SC Issues Nationwide Directions For Time-Bound Trial Of Dowry Death, Cruelty Cases: The Supreme Court has issued nationwide directions to States, Union Territories and High Courts for the time-bound trial and monitoring of cases involving dowry death and cruelty to married women. The Court directed trial courts to prioritise cases pending for more than three years, secure prompt appearance of accused, frame charges preferably within 60 to 90 days and record evidence continuously or on a day-to-day basis, while also directing High Courts to monitor pendency through digital tracking mechanisms. Read more
Bail In Serious Offences Must Reflect Proper Application Of Mind: Supreme Court: The Supreme Court has cancelled the regular bail granted to two accused persons in a case involving the burning to death of a farmer in Maharashtra's Satara district, holding that the courts below had overlooked material on record and assigned flimsy reasons while granting bail. The Bench observed that bail orders in serious offences must demonstrate proper application of mind and cannot be based on inadequate or untenable reasons, while directing the accused to surrender. Read more
Wife Cannot Revive Maintenance Claims Waived In Settlement: Supreme Court: The Supreme Court has held that a wife who voluntarily relinquished her monetary and maintenance claims under a settlement agreement and reaffirmed the waiver before the Family Court cannot subsequently revive those claims through proceedings under the Domestic Violence Act. The Court observed that she had not challenged the settlement or divorce decree and had expressly affirmed that there was no coercion or undue influence, though it clarified that an adult daughter who was not a party to the settlement could pursue her independent claims. Read more
Reserved-Category Candidate Shifted To Open Merit Entitled To Better Reserved Post: Supreme Court: The Supreme Court has reiterated that a reserved-category candidate selected on merit in the open category is entitled to claim a better post available under the reserved category than a candidate who secured lesser marks within that category. The Court relied on the settled principle governing migration of reserved-category candidates to the open merit category, while also flagging for future consideration the issue of how such migration may affect candidates already selected against unreserved posts. Read more
SC Orders Nationwide SIT Probe Into Fraudulent Motor Accident Insurance Claims: The Supreme Court has directed all States to constitute dedicated Special Investigation Teams (SITs) to investigate fraudulent motor accident insurance claims after a pan-India exercise revealed instances of the same vehicles being repeatedly shown as involved in multiple accidents. The Court observed that such fraudulent claims cause financial losses to insurers and ultimately burden genuine policyholders through higher insurance premiums. Read more
Nine-Judge Bench Keeps Bangalore Water Supply Test For Pending ID Act Cases, Splits On Reconsideration: The Supreme Court’s nine-judge Bench has held that the Bangalore Water Supply Triple Test continues to govern industrial disputes pending under the now-repealed Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. While the Bench delivered separate opinions and differed on whether the 1978 ruling required reconsideration, the judges agreed that pending cases under the old law would continue to be decided by applying the existing test, while concluded matters would remain undisturbed. Read more
