(201) GAGANDEEP SINGH @ GAGGU AND ANOTHER Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB[PUNJAB AND HARYANA HIGH COURT] 22-09-2026 Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 — Sections 103 and 3(5) — Regular bail — Murder case — Petitioners allegedly beat the victim upon finding him with petitioner's sister, chased him on a motorbike, tied his hands, and threw him into a canal, causing his death — Dead body and vehicle recovered — Gravity of offence and discretion to grant bail — In heinous offences entailing capital punishment or life imprisonment, bail cannot be claimed as a matter of right — Nature of accusations, severity of punishm India Law Library Docid # 2453519
(202) RAJ SINGH (DECEASED) THROUGH LRS Vs. STATE OF HARYANA AND OTHERS[PUNJAB AND HARYANA HIGH COURT] 22-09-2026 Land Acquisition Act, 1894 — Section 54 — Enhancement of compensation — Parity in determination of market value — Land in Village Rathdhana acquired for construction of sectoral road vide Section 4 notification dated 13.04.2010 — Collector awarded Rs. 80,00,000/- per acre, enhanced to Rs. 86,60,000/- per acre by Reference Court — Land of the same village was contemporaneously acquired for the same purpose under notification dated 14.07.2010, where market value was determined by High Court at Rs. India Law Library Docid # 2453521
(203) GURWEL SINGH @ GURVAIL SINGH Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB[PUNJAB AND HARYANA HIGH COURT] 22-09-2026 Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 — Section 36-A(4) — Extension of time for investigation — Mandatory procedural safeguards — Extension order passed without securing the accused's presence either physically or via video conferencing and without affording an opportunity to oppose the prayer is unsustainable — Application moved directly by the Investigating Officer without an independent report and application of mind by the Public Prosecutor violates the statutory mandate — Non India Law Library Docid # 2453522
(204) SUDARSHAN LAL ARORA Vs. THE STATE OF HARYANA AND ANOTHER[PUNJAB AND HARYANA HIGH COURT] 22-09-2026 Administrative Law — Exercise of power — Quoting of wrong provision — Vitiation of order — Settled law that if an authority possesses power under the law, merely because while exercising that power the source of power is not specifically referred to or a reference is made to a wrong provision of law, that by itself does not vitiate the exercise of power so long as the power exists and can be traced to an available source in law — In departmental proceedings where charges were clearly communicate India Law Library Docid # 2453523
(205) ROMIL SINGH AND OTHERS Vs. STATE OF HARYANA AND OTHERS[PUNJAB AND HARYANA HIGH COURT] 22-09-2026 Service Law — Promotion to Executive Engineer — Haryana Development and Panchayats Department (Group A) Service Rules, 1988, Rule 9(b) — Haryana Development and Panchayats Department (Group B) Service Rules, 2016 — Locus Standi — Challenge to consideration of senior colleagues for promotion — Petitioners were admittedly junior to private respondents and lacked the mandatory eight years' experience as Sub Divisional Engineers to enter the zone of consideration — Private respondents were initially India Law Library Docid # 2453525
(206) SUKHWINDER GUPTA AND ANOTHER Vs. JEETINDER SINGH AND OTHERS[PUNJAB AND HARYANA HIGH COURT] 22-09-2026 Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 — Negligence — Contributory negligence — Stationary unlit vehicle on highway — A heavy truck-trailer parked in a no-parking zone on a national highway during hours of darkness without tail-lamps, reflectors, indicators, or warning flappers constitutes negligence per se — Approaching drivers cannot be expected to anticipate or guard against such unlawful obstructions — Burden of establishing contributory negligence rests squarely on the party asserting it — A plea neither India Law Library Docid # 2453527
(207) MOHINDER SINGH AND ANOTHER Vs. DHARAM SINGH AND OTHERS[PUNJAB AND HARYANA HIGH COURT] 22-09-2026 Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 — Section 166 and 168 — Assessment of compensation — Fatal accident — Determination of notional income of a deceased student — Deceased was a 25-year-old final-year M.Sc. Pomology student at a premier university — Tribunal awarded lump sum compensation of Rs. 1,80,000/- based on parents' age — Held, notional income of a post-graduate student must be assessed on educational qualifications, social status, and future earning potential rather than equating it with minimum wa India Law Library Docid # 2453528
