This volume of the Supreme Court Cases (SCC), Part 4 of Volume 8, carries key cases decided by the Supreme Court on issues such as substitution of arbitrator, relevancy of medical evidence, proceeds of crime under PMLA, right to maternity leave for a woman legally adopting a child, and more.
Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 — S. 29-A — Substitution of arbitrator — Requirement of, when the award is not made within the prescribed period and no extension is sought by the parties: In present case, in view of mandate contained in S. 29-A(1) the sole arbitrator was under an obligation to pass an award within a period of one year from 1-3-2022 i.e. on or before 28-2-2023 but the sole arbitrator failed to do so. Further, the parties did not apply for extension of period to pass an award. Thus, the sole arbitrator, in view of mandate contained in S. 29-A(4), became functus officio, [Mohan Lal Fatehpuria v. Bharat Textiles, (2026) 8 SCC 569]
Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956 — Ss. 22, 21(vii), 19 and 4 — Maintenance — Claim for, by widowed daughter-in-law in father-in-law’s estate — Sustainability: A daughter-in-law who becomes a widow after death of her father-in-law, held, is entitled to claim maintenance from his estate, [Kanchana Rai v. Geeta Sharma, (2026) 8 SCC 562]
Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 — S. 60(5) — Adjudication on rights over trade mark, when there are rival claims — Invalidity of: NCLT lacks jurisdiction to adjudicate complex trade mark title disputes or determine IP ownership through insolvency proceedings, [Gloster Ltd. v. Gloster Cables Ltd., (2026) 8 SCC 589]
Penal Code, 1860 — Ss. 304-B and 498-A — Quashing of charge-sheet — Relevancy of medical evidence: In present case, the post-mortem report attributes death to “asphyxia as a result of ante-mortem hanging.” No other antemortem injuries were found apart from the ligature mark, and no signs of resistance, restraint or physical assault were observed. The court held that the medical evidence undoubtedly does not by itself determine whether death is suicidal or homicidal. Nevertheless, where the prosecution alleges homicidal violence involving several accused acting in concert, the complete absence of injuries ordinarily expected in a struggle, held, assumes considerable evidentiary significance, [Rahul v. State of U.P., (2026) 8 SCC 575]
Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 — S. 2(1)(u), Explanation r/w S. 2(1)(v) — Expression “proceeds of crime”: Definition and its scope is wide enough to include a property which is equivalent in value to the property that is directly or indirectly obtained from a criminal activity relating to the scheduled offence. Thus, such a property, held, can also be attached if the proceeds of crime, as such, are not otherwise available, [Nav Nirman Builders & Developers (P) Ltd. v. Union of India, (2026) 8 SCC 627]
Social Security Code, 2020 — S. 60(4) — Right to maternity leave for a woman legally adopting a child: S. 60(4), Social Security Code, 2020, insofar as it restricts maternity benefits for adoptive mothers to cases where adopted child is below three months of age, is violative of Arts. 14 and 21, [Hamsaanandini Nanduri v. Union of India, (2026) 8 SCC 485]
