(681) OBALAPPA AND OTHERS Vs. PAWAN KUMAR BHIHANI AND OTHERS[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 17-12-2025 Civil Procedure Code, 1908 (CPC) — Suit for Permanent Injunction — Dismissal of Suit — Reversal by High Court — Scope of Interference by Supreme Court — Where the Trial Court dismissed a suit for permanent injunction on grounds of failure to establish title and uncertainty in property identification, and the High Court reversed this relying on unproven and unauthenticated documents/surveys (like a BDA survey not proved or authenticated, and a letter without a clear seal or legible India Law Library Docid # 2437049
(682) SHAIK SHABUDDIN Vs. STATE OF TELANGANA[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 17-12-2025 Criminal Law — Conviction — Circumstantial Evidence — Last Seen Together Theory — Must establish acquaintance between accused and deceased for theory to apply as a circumstance linking chain; mere fact of accused and deceased being in the same vicinity shortly before the crime, without proven acquaintance, is insufficient to propound the ‘last seen together theory’ as a conclusive link, though presence in same India Law Library Docid # 2437050
(683) M/S ANDHRA PRADESH POWER GENERATION CORPORATION LIMITED (APGENCO) Vs. M/S TECPRO SYSTEMS LIMITED AND OTHERS[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 17-12-2025 Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 — Section 11(6) and 11(6-A) — Appointment of Arbitral Tribunal (AT) — Scope of Judicial Scrutiny — The enquiry under Section 11 is confined to a prima facie determination of the existence of an arbitration agreement, and no further — The referral court must refrain from entering into contentious factual or legal issues related to authority, capacity, arbitrability, maintainability, or merits of claims, adhering to the principle of minimal judicial India Law Library Docid # 2437051
(684) SRINIBAS GORADIA Vs. ARVIND KUMAR SAHU AND OTHERS[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 17-12-2025 Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 — Section 2(s) — Definition of "workman" — Determination of status — Key determinant is the essence and nature of duties performed, not the designation or nomenclature given by the employer — Courts must look at the kind of primary duties performed (manual, skilled, clerical, etc.) rather than attaching undue importance to the employee's title (e.g., Cashier India Law Library Docid # 2437091
(685) STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH Vs. KRISHNA MURARI SHARMA[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 17-12-2025 Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 — Reference of Industrial Dispute — Delay in seeking reference — Stale Claim — While a Labour Court/Industrial Tribunal cannot examine the validity of the reference itself, the High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India can examine a challenge against the reference order on the ground of non-existence of an industrial dispute or when the issue referred is a stale India Law Library Docid # 2437491
(686) PHOOL SINGH Vs. RANDHEER SINGH AND OTHERS[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 17-12-2025 Civil Procedure Code, 1908 (CPC) — Order 22 — Abatement of Appeal/Revision — Impleading Legal Heirs — Dismissal of entire revision petition as abated merely because legal heirs of one respondent were not impleaded within time constitutes a clear error when the cause of action survives against the other contesting parties — If the revision abates only against the deceased respondent, it should continue against India Law Library Docid # 2437493
(687) HASINA YASMIN AND OTHERS Vs. NATIONAL INSURANCE CO. LTD. AND ANOTHER[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 17-12-2025 Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 — Compensation — Conventional Heads — Enhancement under National Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Pranay Sethi, (2017) 16 SCC 680 — Standardized amounts for loss of estate, loss of consortium, and funeral expenses (Rs. 15,000, Rs. 40,000, and Rs. 15,000 respectively in 2017) — Pranay Sethi mandates 10% enhancement every three years on these amounts based on price index/escalation — Court expresses doubt on application of this 10% enhancement India Law Library Docid # 2437489
(688) M/S SRI LAKSHMI BALAJI ENTERPRISES AND ANOTHER Vs. M/S ANGEETHIS RESTAURANT AND ANOTHER[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 17-12-2025 Stamp Act, 1899 — Section 2(5) (a) to (c) — Stamp Duty — Nature of Document — Admissibility in Evidence — Whether a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) constitutes a 'Bond' requiring higher stamp duty — The nature of a document is determined by its contents, not merely its nomenclature — A document qualifies as a 'Bond' under Section 2(5) if it is an instrument by which a person puts himself under India Law Library Docid # 2437832
(689) COMMISSIONERS FOR HIS MAJESTY'S REVENUE AND CUSTOMS Vs. HOTEL LA TOUR LTD[UNITED KINGDOM SUPREME COURT] 17-12-2025 Value Added Tax (VAT) — Input Tax Deduction — Right to Deduct — General Principle — VAT is intended to be a tax borne by the ultimate consumer; a trader generally deducts input VAT paid on goods/services used in business from output VAT collected from customers—Right to deduction applies even if no specific output transaction is linked, provided costs are part of general overheads and are used for the taxable person's economic activity as a whole India Law Library Docid # 2437978
(690) IN THE MATTER OF AN APPLICATION BY THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR NORTHERN IRELAND FOR JUDICIAL REVIEW[UNITED KINGDOM SUPREME COURT] 17-12-2025 Public Interest Immunity (PII) — Judicial Review of Coroner's Decision to Disclose Gists – Standard of Review — Whether appellate court must apply ordinary public law standards (such as Wednesbury irrationality) or conduct its own assessment (reconsideration) of the public interest balance — PII assessment involves application of a substantive law of evidence, not the exercise of discretion — Appellate or reviewing court must determine whether the first instance decision India Law Library Docid # 2437979
