(341) RAMESH SINGH Vs. THE STATE OF HARYANA[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 20-03-2026 Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 — Anticipatory Bail — No grounds for custodial interrogation at this stage when applicant has joined investigation, cooperated, made a disclosure statement with no tangible material recovered, and was not initially named — Appeal allowed, impugned High Court order set aside, appellant to be released on bail if arrested, subject to Special Court's conditions and cooperation with investigation and trial. [Paras 1-3] India Law Library Docid # 2441486
(342) VANASHAKTI Vs. BRIHANMUMBAI MUNICIPAL CORPORATION AND OTHERS[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 20-03-2026 Environmental Law — Coastal Regulation Zone — Mangrove destruction — Permission to cut mangroves for projects in coastal areas requires prior permission from High Court — Project for Versova-Bhayandar Coastal Road granted conditional permission by High Court after considering environmental impact and undertaking compensatory afforestation — Supreme Court found no reason to interfere with High Court's judgment due to safeguards imposed, including yearly status reports on afforestation. [Paras 4, India Law Library Docid # 2441503
(343) SARDAR IQBAL SINGH @ IQBAL SINGH BAGGA @ IQBAL SINGH Vs. THE STATE OF BIHAR[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 20-03-2026 Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC) — Section 438 — Pre-arrest bail — FIR registered for offences under Sections 406, 420, 504/34 IPC — Appellant argued that the dispute was essentially a money dispute and criminal proceedings were being misused for recovery — Court, upon perusing the FIR, found that the appellant deserved the concession of pre-arrest bail and allowed the appeal, directing release on bail upon furnishing bonds, subject to cooperation with the investigation. [Paras 2-6] India Law Library Docid # 2441516
(344) JAHANARA KHATOON @ JAHAN ARA KHATOON Vs. MD. ASIF ALI[JHARKHAND HIGH COURT] 20-03-2026 Family Court Act, 1984 — Section 19(1) — Appeal against judgment and decree of restitution of conjugal rights — Ground of ex-parte proceeding — Held, Family Court erred in proceeding ex-parte on the basis of tracking report of notice, without ensuring proper service or resorting to substituted service as per CPC — Non-compliance with procedural requirements vitiates the judgment and decree. India Law Library Docid # 2441994
(345) SANTOSH KUMAR Vs. KUMARI ARPANA[JHARKHAND HIGH COURT] 20-03-2026 Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 — Section 13 — Divorce — Cruelty — Desertion — Appellant (Husband) filed a divorce petition claiming cruelty and desertion by the respondent (Wife) — The Family Court dismissed the petition — The appeal court examined the evidence regarding cruelty and found that the allegations made by the appellant were general, non-specific, and lacked cogent, convincing, or concrete documentary evidence to substantiate the charges — The appellant himself admitted in India Law Library Docid # 2441995
(346) BRANCH MANAGER, NATIONAL INSURANCE COMPANY LIMITED Vs. HASMUKH PANNALAL PUNAMIYA AND OTHERS[SIKKIM HIGH COURT] 20-03-2026 Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 — Section 173 — Appeal against quantum of compensation — Appellant (Insurance Company) contended that claimants were adults with own income and not entitled to compensation, and that deduction for personal expenses should be 50% instead of 1/3rd — Court held that the argument that the deceased should be considered a bachelor due to family's demise was untenable and India Law Library Docid # 2442148
(347) RAVINDERPAL SINGH Vs. KANWARJIT SINGH[PUNJAB AND HARYANA HIGH COURT] 20-03-2026 Landlord and Tenant — Assessment of Mesne Profits — Tenancy during Pendency of Appeal — The Court must strike a balance between the landlord's interest, who has obtained an eviction order, and the tenant's interest, who is pursuing an appeal — The mesne profits should not be so exorbitant as to force the tenant to India Law Library Docid # 2441835
(348) RAHIMUDDIN (SINCE DECEASED) THROUGH LRS AND ANOTHER Vs. NASRU (SINCE DECEASED) THROUGH LRS[PUNJAB AND HARYANA HIGH COURT] 20-03-2026 Customary Law — Succession among Meo Muslims — Agricultural land — Devolves upon nearest male agnate/collateral according to rule of proximity of degree — Daughters have no right of succession. India Law Library Docid # 2441836
(349) PUNJAB STATE CIVIL SUPPLIES CORPORATION Vs. AMIT KUMAR[PUNJAB AND HARYANA HIGH COURT] 20-03-2026 Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC) — Section 401, 374 — Revision petition against concurrent findings of acquittal — High Court does not sit in re-appreciation of evidence in revision — If conclusions of lower courts are plausible and probable, acquittal will not be ordinarily interfered with — Interference only warranted for India Law Library Docid # 2441837
(350) SANDEEP KUMAR ALIAS RINKU AND OTHERS Vs. STATE OF HARYANA[PUNJAB AND HARYANA HIGH COURT] 20-03-2026 Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC) — Section 313 — Statement of accused — Mere denial of allegations and pleading innocence in statement recorded under Section 313 of CrPC is insufficient to establish defence, especially when no suggestions were made to witnesses disputing material aspects of prosecution's case, India Law Library Docid # 2441838
