(401) SRINIBAS GORADIA Vs. ARVIND KUMAR SAHU AND OTHERS[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 17-12-2025 Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 — Section 2(s) — Definition of "workman" — Determination of status — Key determinant is the essence and nature of duties performed, not the designation or nomenclature given by the employer — Courts must look at the kind of primary duties performed (manual, skilled, clerical, etc.) rather than attaching undue importance to the employee's title (e.g., Cashier India Law Library Docid # 2437091
(402) RAHUL AND OTHERS Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA[BOMBAY HIGH COURT (NAGPUR BENCH)] 17-12-2025 Criminal Procedure — Appeal against Conviction — Murder (Section 302 read with Section 34 IPC) — Initial investigation treated death as suicide; homicide angle pursued three months later — Conviction largely based on two eyewitnesses (PW-6 and PW-10) — Eyewitness testimony found unreliable due to inordinate delay (three months) in informing police despite knowing deceased and accused, and presence at the scene the India Law Library Docid # 2437116
(403) CENTRAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION, ACB, NAGPUR Vs. SHRIRAM MAROTI NIRANJANE[BOMBAY HIGH COURT (NAGPUR BENCH)] 17-12-2025 Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 — Sections 7 and 13(1)(d) read with Section 13(2) — Demand and Acceptance of Illegal Gratification — Appeal against acquittal — Essential requirements — Prosecution must prove initial demand and subsequent acceptance beyond reasonable doubt; recovery of tainted money itself is not conclusive proof — Accused's consistent defense was repayment of a hand loan — Material contradictions and omissions in prosecution witnesses' testimonies regarding initial India Law Library Docid # 2437117
(404) JAGANNATH PANDURANG WAGHARE Vs. THE STATE OF MAHARASHTRA AND ANOTHER[BOMBAY HIGH COURT] 17-12-2025 Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO Act) — Section 5(j)(ii), 5(l) read with Section 6 — Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) — Section 376(2)(f) and (i) (Pre-2018 Amendment) — Rape by father on minor daughter — Conviction and Sentence — Discarding of DNA Evidence (Foetus and Blood Samples) — Importance of Chain of Custody and Purity of Process — Prosecution must examine all relevant witnesses (doctor collecting samples, person storing/carrying samples, India Law Library Docid # 2437165
(405) NARAYAN SINGH DIED THROUGH LEGAL HEIRS SMT. RAMVATI AND OTHERS Vs. AATAM SINGH AND OTHERS[MADHYA PRADESH HIGH COURT (GWALIOR BENCH)] 17-12-2025 Civil Procedure Code, 1908 (CPC) — Order 6 Rule 17 — Amendment of Pleadings — Application at Appellate Stage — Remand — Proposed amendment seeking to introduce facts (concerning possession and alienation) that were already known to the plaintiff since 2004/2018 (including knowledge of partition, agreement, sale deed, and possession by defendant) at the time of filing the suit in 2019 — Amendments are not permissible to fill lacunae, introduce facts already known, or India Law Library Docid # 2437149
(406) JANI AHUJA (DEAD) SMT. NEELAM AHUJA AND OTHERS Vs. SUBODH KUMAR AND OTHERS[MADHYA PRADESH HIGH COURT (GWALIOR BENCH)] 17-12-2025 Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 — Section 173(1) — Compensation — Enhancement — Death of injured claimant during pendency of appeal for reasons unrelated to accident — Survival of cause of action — Claim for personal injuries abates with the death of the injured; however, claim for loss of estate survives to legal representatives — Legal heirs are entitled to pursue claims for loss of estate (pecuniary loss) which India Law Library Docid # 2437152
