(261) UNION OF INDIA AND OTHERS Vs. BALAKRISHNAN MULLIKOTE (EX HAV 256812 M)[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 24-03-2026 Army Pension Regulations, 1961 — Condonation of shortfall in qualifying service for second pension for Defence Security Corps (DSC) personnel — The Union of India's contention that condonation for shortfall in qualifying service for a second pension is not applicable to DSC personnel is rejected— The court finds that the Pension Regulations for the Army, specifically Paragraphs 125 ( India Law Library Docid # 2441208
(262) M/S. RASHTRIYA CHEMICALS AND FERTILIZERS LIMITED Vs. COMMISSIONER OF CENTRAL EXCISE AND SERVICE TAX (LTU)[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 24-03-2026 Central Excise Act, 1944 — Section 11A(1) proviso — Extended period of limitation — Invocation of extended period of limitation for recovery of excise duty on Naphtha — Requires proof of fraud, collusion, wilful misstatement, or suppression of facts with intent to evade duty — Revenue failed to establish any deliberate act of suppression India Law Library Docid # 2441209
(263) CHINTHADA ANAND Vs. STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH AND OTHERS[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 24-03-2026 Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 — Section 3(1)(r), 3(1)(s), 3(2)(va) — Penal Code, 1860 — Sections 341, 323, 506 read with Section 34 — Quashing of criminal proceedings — Appellant converted to Christianity and worked as a Pastor for ten years — High Court quashed proceedings, holding appellant disentitled to protection under SC/ST Act due to conversion — Supreme India Law Library Docid # 2441210
(264) YOGENDRA KUMAR SINGH Vs. UNION OF INDIA AND OTHERS[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 24-03-2026 Service Law — Indian Navy — Short Service Commission Officers (SSCOs) — Grant of Permanent Commission (PC) — Assessment of suitability for PC — Whether casual grading of ACRs and “Not Recommended for PC” endorsements prejudiced officers' chances of PC — Held yes, as officers were considered ineligible for PC at the time of their ACRs, leading to a distorted assessment of their inter se merit for PC — This circularity transformed past ineligibility into deemed unsuitability for career progression India Law Library Docid # 2441211
(265) LT. COL. POOJA PAL AND OTHERS Vs. UNION OF INDIA AND OTHERS[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 24-03-2026 Army Act, 1950 — Section 12 — Eligibility for Permanent Commission for Short Service Commission Women Officers (SSCWOs) — The judgment addresses the eligibility of SSCWOs for Permanent Commission (PC), tracing the historical evolution of policies and judicial pronouncements that gradually allowed women into this scheme, India Law Library Docid # 2441212
(266) WG. CDR. SUCHETA EDN Vs. UNION OF INDIA AND OTHERS[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 24-03-2026 Air Force Act, 1950 — Short Service Commission Women Officers (SSCWOs) — Permanent Commission (PC) — Denial of PC — Assessment of performance and eligibility — HRP 01/2019 — Minimum Performance Criteria — ACR gradings — Mandatory In-Service Courses (MISCs) — Categorisation — Arbitrariness — Hurried implementation — Inadequate opportunity to meet criteria — Pregnancy — Deemed qualifying service India Law Library Docid # 2441213
(267) SQN. LDR. NITU THAPLIYAL AND OTHERS Vs. UNION OF INDIA AND OTHERS[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 24-03-2026 Short Service Commission Women Officers (SSCWOs) — Eligibility for Permanent Commission (PC) and pensionary benefits — Applicability of Air Force Human Resource Policy — Refusal of benefits due to not meeting minimum average Annual Confidential Report (ACR) grading of 6.5 — Court's refusal to grant benefits where minimum India Law Library Docid # 2441214
(268) NEERAJ KUMAR AND ANOTHER Vs. UNION OF INDIA AND OTHERS[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 24-03-2026 Indian Air Force — Short Service Commission Officers (SSCOs) — Reinstatement and consideration for Permanent Commission (PC) — Dismissal of appeal challenging AFT order — Delay in approaching legal forum. India Law Library Docid # 2441215
(269) COMMON CAUSE Vs. UNION OF INDIA AND OTHERS[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 24-03-2026 Supreme Court Rules, 2013 — Appointment of Amicus Curiae — Upon the demise of the appointed amicus curiae, the Court appointed a new senior counsel as amicus curiae and directed all parties to furnish relevant papers within two weeks. India Law Library Docid # 2441391
(270) S. PRABHU Vs. THE DISTRICT COLLECTOR, THENI AND OTHERS[MADRAS HIGH COURT (MADURAI BENCH)] 24-03-2026 Constitution of India, Article 226 — Writ jurisdiction — Power of Court — Court's writ jurisdiction cannot be used to enforce personal stubbornness under the guise of pursuing constitutional liberty. India Law Library Docid # 2441546
