Supreme Court Restores ₹162 Crore Penalty On Power Generator For Failure To Demonstrate Declared Capacity

The Supreme Court on Wednesday (May 20) held that a power-generating station's failure to demonstrate its declared electricity generation capacity attracts strict liability and does not require proof of mens rea or deliberate wrongdoing. The Court observed that since generating stations receive fixed charges based on their declared capability, failure to establish such declared capacity within the prescribed time framework would automatically invite penal consequences. A bench of Justice Sanjay...

BNSS S.223(1) Proviso Mandatory; Cognizance Without Hearing Accused Void Ab Initio: Supreme Court

Accused need not show prejudice caused by non-compliance, Court says

Supreme Court Weekly Digest April 16 - 24, 2026

Administrative Law — State Liability and Governance Failure — Supreme Court criticized the "lackadaisical approach" and "systemic failure" of the state machineries in preventing illegal mining - held that a State cannot plead helplessness due to inadequate equipment or weaponry to justify inaction against organized crime - Personal accountability was fixed on officials for any...

Crime Scene Re-Enactment Won't Violate Right Against Self Incrimination In All Situations: Supreme Court

Unless the accused is led to disclose incriminating acts, a crime scene re-enactment won't be hit by Article 20(3) or Sections 25, 26 of the Evidence Act.

Supreme Court Acquits Sri Lankan National In UAPA Case As He Was Wrongly Identified As Absconding Accused Linked To LTTE

The Supreme Court on Wednesday (May 20) set aside the conviction of a Sri Lankan national in a case under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, after finding that he had been wrongly identified as another prime accused person who continued to remain absconding in connection with the offence. A bench of Justice Vikram Nath, Justice Sandeep Mehta, and Justice Vijay Bishnoi set aside the Madras High Court's Madurai Bench decision, which refused to interfere with the conviction of the...

Supreme Court Quarterly Digest 2026 - Negotiable Instruments Act

Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 - Supreme Court Quarterly Digest Jan - Mar, 2026Section 138 and 142(1)(b) - The Supreme Court set aside an order of the Karnataka High Court that had treated the sequence of condoning delay and taking cognizance as interchangeable or a "curable irregularity" – Noted that under the proviso to Section 142(1)(b) of the NI Act, the power to take cognizance of...

Banks Casual In Giving Huge Loans To Big Entities, But Very Demanding In Small Loans To Ordinary Persons : Supreme Court

The Court left it to the RBI to decide on a fairer and easier mechanism for loan seekers.

Landowners Can't Be Forced To Forgo Statutory Compensation To Receive Other Statutory Benefits : Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Wednesday (May 20) held that a statutory right to compensation cannot be waived through contractual conditions imposed by civic authorities. The Court clarified that once a law grants a person the right to compensation, such right cannot be treated as surrendered merely because the landowner agreed to forgo it as a precondition for receiving another statutory benefit or amenity. A bench of Justice JK Maheshwari and Justice Atul S. Chandurkar dismissed an appeal filed by the...

Pre-Cognizance Hearing Of Accused Mandatory For PMLA Complaint When Cognizance Taken After BNSS : Supreme Court

Special Court cannot take PMLA cognizance without hearing the accused after BNSS commencement, the court held.

Filing Anticipatory Bail Petitions In Quick Successions Abuse Of Process, Reduces Litigation To Mere Gamble : Supreme Court

The Supreme Court recently disapproved the practice of repeatedly filing anticipatory bail applications within short intervals of time, observing that the remedy of anticipatory bail, meant to safeguard an accused's personal liberty in advance, cannot be reduced to gambling. A bench comprising Justice Sanjay Kumar and Justice K. Vinod Chandran set aside an order passed by the Madurai Bench...

Stray Dogs Can Be Maintained In Campuses Only If Student Bodies Accept Liability : Supreme Court Allows Exemption For NALSAR

The assertion of rights in favour of dogs cannot operate in isolation, divorced from the corresponding responsibility to safeguard human life and safety, the Court held.

Accused Entitled To Parity With Discharged Co-Accused If Evidence Against Him Is Not Qualitatively Stronger: Supreme Court

The Court observed that the principle of parity was a fundamental tenet of criminal jurisprudence.