This volume of the Supreme Court Cases (SCC), Part 3 of Volume 5, embodies a curated selection of landmark cases decided by the Supreme Court addressing a wide range of issues such as the arbitral tribunal’s jurisdiction, second appeals in civil suits, release of land from acquisition, entitlement of workmen to bonus, and much more.
Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 — S. 16(2) — Arbitral Tribunal’s jurisdiction — Challenge to — Stage(s) up to which permissible: Challenge to jurisdiction of Arbitral Tribunal is impermissible after submission of statement of defence, [Vidyawati Construction Co. v. Union of India, (2025) 5 SCC 347]
Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 — Ss. 16, 34 and 37 — Arbitration proceedings/award against husband, regarding recovery of losses in wife’s account: Arbitration proceedings/award against husband, regarding recovery of losses in wife’s account, sustainable. Joint and several liability for spouses under BSE Bye-laws, determined, [AC Chokshi Share Broker (P) Ltd. v. Jatin Pratap Desai, (2025) 5 SCC 321]
Civil Procedure Code, 1908 — S. 100 — Second appeal — Framing of substantial question(s) of law: Law reiterated on mandatory and jurisdictional nature of requirement of framing of substantial question(s) of law, [Hemavathi v. V. Hombegowda, (2025) 5 SCC 442]
Civil Procedure Code, 1908 — S. 100 — Second appeal: Disposing of second appeal, as if it was a regular first appeal without framing any substantial question(s) of law, not permissible, [Bhagyashree Anant Gaonkar v. Narendra, (2025) 5 SCC 451]
Contract and Specific Relief — Remedies/Relief — Restitutionary Remedies — Contractual Restitution Clause/Contractual quantum meruit or valebant: Change in law clause must be brought about in the manner prescribed. Law clarified on interpretation of “change in law” provisions in power purchase agreements, [Nabha Power Ltd. v. Punjab State Power Corpn. Ltd., (2025) 5 SCC 353]
Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 — S. 197 — Sanction for prosecution: Law clarified on essential precondition for applicability of provision, [G.C. Manjunath v. Seetaram, (2025) 5 SCC 390]
Education Law — Employment and Service Matters re Educational Institutions — Appointment/Recruitment — Eligibility Conditions/Criteria — Concession/Relaxation for in-service candidates — Entitlement to benefit of: In this case for recruitment of Assistant Teachers in State of W.B., there was requirement of possessing 2 yrs Diploma in Elementary Education (DElEd) by 1-4-2019. NCTE vide recognition order dt. 22-9-2017 reducing duration of DElEd to 18 months by including/subsuming 6 months’ internship within 18 months to enable in-service candidates appointed on or before 10-8-2017 to acquire requisite minimum qualification by stipulated date. Appellants completed 18 months’ DElEd program in terms of recognition order dt. 22-9-2017. The appellants were held valid diploma-holders on a par with teacher completing 2 yrs DElEd program and eligible for appointment, [Kousik Das v. State of W.B., (2025) 5 SCC 413]
Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 — Ss. 12-A and 9: Withdrawal of application admitted under S. 9, on settlement with operational creditor, prior to constitution of Committee of Creditors (CoC), permissible, [Abhishek Singh v. Huhtamaki PPL Ltd., (2025) 5 SCC 465]
Land Acquisition Act, 1894 — Ss. 48 and 5-A — Release of land from acquisition — When cannot be allowed: In this case though appellant’s request was not barred by res judicata, as his claim for release had never been decided on merits. However, prayer for release of land could not be granted on merits because Government had already invested heavily in development of area, including roads, utilities, and green belts, making land’s release impractical, [Kishore Chhabra v. State of Haryana, (2025) 5 SCC 406]
Payment of Bonus Act, 1965 — Ss. 1(3)(a), 2(17), 10, 11, 22 and 32(v) r/w S. 2(m), Factories Act, 1948: Law clarified on entitlement of workmen to bonus, working in factories from which profits generated, under control of trust but governed by the 1948 Act, [Worth Trust v. Worth Trust Workers Union, (2025) 5 SCC 427]
Penal Code, 1860 — S. 302 r/w S. 34 — Acquittal: Law reiterated on reversal of acquittal by High Court, when permissible, [Surendra Singh v. State of Uttarakhand, (2025) 5 SCC 433]
Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 — Ss. 25(2), 12, 18 and 29: Alteration, modification or revocation of “any order” passed by Magistrate, when Permissible, explained, [S. Vijikumari v. Mowneshwarachari C., (2025) 5 SCC 458]