(691) NORTH EASTERN DEVELOPMENT FINANCE CORPORATION LTD. (NEDFI) Vs. M/S L. DOULO BUILDERS AND SUPPLIERS CO. PVT. LTD.[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 16-12-2025 Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002 (SARFAESI Act, 2002) — Applicability in Nagaland — Constitutional Mandate — Article 371A of the Constitution of India — Special provision with respect to the State of Nagaland — Article 371A(1)(a)(iv) stipulates that no Act of Parliament concerning ownership and transfer of land and its resources shall apply to Nagaland unless the Legislative Assembly resolves so — SARFAESI India Law Library Docid # 2436961
(692) SANJAY KUMAR UPADHYAY Vs. STATE OF JHARKHAND AND OTHERS[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 16-12-2025 Bihar Reorganisation Act, 2000 — Section 34(4) — Transfer of proceedings and effect of orders — Section 34(4) provides that any order made by the High Court at Patna before the appointed day in certain proceedings, shall for all purposes have effect not only as an order of the High Court at Patna but also as an order made by the High Court of Jharkhand — This deeming provision ensures continuity of judicial India Law Library Docid # 2436962
(693) CEMENT CORPORATION OF INDIA Vs. ICICI LOMBARD GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY LIMITED[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 16-12-2025 Insurance Law — Fire Insurance Policy — Scope of Coverage — Proximate Cause — Repudiation of Claim — Loss occasioned by fire following an attempted theft/burglary — Policy covered 'Fire' as a specified peril with limited exclusions which did not include theft/burglary preceding the fire — Insurer denied claim arguing that the proximate cause was theft/burglary, which was excluded under the Riots Strike and Malicious Damages (RSMD) clause — Held: Once the loss is caused India Law Library Docid # 2436963
(694) JAYANTIBHAI CHATURBHAI PATEL Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 16-12-2025 Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) — Section 376(2)(d) — Rape — Appreciation of Evidence — Conviction solely based on First Information Report (FIR) or previous statements of hostile witnesses — Admissibility and reliability — Victim (PW-1) and her husband (PW-2) turned hostile and did not support the prosecution case during trial — Court should be slow to act on the testimony of hostile witness and normally India Law Library Docid # 2436964
(695) RAJ PAL SINGH Vs. RAJVEER AND OTHERS[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 16-12-2025 Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) — Section 302 read with Section 34 — Murder — Appeal against acquittal — Powers of Appellate Court — Reversal of acquittal — Principles — The guilt of the accused must be established beyond reasonable doubt (must or should, not may be) — Once an accused is acquitted, the presumption of innocence is reinforced — Interference by the appellate court must be minimal and guided by "substantial and compelling reasons" — Reversal should not occur merely because India Law Library Docid # 2436965
(696) R. ASHOKA Vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA AND OTHERS[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 16-12-2025 Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC) — Section 482 — Inherent powers of High Court to quash FIR — Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 — Allegations against former Minister (Chairman of Regularisation Committee) regarding illegal land allotments to non-eligible persons — Principles for quashing FIR reiterated, including where institution and continuance of proceedings amount to abuse of process of court or securing ends of justice, or where proceedings are manifestly India Law Library Docid # 2436966
(697) TAMIL NADU GENERATION AND DISTRIBUTION CORPORATION LTD. Vs. M/s PENNA ELECTRICITY LIMITED[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 16-12-2025 Electricity Law — Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) — Commercial Operation Date (COD) — Firm Power vs. Infirm Power — Payment of Fixed Charges — Applicability of Regulations — Dispute regarding whether power supplied by generating company (respondent) to distribution licensee (appellant) during the relevant period (29.10.2005 to 30.06.2006) should be treated as "firm power" entitling the respondent to fixed charges, or "infirm power" entitling only variable charges — India Law Library Docid # 2436967
(698) MARAM NIRMALA AND ANOTHER Vs. THE STATE OF TELANGANA AND ANOTHER[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 16-12-2025 Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC) — Section 482 — Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) — Section 498-A, 323, 504 — Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 (DP Act) — Section 3, 4 — Quashing of criminal proceedings — Cruelty and Dowry Demand — Vague and omnibus allegations — Scope — Where allegations against in-laws (mother-in-law and father-in-law) are vague and omnibus, lacking specific instances India Law Library Docid # 2437495
(699) KANUMURU RAGHU RAMA KRISHNA RAJU Vs. RESERVE BANK OF INDIA AND OTHERS[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 16-12-2025 Reserve Bank of India (RBI) — Master Directions on Frauds — Classification of Borrower Account as Fraud (Clause 8.12.1) — Principles of Natural Justice — Show-cause notice — Deeming an account as ‘fraud’ under Clause 8.12.1 and consequently debarring the borrower from institutional finance amounts to blacklisting and results in serious penal and civil consequences — Classification as fraud without issuance of India Law Library Docid # 2437497
(700) CHANDRASHEKAR C Vs. THE STATE OF KARNATAKA AND ANOTHER[SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] 16-12-2025 Quashing of Criminal Proceedings — Grounds for quashing — Allegations of cheating and forgery in land transactions — Appellant (A-22) purchased land via registered sale deed and rectification deed — Complainant (seller/2nd respondent) alleged deeds were forged and consideration syphoned off — Investigation Report confirmed complainant admitted executing and signing both Sale Deed and India Law Library Docid # 2437499