(841) SUKHJIT SINGH Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB[PUNJAB AND HARYANA HIGH COURT] 09-09-2026 Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 — Section 37 — Constitution of India — Article 21 — Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 — Section 483 — Regular bail — Commercial quantity — Rigours of Section 37 vs. Right to speedy trial — Petitioner was incarcerated for over 1 year and 5 months — None of the 13 cited prosecution witnesses were examined — Prolonged pre-trial detention without justifiable cause infringes fundamental right to life and liberty under Article 21 — Statutory India Law Library Docid # 2451919
(842) MANGAL SINGH Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB[PUNJAB AND HARYANA HIGH COURT] 09-09-2026 Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 — Section 482 — Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 — Section 318(4) — Anticipatory Bail — Immigration Fraud — Cheating on pretext of sending persons abroad — Gravity of offence — Held, fraudulent inducement for migration preys upon aspirations of unsuspecting citizens and falls within the ambit of organized human trafficking — Such offences strike at social trust and public order, causing severe financial and emotional distress — Judicial response must ensure India Law Library Docid # 2451920
(843) NATIONAL INSURANCE CO. LTD. Vs. LAKSHMANA AND OTHERS[KARNATAKA HIGH COURT] 09-09-2026 Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 — Section 173(1) — Challenge to liability by insurer — Identical accident involving multiple claims — Claimant injured when a tractor-trailer toppled — Insurer contested liability on grounds of driver lacking transport endorsement and non-coverage of loader/unloader under the policy — Record established that in another claim arising out of the same accident, the insurer did not challenge the award and deposited the compensation — Held, having accepted and complied with t India Law Library Docid # 2451925
(844) MOHAMAD NASIM Vs. STATE OF HARYANA[PUNJAB AND HARYANA HIGH COURT] 09-09-2026 Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 — Section 483 — Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) — Sections 302, 377, 394, 365, 201 read with Section 34 — Regular Bail — Prolonged incarceration versus gravity of offence — Principles governing bail — Accused sought bail citing custody of over three years and ten months — Held, mere prolonged period of incarceration or the fact that trial is likely to take time does not by itself entitle an accused to bail when offences alleged are serious — Grant of discretionary India Law Library Docid # 2451926
(845) RAJINDER KUMAR Vs. MUNICIPAL COMMITTEE, TARAORI AND OTHERS[PUNJAB AND HARYANA HIGH COURT] 09-09-2026 Civil Procedure Code, 1908 (CPC) — Section 100 — Scope of Second Appeal — Interference with findings of fact — The First Appellate Court is the final court of facts entitled to independently reassess oral and documentary evidence — The High Court in second appeal cannot substitute its own appreciation of evidence merely because an alternative view is possible — Interference is justified only when the findings suffer from perversity, ignore material evidence, or apply erroneous legal principles — India Law Library Docid # 2451927
(846) SRI. NAGARAJ Vs. CHOLA MS GENERAL INSURANCE CO. LTD. AND ANOTHER[KARNATAKA HIGH COURT] 09-09-2026 Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 — Section 149 — Driving Licence — Competency to drive Tractor and Trailer — Absence of specific endorsement — Offending vehicle was a tractor and trailer with an unladen weight between 2,513 kg and 2,913 kg, which is less than 7,500 kg — Driver held a valid licence to drive Light Motor Vehicle (LMV) transport vehicle and PSV bus, though lacking a specific tractor-trailer endorsement — Applying Mukund Dewangan v. Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd., driver was held to possess a v India Law Library Docid # 2451932
(847) GAURAV CHAUDHARY Vs. STATE OF HARYANA AND OTHERS[PUNJAB AND HARYANA HIGH COURT] 09-09-2026 Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC) — Section 439(2) — Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 — Section 483(3) — Cancellation of anticipatory bail — Parameters — Bail granted to an accused can be cancelled only when the order suffers from serious infirmity, arbitrariness, or perversity, or where liberty has been actively misused — Genuineness of relinquishment deeds and private handwriting expert opinions involve disputed questions of fact to be adjudicated at trial — Issuance of a subsequent India Law Library Docid # 2451937