(407) SHIKSHA KUMARI Vs. SANTOSH KUMAR[DELHI HIGH COURT] 17-12-2025 Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 — Sections 13B and 13B(1) — 14(1), Proviso — Divorce by mutual consent — Filing of First Motion before completion of one year of separation — Whether the statutory period of one year separation prescribed under Section 13B(1) is mandatory or can be waived — The statutory period of one year separation under Section 13B(1) can be waived by the Family Court or the High Court by invoking the proviso to Section 14(1) of the HMA, thereby allowing parties to India Law Library Docid # 2437456
(408) HASINA YASMIN AND OTHERS Vs. NATIONAL INSURANCE CO. LTD. AND ANOTHER[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 17-12-2025 Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 — Compensation — Conventional Heads — Enhancement under National Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Pranay Sethi, (2017) 16 SCC 680 — Standardized amounts for loss of estate, loss of consortium, and funeral expenses (Rs. 15,000, Rs. 40,000, and Rs. 15,000 respectively in 2017) — Pranay Sethi mandates 10% enhancement every three years on these amounts based on price index/escalation — Court expresses doubt on application of this 10% enhancement India Law Library Docid # 2437489
(409) STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH Vs. KRISHNA MURARI SHARMA[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 17-12-2025 Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 — Reference of Industrial Dispute — Delay in seeking reference — Stale Claim — While a Labour Court/Industrial Tribunal cannot examine the validity of the reference itself, the High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India can examine a challenge against the reference order on the ground of non-existence of an industrial dispute or when the issue referred is a stale India Law Library Docid # 2437491
(410) PHOOL SINGH Vs. RANDHEER SINGH AND OTHERS[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 17-12-2025 Civil Procedure Code, 1908 (CPC) — Order 22 — Abatement of Appeal/Revision — Impleading Legal Heirs — Dismissal of entire revision petition as abated merely because legal heirs of one respondent were not impleaded within time constitutes a clear error when the cause of action survives against the other contesting parties — If the revision abates only against the deceased respondent, it should continue against India Law Library Docid # 2437493
(411) RAMESH JADWANI (DIED) THROUGH LRS. AND OTHERS Vs. KESHAV SAHU[CHHATTISGARH HIGH COURT] 17-12-2025 Specific Relief Act, 1963 — Section 16(c) — Suit for specific performance of contract for sale — Mandatory requirement of continuous readiness and willingness — 'Readiness' means financial capacity/ability to pay consideration; 'Willingness' refers to the purchaser's genuine intention to perform the contract — Readiness and willingness must be proven continuously from the date of the agreement till the date of the decree, India Law Library Docid # 2437521
(412) STATE OF CHHATTISGARH Vs. NIVEDITA DALAL[CHHATTISGARH HIGH COURT] 17-12-2025 Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) — Section 306 — Abetment of Suicide — Essentials — To constitute an offence under Section 306 IPC, the prosecution must establish (1) that the deceased committed suicide and (2) that the accused abetted the commission of such suicide as defined under Section 107 IPC — Specific abetment on the part of the accused, with the intention to bring about the suicide of the person concerned, is required — The India Law Library Docid # 2437522
(413) HEERARAM SAHU Vs. STATE OF CHHATTISGARH[CHHATTISGARH HIGH COURT] 17-12-2025 Criminal Law — Appeal against Conviction — Indian Penal Code, 1860 — Sections 376(2)(<) and 376(2)(B) — Rape — Conviction based on appreciation of evidence — Prosecution proved case beyond reasonable doubt through victim's statement, medical evidence, DNA report, and expert testimony — DNA report confirmed appellant as India Law Library Docid # 2437523