(271) MV GOLDEN PRIDE Vs. GAC SHIPPING (INDIA) PVT. LTD. AND OTHERS[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 24-03-2026 Admiralty Law — Vessel Arrested and Sold — Special Leave Petitions challenging an interim order related to a vessel's sale and auction procedure were dismissed as infructuous because the main Admiralty Suit had already been disposed of — The Court noted that the petitioner's counsel had previously stated they were not pressing the issue of the vessel being sold as scrap. [Paras 1, 2, 5] India Law Library Docid # 2441592
(272) SHAGAF SHANAWAZ KAREL AND ANOTHER Vs. SAFWAN JAFAR HUSSAIN SAYYAD AND OTHERS[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 24-03-2026 Municipal Law — Regularisation of unauthorized construction — Application for regularization of unauthorized construction filed, but not decided — High Court directed Municipal Corporation to take action for demolition — Supreme Court directed Appellate Authority to decide pending statutory appeal against rejection of regularization application within six months, continuing interim status quo order till disposal of appeal, and stating that the Appellate Authority would decide the appeal uninflue India Law Library Docid # 2441712
(273) MOHINDER SINGH AND ANOTHER Vs. MOHAN SINGH DEOL AND OTHERS[PUNJAB AND HARYANA HIGH COURT] 24-03-2026 Civil Procedure Code, 1908 (CPC) — Order 6 Rule 17 — Amendment of pleadings — Amendment of written statement sought after commencement of trial — Application for amendment dismissed by trial court and upheld by High Court — Held, amendment is not permissible after commencement of trial unless due diligence is shown — Inadvertence or repeated typographical errors do not constitute a valid reason for India Law Library Docid # 2441735
(274) TINKU Vs. STATE OF HARYANA AND ANOTHER[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 24-03-2026 Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 — Section 138 — Offence compoundable with consent of parties at any stage, even after conviction — Parties entered into a settlement agreement during pendency of appeal, resolving the monetary dispute underlying the cheque dishonour case — Settlement was verified by the High Court — Supreme Court set aside the conviction order and allowed the appeal in terms of the settlement, citing precedent that Section 147 of the N.I — Act makes the offence compoundable. [Par India Law Library Docid # 2441752
(275) MEENA AND ANOTHER Vs. CHAMAN AND ANOTHER[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 24-03-2026 Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC) — Suspension of Sentence and Bail — High Court erroneously granted suspension of sentence and consequential bail to a murder convict based on an incorrect age and the pendency of numerous appeals, despite the convict having served a minimal period of incarceration — Supreme Court set aside the High Court's order, emphasizing that such grounds are insufficient for granting relief in serious criminal matters and directed the convict to surrender. [Paras 1-4] India Law Library Docid # 2441765
(276) MOSAHEB YADAV Vs. STATE OF BIHAR[PATNA HIGH COURT] 24-03-2026 Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) — Section 304 — Conviction for culpable homicide not amounting to murder — Appeal against — Court must consider the nature of offence, circumstances of commission, degree of deliberation, and proportionality of punishment to the gravity of offence — Undue sympathy leading to inadequate sentence undermines India Law Library Docid # 2441830
(277) SANJAY JUKARIA Vs. STATE OF UTTARAKHAND AND OTHERS[UTTARAKHAND HIGH COURT] 24-03-2026 Universities Act, 1973 — H.N.B — Garhwal University Conversion to Central University — Policy decision regarding re-engagement of temporary Guest Faculty — Petitioners appointed after conversion to Central University — Claim for adjustment as Guest Faculty in State Colleges rejected — Director, Higher Education's order upheld — No material on record to prove appointment before conversion India Law Library Docid # 2441229
(278) KM. SUMITRA YADAV @ SUMETRY Vs. M.A.C.T. AND OTHERS[UTTARAKHAND HIGH COURT] 24-03-2026 Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 — Compensation awarded to a minor — Direction for Fixed Deposit Receipt (FDR) — Duty of care — Court-directed deposits for minors are not ordinary commercial transactions and require careful safeguarding and periodic renewal to ensure maximum benefit for the beneficiary — Failure to comply with such directions constitutes gross administrative negligence India Law Library Docid # 2441230
(279) TRILOK SINGH RANA Vs. DIRECTOR REHABILITATION AND ANOTHER[UTTARAKHAND HIGH COURT] 24-03-2026 Constitutional of India, 1950 — Article 226 — Writ Petition — Rejection of rehabilitation benefits and cancellation of agricultural plot — Petitioner claimed entitlement as legal heir of deceased — Name not in revenue records on cut-off date but mutated later — Order rejecting claim based solely on cut-off date without considering India Law Library Docid # 2441231
(280) NATIONAL INVESTIGATION AGENCY Vs. THANGJAM ACHOU SINGH @ RAJESH @ THOUJAL[MANIPUR HIGH COURT] 24-03-2026 Bail — Grant of Bail — Compliance with conditions — Cooperation with trial — Consent order to confirm bail order — NIA's right to seek cancellation preserved — NIA Court to proceed with trial on merits. India Law Library Docid # 2442289