(208) NAVEEN CHANDER Vs. UNION OF INDIA AND OTHERS[PUNJAB AND HARYANA HIGH COURT] 22-09-2026 Service Law — Transfer — Scope of judicial review — Interference by Court — Transfer is an ordinary incident and condition of service necessary in public interest and administrative efficiency — No employee has a vested legal right to be posted at a place of choice — Courts under Article 226 will not interfere with transfer orders as an appellate authority unless the order is shown to be vitiated by mala fides, clearly arbitrary, or in infraction of statutory rules or prescribed norms — Administ India Law Library Docid # 2453529
(209) NEW INDIA ASSURANCE COMPANY LIMITED Vs. AMARJIT KAUR AND OTHERS[PUNJAB AND HARYANA HIGH COURT] 22-09-2026 Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 — Section 166 — Quantum of compensation — Computation of Multiplier — Age bracket determination — Deceased was aged 50 years and 5 months on the date of accident — Insurance company contended that deceased having crossed 50 years, multiplier of 11 for the 51-55 age bracket should apply instead of 13 — Held, higher multiplier continues to operate until the deceased actually enters the next age bracket — Reducing multiplier immediately upon crossing the threshold of preced India Law Library Docid # 2453530
(210) SOBHA SINGH Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB[PUNJAB AND HARYANA HIGH COURT] 22-09-2026 Constitution of India, 1950 — Article 21 — Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 — Section 37 — Right to speedy trial — Overriding effect of Article 21 over statutory bail embargo — Prolonged pre-trial incarceration without progress renders custody punitive — Stringent statutory restrictions under special statutes cannot sanction indefinite detention where trial is delayed due to systemic inadequacies not attributable to the accused — Held, the constitutional guarantee of personal India Law Library Docid # 2453531
(211) LIYAKAT ALI AND OTHERS Vs. STATE OF RAJASTHAN AND ANOTHER[RAJASTHAN HIGH COURT (JAIPUR BENCH)] 22-09-2026 Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC) — Sections 190 and 204 — Taking of cognizance — Scope of judicial enquiry — Meticulous appreciation of evidence impermissible — At the stage of taking cognizance, the Magistrate is only required to consider whether a prima facie case is made out from the material on record — Conducting a mini-trial or meticulously sifting through evidence to determine whether injuries were sufficient in the ordinary course of nature to cause death, or whether accused possesse India Law Library Docid # 2453532
(212) SUKHWINDER GUPTA AND ANOTHER Vs. JEETINDER SINGH AND OTHERS[PUNJAB AND HARYANA HIGH COURT] 22-09-2026 Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 — Sections 166 and 168 — Negligence and Contributory Negligence — Collision with stationary vehicle — A heavy truck-trailer left standing in a no-parking zone on a national highway during darkness without tail-lamps, reflectors, or warning indicators constitutes negligence per se — An approaching driver cannot be expected to anticipate such an unlawful obstruction — Burden of proving contributory negligence rests strictly on the party asserting it — Plea of contributory India Law Library Docid # 2453501
(213) PRIYANKA AND ANOTHER Vs. STATE OF U.P. AND ANOTHER[ALLAHABAD HIGH COURT] 22-09-2026 Indian Evidence Act, 1872 — Section 118 — Competency and credibility of child witness — Evaluation of sole eyewitness testimony — Conviction for murder based solely on testimony of 8-year-old child — Child witness is susceptible to coaching, tutoring, and external influence — Sole testimony must be evaluated with extraordinary circumspection — Inordinate delay of eight days in recording child witness's statement under Section 161 CrPC, combined with material contradictions and clear influence of India Law Library Docid # 2453835