(414) GOVIND AGARWAL Vs. STATE OF RAJASTHAN AND OTHERS[RAJASTHAN HIGH COURT] 17-12-2025 Rajasthan Urban Improvement Trust Act, 1959 — Rajasthan Udaipur Development Authority Act, 2023 — Article 300A — Constitution Of India — Master Plan — Zonal Development Plan — Correction/Modification of Land Use Map — Petitioners owning land in Udaipur area seeking correction of Master Plan-2031 map alleging typographical/drafting error, arguing their land falls under Green Zone-2 (G-2) based on distance criteria, despite being incorrectly demarcated as India Law Library Docid # 2437564
(415) SUNNI MUSLIM IDGAH MASJID TRUST Vs. HARDIK SITARAM PATEL AND ANOTHER[GUJARAT HIGH COURT] 17-12-2025 Waqf Act, 1995 — Section 83(1), 83(3) and Chapter VIII (Judicial Proceedings) — Applicability of Court Fees Act to proceedings before Waqf Tribunal — Proceedings for recovery of possession and eviction of tenant under Section 83(3), albeit styled as "application," are essentially in the nature of an adversarial "suit" seeking judicial determination of rights and obligations, culminating in a decision having the force of a India Law Library Docid # 2437757
(416) STATE OF GUJARAT Vs. RAJENDRASINH PRAHALADJI PARMAR AND OTHERS[GUJARAT HIGH COURT] 17-12-2025 Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC) — Section 378 — Appeal against acquittal — Principles governing appellate interference — Double presumption of innocence in favor of the accused (initial presumption plus reinforcement by acquittal) — Appellate court can review evidence but must consider whether the trial court's view is a "possible view" based on the record — If two reasonable conclusions are possible, the appellate court India Law Library Docid # 2437758
(417) VADODARA MUNICIPAL CORPORATION Vs. MOMINABEN MALBULBHAI GHANIVALA AND OTHERS[GUJARAT HIGH COURT] 17-12-2025 Civil Procedure Code, 1908 (CPC) — Section 96 — First Appeal — Challenge to Judgment and Decree — Suit for damages against Municipal Corporation — Death caused by a stray bull accident — Negligence and Contributory Negligence — Trial Court partly decreed suit, holding Corporation 70% negligent and deceased 30% contributorily negligent — High Court confirmed the findings citing statutory duty of India Law Library Docid # 2437759
(418) HEIRS OF SAIYED RAHIM DALUBHAI- EMNA RAHIM DALUBHAI AND OTHERS Vs. HEIR OF DECD SAIYED KARIMBHAI REHMATULLA-LATE SAIYED DAUDBHAI KARIMBHAI AND OTHERS[GUJARAT HIGH COURT] 17-12-2025 Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (CPC) — Order 22 — Abatement of Suit — Drawing of Final Decree — Plaintiffs' failure to bring legal representatives (LRs) on record within the stipulated time after remand order, and subsequent rejection of application (Exh. 78) to bring LRs on record, resulted in the suit being dismissed as abated (below Exh. 1); the rejection of application for drawing a final decree (Exh. 52) was appropriate as the India Law Library Docid # 2437760
(419) GUJARAT WATER SUPPLY AND SEWERAGE BOARD AND ANOTHER Vs. PASHIM GUJARAT VIJ COP LTD AND ANOTHER[GUJARAT HIGH COURT] 17-12-2025 Civil Procedure Code, 1908 (CPC) — Section 96 — First Appeal — Suit for Recovery of Minimum Electricity Charges — Scope of Appeal — Appellant (Original Defendant Nos. 1 & 2) challenging judgment and decree holding them jointly and severally liable for recovery of minimum electricity charges — Suit filed by Plaintiff (Electricity Service Provider) against Appellants (Board and its Subsidiary) and Original India Law Library Docid # 2437761
(420) STATE OF GUJARAT AND OTHERS Vs. HARENDRRAKUMAR NATWARSINHJI PORBANDAR[GUJARAT HIGH COURT] 17-12-2025 Gujarat Agricultural Lands Ceiling Act, 1960 — Sections 6(1), 6(3-C), 6(3-D), 2(16), 2(20), 2(21) — Determination of Ceiling Area — Unit Allocation to Adopted Son — Scheme of Act — Entitlement of a major son to a separate ceiling unit — Deeming Fiction — The relevant date for considering the entitlement of a major son (including an adopted son) to a separate unit under Section 6(3-C) is the 'appointed day' (June 15, India Law Library Docid # 2437762