 85(5), 86 — Vesting of excess land with government — Divesting of land — Petitioner offered alternate land for surrender which was accepted and acted upon by the government. Original land had vested with the government. No statutory provision for divesting. Court invoked extraordinary powers under Article 226 of the Constitution to India Law Library Docid # 2438256
(16) KANCHANA RAI Vs. GEETA SHARMA AND OTHERS[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 13-01-2026 Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956 — Sections 21(vii) and 22 — Maintenance of Dependents — Widow of Son — Legal entitlement to claim maintenance from the estate of the deceased father-in-law — Interpretation of "any widow of his son" under Section 21(vii) — The phrase "any widow of his son" is clear and unambiguous, applying to a son's widow irrespective of whether the son India Law Library Docid # 2438083
(17) SUJATA BORA Vs. COAL INDIA LIMITED AND OTHERS[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 13-01-2026 Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 (RPwD Act) — Sections 2(y), 2(ze) — Appointment under reserved quota — Management Trainee recruitment by Coal India Limited (CIL) — Denial of appointment based on initial finding of unfitness and recruitment process expiry — Appellant suffering from disability above the benchmark (57%) based on subsequent AIIMS medical report — Expiry of India Law Library Docid # 2438082
(18) CENTRE FOR PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION Vs. UNION OF INDIA[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 13-01-2026 Justice K.V. Viswanathan upheld the constitutional validity of Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act but held that it must operate with mandatory independent screening by the Lokpal or Lokayukta, whose recommendation would be binding on the Government, in order to cure the defects identified in Vineet Narain and Subramanian Swamy and to balance protection of honest public servants with the rule of law, whereas Justice B.V. Nagarathna, in dissent, held that Section 17A is India Law Library Docid # 2438085
(19) DINESH BIWAJI ASHTIKAR Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA AND OTHERS[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 13-01-2026 Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 (RTE Act) — Section 12 — Constitutional Mandate — Free and Compulsory Education — Admission of children from weaker and disadvantaged sections — Obligation of "neighbourhood school" to admit twenty-five percent of class strength from weaker and disadvantaged sections (Section 12(1)(c)) is transformative, securing the preambular objective of 'equality of status' and the constitutional right under Article India Law Library Docid # 2438086
(20) THE STATE OF HARYANA Vs. KRISHAN KUMAR AND OTHERS[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 13-01-2026 Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 — Drug Rules, 1945 — Rule 49 — Essential Qualifications — Appointment of Drug Inspector/Drug Control Officer — State Government cannot prescribe qualifications different from those prescribed by Central Government under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act and Rules. India Law Library Docid # 2438228