(214) SURENDRA Vs. STATE OF U.P. AND ANR.[ALLAHABAD HIGH COURT] 22-09-2026 Criminal Jurisprudence — Hostile Witness — Evidentiary value — Conviction based solely on examination-in-chief of hostile witness — Impermissibility — Informant supported prosecution version in examination-in-chief but completely resiled in cross-examination, stating thumb impression was obtained on blank paper and appellant was innocent — Other prosecution witnesses also turned hostile — Held, while testimony of a hostile witness is not entirely discarded, it cannot be accepted blindly without India Law Library Docid # 2453836
(215) STATE OF U.P. Vs. HASNERA @ SHABANA[ALLAHABAD HIGH COURT] 22-09-2026 Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) — Sections 302 and 120-B — Circumstantial evidence — Proof of motive — Prosecution alleged that the deceased was murdered by his wife and her paramour due to an illicit relationship — Prosecution witnesses had no personal knowledge of the alleged affair, resided in another district, and deposed purely on suspicion — In cases based entirely on circumstantial evidence, failure to establish motive creates a fatal dent in the prosecution narrative and breaks the chain of circu India Law Library Docid # 2453837
(216) MOHAMMAD JALALUDDIN Vs. STATE OF U.P. AND 3 OTHERS[ALLAHABAD HIGH COURT] 22-09-2026 Uttar Pradesh Prevention of Cow Slaughter Act, 1955 — Section 5-A(6) and Section 5-A(10) — Seizure of beef — Presumption of guilt and burden of proof — Vehicle carrying 80 kg beef intercepted and confirmed by forensic analysis — Registered owner apprehended travelling in the vehicle pleaded lack of knowledge, claiming the vehicle was hired by passengers — Held, once transportation of confirmed beef is proved, a legal presumption arises under Section 5-A(10) that the accused committed or abetted India Law Library Docid # 2453838
(217) JAYVEER SINGH YADAV Vs. STATE OF U.P.[ALLAHABAD HIGH COURT] 22-09-2026 Penal Code, 1860 — Section 300 Exception 4, Section 302 and Section 304 Part I — Culpable homicide not amounting to murder — Alteration of conviction — Accused assaulted his aunt with an axe after she refused his monetary demand — Incident occurred in broad daylight at an open cattle shed in presence of eyewitnesses, lasting merely thirty seconds — No prior planning, ambush, or premeditation established — Assault was triggered spontaneously by a sudden verbal refusal in the heat of passion witho India Law Library Docid # 2453840
(218) RAMSHANKAR SHUKLA Vs. STATE OF U.P. THRU. COMMISSIONER AND SECY. BOARD OF REVENUE LKO. AND 2 OTHERS[ALLAHABAD HIGH COURT (LUCKNOW BENCH)] 22-09-2026 Mukhyamantri Krishak Durghatna Kalyan Yojana — Government Order dated 28.02.2020 — Nature and interpretation of welfare scheme — Scheme formulated to grant financial assistance to farmers, recorded tenure-holders, and their dependents in cases of accidental death or disability — Held, the scheme constitutes a beneficial piece of welfare legislation — Full effect, width, and amplitude must be accorded to each of its provisions unless a clear, express restriction exists — Beneficial provisions can India Law Library Docid # 2453841
(219) DHARMENDRA SHUKLA Vs. DR. SANJAY DESAI AND OTHERS[MADHYA PRADESH HIGH COURT (INDORE BENCH)] 22-09-2026 Madhya Pradesh Municipal Corporation Act, 1956 — Section 307(5) — Illegal construction — Maintainability of application — Locus standi — District Court — Whether a non-resident of municipal area can maintain an application complaining of unauthorized construction — Full Bench precedent affirmed — Although the term "any other person" confers a broad right beyond the Corporation and does not require personal injury or direct affection, locus standi is restricted to persons residing within the area India Law Library Docid # 2454002
(220) MOHAN RAI Vs. SMT NEHA RAI[MADHYA PRADESH HIGH COURT] 22-09-2026 Family Courts Act, 1984 — Sections 7(1) Explanation (g) and 8 — Guardians and Wards Act, 1890 — Section 9 — Jurisdiction of Civil Court — Custody and guardianship proceedings — Exclusion of Civil Court jurisdiction — Proceedings in relation to guardianship, custody, or access to any minor fall squarely within the domain of the Family Court under Section 7(1) Explanation (g) — By virtue of Section 8, the jurisdiction of the Civil Court is barred where a Family Court is established — Any proceedin India Law Library Docid # 2454005