(848) SURAJ Vs. RAJ KUMAR AND ANOTHER[PUNJAB AND HARYANA HIGH COURT] 09-09-2026 Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 — Compensation — Functional Disability — Assessment of loss of earning capacity versus physical disability — Claimant sustained 33% permanent disability of the right lower limb — Tribunal mechanically reduced disability to one-third, assessing it at 11% — Held, physical disability certified by a medical expert and loss of earning capacity are not identical — Mechanical conversion formulas cannot be applied inflexibly — Functional disability must be determined considering India Law Library Docid # 2451940
(849) THE NEW INDIA ASSURANCE CO. LTD. Vs. SMT. GURMIT KAUR AND OTHERS[PUNJAB AND HARYANA HIGH COURT] 09-09-2026 Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 — Sections 166 and 173 — Negligence — Contributory Negligence — Rear-end collision — Offending truck abruptly applied brakes in the middle of the road without signal, causing the following car to collide from behind — Contributory negligence cannot be inferred merely from the occurrence of a rear-end collision, but must be established by the party asserting it — Insurer failed to plead contributory negligence or seek an issue before the Tribunal — Truck driver did not en India Law Library Docid # 2451941
(850) SUKHPAL SINGH @ MELI Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB[PUNJAB AND HARYANA HIGH COURT] 09-09-2026 Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 — Section 483 — Successive bail application — Prolonged detention — Maintainability — Accused cannot be kept in custody for an indefinite period and repeated bail applications can be examined on their own merits — Detention prior to trial should not become punitive — Every day spent in custody can furnish a fresh cause of action for seeking bail, reflecting the settled legal principle that law prefers bail over jail to balance rights of the accused with c India Law Library Docid # 2451943
(851) THE NEW INDIA ASSURANCE CO. LTD. Vs. SMT. GURMIT KAUR AND OTHERS[PUNJAB AND HARYANA HIGH COURT] 09-09-2026 Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 — Negligence and Contributory Negligence — Rear-end collision — Offending truck abruptly applied brakes in the middle of the road without giving any signal or indication, causing following car to collide from behind — Insurer pleaded contributory negligence — Held, mere occurrence of a rear-end collision does not establish contributory negligence on the part of the following vehicle — Contributory negligence is a question of fact to be proved by the asserting party — Off India Law Library Docid # 2451944
(852) THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER AND EXECUTIVE MEMBER, KARNATAKA INDUSTRIAL AREAS DEVELOPMENT BOARD AND ANOTHER Vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA AND OTHERS[KARNATAKA HIGH COURT] 09-09-2026 Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Act, 1966 — Section 28(1) & 28(4) — Land Acquisition — Delay in issuing final declaration — Reasonable time — KIAD Act is a self-contained code to which timeframes of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 do not directly apply — Absence of an express statutory time limit does not permit indefinite proceedings — Exercise of statutory power must occur within a reasonable timeframe, ordinarily two years — Unexplained delay of 3 years and 8 months between Preliminary India Law Library Docid # 2451947
(853) NATIONAL INSURANCE CO.LTD. Vs. SHWETA AND OTHERS[MADHYA PRADESH HIGH COURT (INDORE BENCH)] 09-09-2026 Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 — Sections 166 and 168 — Standard of proof — FIR against unknown vehicle — Evidentiary value — Insurer alleged false implication of tractor due to initial FIR against an unknown vehicle and eyewitness stating he arrived 20 minutes post-accident — Held, proceedings under the Act are governed by the standard of preponderance of probabilities, not proof beyond reasonable doubt — FIR is not an encyclopedia, and absence of vehicle details is not fatal — Discarding an independ India Law Library Docid # 2451997