(351) MANJINDER SINGH AND ANOTHER Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB[PUNJAB AND HARYANA HIGH COURT] 20-03-2026 Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC) — Section 482 — Quashing of FIR — Abuse of process of court — FIR registered under Section 498A of Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) — Allegations in FIR primarily relate to an alleged incident in 2019, whereas the divorce decree was granted in 2016 — Such a temporal discrepancy indicates that the FIR India Law Library Docid # 2441839
(352) GURSEWAK SINGH AND ANOTHER Vs. STATE OF HARYANA[PUNJAB AND HARYANA HIGH COURT] 20-03-2026 Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC) — Section 313 — Statement of accused — Appellants pleaded that they were falsely implicated due to personal enmity with an Inspector of police, who had allegedly killed their relative in a fake encounter — They claimed to have been arrested from their homes and nothing was recovered from them. India Law Library Docid # 2441840
(353) MANJIT SINGH AND OTHERS Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB[PUNJAB AND HARYANA HIGH COURT] 20-03-2026 Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC) — Section 313 — Statement of accused — Accused pleaded innocence and claimed false implication after denial of allegations — No defense witness examined — Trial Court convicted appellants based on prosecution evidence. India Law Library Docid # 2441841
(354) KRISHNA PATI TRIPATHI Vs. ABHAY KUMAR MISHRA[MADHYA PRADESH HIGH COURT] 20-03-2026 Civil Procedure Code, 1908 (CPC) — Order 7 Rule 11(a) — Rejection of plaint — Election Petition — The Court can reject a plaint at the threshold if it does not disclose a cause of action, even before recording evidence — This power is to prevent vexatious litigation and wastage of judicial time. India Law Library Docid # 2441203
(355) AAKASH PANSORIYA Vs. STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH[MADHYA PRADESH HIGH COURT] 20-03-2026 Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) — Sections 467, 468, 471, 420 — Forgery of valuable security, forgery for purpose of cheating, using as genuine a forged document, cheating — Appellant used a forged marksheet to secure government employment — High Court found that evidence did not establish appellant himself made or fabricated the document, thus conviction under Sections 467 and 468 IPC was not sustainable as India Law Library Docid # 2441201
(356) MUNESH KUMAR GAUTAM Vs. THE STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH AND OTHERS[MADHYA PRADESH HIGH COURT (GWALIOR BENCH)] 20-03-2026 Madhya Pradesh Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1976 — Rule 26 — Counting of past service on resignation — Resignation from a service or post entails forfeiture of past service unless it is submitted to take up another appointment with prior permission. India Law Library Docid # 2441202
(357) VIKRAM SINGH Vs. THE STATE OF RAJASTHAN[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 20-03-2026 Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC) — Bail — Grant of — Supreme Court considered the totality of circumstances and the period of custody, and found grounds for interference with the High Court's order dismissing the bail application — Bail granted on terms and conditions to be fixed by the Trial Court — Trial expedited and appellant directed to cooperate fully in investigation/trial and not misuse liberty — Supreme Court set aside the High Court's order and allowed the appeal. [Paras 5 to 10] India Law Library Docid # 2441401
(358) M/S SIMLA GOMTI PAN PRODUCTS PVT. LTD. Vs. COMMISSIONER OF STATE TAX U.P. AND OTHERS[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 20-03-2026 If a taxpayer is unable to file a reply to show cause notices due to a failure by the department to provide necessary documents on the agreed portal, and this leads to assessment orders being passed ex parte, the taxpayer may challenge these orders — However, the primary remedy is likely to be a statutory appeal, which may require a pre-deposit — The court may, considering the circumstances and financial constraints, direct a partial pre-deposit to allow the appeal to be heard and stay coercive India Law Library Docid # 2441402
(359) GANESH PATIL Vs. STATE OF CHHATTISGARH[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 20-03-2026 Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC) — Bail — Supreme Court confirmed anticipatory bail granted by the High Court, directing the appellant to cooperate with the investigation and trial, report to the Investigating Officer periodically, and warned that failure to do so could lead to bail cancellation. [Paras 3, 6, 7, 8] India Law Library Docid # 2441415
(360) JAKIR HOSSAIN Vs. UNION OF INDIA[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 20-03-2026 Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (NDPS Act) — Bail — Appeal allowed — Impugned judgment of High Court set aside — Matter covered by previous judgment of this Court in relation to the same seizure of contraband — Appellant to cooperate during trial and not seek unnecessary adjournments — Observations made for grant of bail only and not on merits of the case. [Paras 1-2] India Law Library Docid # 2441423