(21) V. PATHMAVATHI AND OTHERS Vs. BHARTHI AXA GENERAL INSURANCE CO. LTD AND ANOTHER[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 06-02-2026 Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 — Section 166 — Claim petition for compensation — Deceased victim earning monthly income of Rs. 10,000/- (driver) — MACT and High Court assessed income at Rs. 6,000/- and Rs. 7,000/- respectively — Held, salary certificate and employer's affidavit constitute cogent documentary evidence, mandating acceptance of Rs. 10,000/- as monthly income. India Law Library Docid # 2439068
(22) JANE KAUSHIK Vs. UNION OF INDIA AND OTHERS[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 06-02-2026 Transgender Rights — Advisory Committee — Appointment of Members — Supreme Court allows application to include Ms. Aparna Mehrotra as a member of the Advisory Committee formed earlier to represent the Centre for Law and Policy Research and its scholarship in transgender rights. India Law Library Docid # 2439069
(23) AMIT KUMAR AND OTHERS Vs. UNION OF INDIA AND OTHERS[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 06-02-2026 Court Procedure — Appointment of Technical Consultant — Supreme Court directs appointment of former Chief Statistician of India as Technical Consultant to National Task Force for data analysis. India Law Library Docid # 2439070
(24) THARAMMEL PEETHAMBARAN AND ANOTHER Vs. T. USHAKRISHNAN AND ANOTHER[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 06-02-2026 Evidence Act, 1872 — Section 65 — Secondary evidence — Admissibility — Requirement of laying factual foundation stating original document existed and secondly establishing valid reasons for non-production of original — Mechanical copies, such as photocopies, are considered secondary evidence, but their admissibility depends on fulfilling the conditions of Section 65 — Failure to do so renders such evidence inadmissible India Law Library Docid # 2439065
(25) KANTA AND OTHERS Vs. SOMA DEVI (DEAD) THROUGH LR. AND OTHERS[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 06-02-2026 Hindu Succession Act, 1956 — Section 14(1) — Right to maintenance ripened into absolute ownership — A limited interest in property acquired by a Hindu female in lieu of maintenance ripens into absolute ownership. India Law Library Docid # 2439066
(26) STATE OF WEST BENGAL AND OTHERS Vs. JAI HIND PVT. LTD.[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 06-02-2026 West Bengal Estates Acquisition Act, 1953 — Sections 6(1)(j), 57A, 53 — Powers of Revenue Officer — Review — Notification investing Revenue Officer with powers of Civil Court does not confer power of review; such power must be statutorily conferred — Power of review is a judicial function and cannot be exercised by executive authorities without express legislative mandate, to uphold separation of India Law Library Docid # 2439067
(27) ITC LIMITED Vs. AASHNA ROY[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 06-02-2026 Consumer Protection Act, 1986 — Deficiency in Service — Compensation — Inadequacy of evidence for claim — Supreme Court set aside compensation awarded by the National Commission, holding that photocopies of documents without proper proof of authenticity and without attempts to cross-examine authors or respondent herself, were insufficient to justify a huge claim. India Law Library Docid # 2439201
(28) STATE OF WEST BENGAL AND ANOTHER Vs. CONFEDERATION OF STATE GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES, WEST BENGAL AND OTHERS[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 05-02-2026 Constitution of India, 1950 — Article 309 — Power to frame rules for recruitment and conditions of service — Such power is extensive and expansive, and must be exercised in a just, fair, and reasonable manner, conforming to Articles 14 and 16. India Law Library Docid # 2439020
(29) DORAIRAJ Vs. DORAISAMY (DEAD) THROUGH LRs AND OTHERS[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 05-02-2026 Hindu Law — Joint Family Property — Acquisition of Property — Presumption of Joint Nature — Proof of Ancestral Property and Income-Yielding Nucleus — Once ancestral properties yielding income are established, and acquisitions are made during the subsistence of a joint family, the burden shifts to the claimant to prove self-acquisition. India Law Library Docid # 2439022
(30) SHASHIN PATEL AND ANOTHER Vs. UDAY DALAL AND OTHERS[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 05-02-2026 Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act, 1960 — Section 152, 154, 23(2) — Societies Act — Membership — Dispute regarding grant of membership to successor of deceased tenant — Held, where an AGM resolution to admit a member has not been revoked, and the successor has genuinely sought membership and paid requisite amounts, denial of membership would create anomaly; subsequent transfer of India Law Library Docid # 2439023