(854) UNITED INDIA INSURANCE CO. LTD. Vs. SMT.OMWATI KUSHWAHA AND OTHERS[MADHYA PRADESH HIGH COURT] 09-09-2026 Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 — Sections 149 and 166 — Liability of Insurer — Gratuitous passenger in goods vehicle — Breach of policy conditions — Claimant sustained injuries while travelling in a truck to take a holy bath in a river — Offending vehicle overturned due to rash and negligent driving — Held, the claimant was travelling in a goods vehicle as a gratuitous passenger and was not covered under the terms of the insurance policy — Finding of the Tribunal that the owner committed a breach of t India Law Library Docid # 2451998
(855) UNITED INDIA INSURANCE CO.LTD. Vs. SMT.GEETA BAI AND OTHERS[MADHYA PRADESH HIGH COURT] 09-09-2026 Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 — Sections 147, 149, and 166 — Goods carriage — Gratuitous passenger — Breach of policy conditions — Claimant sustained injuries when a truck overturned while she was travelling in it to take a holy bath in a river — Held, a person travelling in a goods vehicle for personal or religious purposes is not covered under the terms of the insurance policy — Finding of the Tribunal that the claimant was a gratuitous passenger and that the insured committed a breach of policy co India Law Library Docid # 2451999
(856) NATIONAL INSURANCE CO.LTD. Vs. SMT.SUNITA BAI AND OTHERS[MADHYA PRADESH HIGH COURT] 09-09-2026 Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 — Section 147 — Third party liability — Scope and ambit — Any person other than the insurer and the insured is a "third party", including passengers and employees — However, the mere fact that a person is a third party does not automatically fasten liability on the insurer — Insurer is liable for bodily injury or death of a third party only if such statutory liability is fastened under Section 147 of the Act or under the specific terms and conditions of the insurance con India Law Library Docid # 2452000
(857) SMT. ARCHANA VISHWAKARMA Vs. RATAN SINGH AND OTHERS[MADHYA PRADESH HIGH COURT] 09-09-2026 Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 — Sections 166 and 168 — Assessment of compensation — Income determination, multiplier, and deductions — Deceased aged 30 years died in a motor accident — In the absence of specific evidence proving exact monthly earnings, income must be calculated on the basis of minimum wages prevailing for an unskilled labourer at the time of the incident — Deceased being married, one-third deduction towards personal and living expenses is appropriate — Proper multiplier applied based India Law Library Docid # 2452001
(858) NAGUSINGH Vs. SMT. SHEETAL AND OTHERS[MADHYA PRADESH HIGH COURT (INDORE BENCH)] 09-09-2026 Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 — Sections 128, 129 and 166 — Motor accident claim — Contributory negligence — Motorcycle carrying two pillion riders struck by tractor — Owner contended deceased driver was contributorily negligent for carrying two pillion riders — Held, mere presence of two pillion riders on a motorcycle in violation of statutory rules does not automatically establish contributory negligence unless cogent evidence demonstrates that it contributed to the accident — Owner failed to show India Law Library Docid # 2452006
(859) BABLU ALEAS BABULAL AND OTHERS Vs. ABHISHEK AND OTHERS[MADHYA PRADESH HIGH COURT (GWALIOR BENCH)] 09-09-2026 Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 — Compensation — Fatal accident — Deduction towards personal and living expenses of bachelor — Tribunal erred in deducting only one-third of the income of the deceased — Held, since the deceased was 18 years old and unmarried at the time of the accident, 50% of his income was required to be deducted towards personal and living expenses in terms of the law laid down in National Insurance Company Limited v. Pranay Sethi — Compensation reassessed and reduced accordingly. India Law Library Docid # 2452009
(860) RAMLAKHAN MISHRA Vs. ANKIT GUPTA AND OTHERS[MADHYA PRADESH HIGH COURT] 09-09-2026 Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 — Section 166 — Madhya Pradesh Motor Vehicles Rules, 1994 — Rule 240 — Civil Procedure Code, 1908 (CPC) — Order XXXII — Applicability to Claims Tribunal proceedings — Dismissal of claim petition for non-compliance with Order XXXII — Nature of proceedings before Claims Tribunal is a statutory inquiry under a beneficial legislation, not an adversarial civil suit — Rule 240 of MP Rules specifically enumerates applicable CPC provisions, excluding Order XXXII — Tribunal commi India Law Library Docid # 2452010