Recent rulings.
One judgment, explained properly, every week.

Highway Land: Solatium Under Which Act?

Manav Bhanot v. National Highway Authority of India

Land taken for a national highway carries solatium and interest — that much is settled. On 8 September 2026 the Supreme Court decided which statute computes them, and the answer turns on a single date most landowners have never thought about.

If Your Loan Is Sold to a Bank, SARFAESI Applies

Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. v. Trupti Sanjay Mehta & Ors.

Borrowers argued that a loan made by a lender outside SARFAESI could never become a SARFAESI debt just because a bank bought it. On 2 September 2026 the Supreme Court held the opposite — the moment a covered bank takes the account over, it is a secured debt.

U.P. Gangsters Act: No Offence, So No Prosecution

Shiv Pratap Singh alias Chinu v. State of U.P. & Ors.

Two advocates challenged cases registered against them under the U.P. Gangsters Act. On 20 August 2026 the Supreme Court found that the Act never creates an offence at all — called it “stillborn”, and quashed the proceedings.

Registering a Will Is Not the Same as Proving It

Pazhanathal (Dead) Through LRs v. Alamathal (Dead) Through LRs

A widow's registered Will gave her husband's farmland to one branch of the family. Forty years on, the Supreme Court held the Will was never proved — so the land passed by intestate succession instead.

Late Jail Appeal: Supreme Court Acquits After 22 Years

Arjun Jani @ Tuntun v. State of Orissa

A man convicted of murder spent 22 years in prison because his appeal was filed late and no court would look at it. The Supreme Court held that delay must not shut a convict out, examined the evidence itself, and acquitted him.

Supreme Court: A 25-Year Fight for Back Wages

A CRPF officer was removed from service in 1995 and spent a quarter of a century in court. The Supreme Court held that once a wrongful penalty is cut down it relates back to the original date — and ordered his promotion made real, his back wages and pension paid, and ₹10 lakh in costs for the ordeal.

Supreme Court: Early Release for Elderly, Ill Prisoners

The Supreme Court has given every State and Union Territory three months to create a proper system for releasing prisoners who are very old or dying — holding that keeping them locked up with no way out, and no real medical care, violates the Constitution.

Supreme Court: Fake AI Case Law Makes a Ruling Void

The Supreme Court threw out insolvency orders against a company after finding that the tribunal had leaned on six precedents that were fake, misquoted, or simply did not exist — and laid down a zero-tolerance rule for judges and lawyers alike.

When a bank's property auction can be set aside

A bank's SARFAESI auction can be cancelled if the rules are not followed - here the winning bidder paid the balance five days late, so the Supreme Court set the sale aside and let the owner's family redeem the property.

Homemaker's death: the new 'loss of domestic care' payout

The Supreme Court created a new 'loss of domestic care' head — at least Rs 30,000 a month — for the death of a homemaker, calling her a 'Nation Builder', and raised one family's accident award from about Rs 2.4 lakh to Rs 62.8 lakh.

Can a tenant dispute the landlord's title?

A tenant who took a shop on rent could not avoid eviction by claiming the landlord was not the real owner — the Supreme Court applied the rule of tenant estoppel.