(31) PRAMOD KUMAR NAVRATNA Vs. STATE OF CHHATTISGARH AND OTHERS[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 05-02-2026 Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) — Section 376(2)(n) — Rape — Repeated commission on the same woman — Elements — Requires at least one act of sexual assault followed by multiple acts under fear, pressure, captivity, or continued deceit, where the woman is vulnerable and unable to escape — A series of acts separate in nature, not a continuation of a single transaction. India Law Library Docid # 2439024
(32) PRAMOD KUMAR AND OTHERS Vs. STATE OF U.P. AND OTHERS[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 04-02-2026 Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC) — Section 173(8) — Further investigation — Police/investigating agency cannot conduct further investigation after a closure report has been accepted by the Magistrate without prior leave of the Magistrate or Court. India Law Library Docid # 2438989
(33) RUPESH KUMAR MEENA Vs. UNION OF INDIA AND OTHERS[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 04-02-2026 Civil Services Examination — Cadre Allocation — Seniority — Claim for re-allocation to an 'insider' vacancy based on non-joining of candidates senior in merit list — Court held that such a process cannot be adopted as it would render cadre allocation fluid and unsettled for all time. India Law Library Docid # 2438990
(34) MOHTASHEM BILLAH MALIK Vs. SANA AFTAB[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 04-02-2026 Guardians and Wards Act, 1890 — Section 25 — Custody of minor children — Determination of custody requires consideration of paramount welfare of children along with other factors like conduct of parties, financial capacity, standard of living, and comfort/education of children. High Court's view that only welfare is relevant is incorrect. India Law Library Docid # 2438991
(35) U.P. JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL COUNCIL INSTRUCTOR WELFARE ASSOCIATION AND OTHERS Vs. STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH AND OTHERS[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 04-02-2026 Right to Education Act, 2009 — Section 24(3) — Grievance redressal mechanism — While the Act provides for grievance redressal, it primarily pertains to defaults by teachers or disciplinary actions against them. It should not be read in isolation from other provisions and does not operate as an absolute bar to writ jurisdiction, especially when a matter has been adjudicated on merits. India Law Library Docid # 2438992
(36) M/S EMINENT COLONIZERS PRIVATE LIMITED Vs. RAJASTHAN HOUSING BOARD AND OTHERS[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 04-02-2026 Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 — Section 11 — Appointment of Arbitrator — Pre-2015 Amendment regime — Precedential value of Section 11 Court's order — Where the Section 11 Court appointed an arbitrator, the order, being a judicial order, became final and binding on the parties and subsequent proceedings, including India Law Library Docid # 2438993
(37) VINIT BAHRI AND ANOTHER Vs. M/S MGF DEVELOPERS LTD AND ANOTHER[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 04-02-2026 Consumer Protection Act, 1986 — Section 2(1)(d) — Definition of 'consumer' — 'Commercial purpose' exclusion clause — Onus of proof — The service provider (developer) bears the onus to prove that a complainant obtained services for a commercial purpose to exclude them from the definition of 'consumer'. The complainant only needs to prove the initial elements of the definition. India Law Library Docid # 2438988
(38) ANKHIM HOLDINGS PVT. LTD. AND ANOTHER Vs. ZAVERI CONSTRUCTION PVT. LTD.[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 04-02-2026 Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 — Section 15(2) — Termination of mandate and substitution of arbitrator — High Court declared arbitral proceedings void due to moratorium under IBC. Supreme Court held that Section 15(2) mandates appointment of substitute arbitrator, and prior proceedings remain valid unless parties agree otherwise. High Court exceeded jurisdiction by declaring proceedings a nullity. India Law Library Docid # 2439191
(39) MOHTASHEM BILLAH MALIK Vs. SANA AFTAB[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 04-02-2026 Guardians and Wards Act, 1890 — Section 25 — Custody of minors — Paramount consideration is welfare of children, but other factors such as conduct of parties, financial capacity, standard of living, comfort, and education of children are also relevant and cannot be ignored. India Law Library Docid # 2439374
(40) C. VELUSAMY Vs. K INDHERA[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 03-02-2026 Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 — Section 29A(5) — Extension of arbitrator's mandate — Court can entertain application to extend arbitrator's mandate even after an award is rendered, provided the award was made after the statutory time limit expired — Such an award is unenforceable, but it does not prevent the Court from exercising its power to extend the mandate. India Law Library Docid # 2438937