Criminal Law - Constitutional Safeguards - Constitution of India - Articles 21 and 22(1) - Non-furnishing of grounds of arrest - Appellant arrested for alleged offences under BNS and POCSO Act but denied written grounds of arrest - Magistrate declared arrest illegal and ordered release - High Court held that investigating agency was not precluded from re-arresting the accused for serious offences - Supreme Court held that breach of Article 22(1) vitiates the arrest and remand - Investigating agency must follow strict procedural mandate if re-arrest is sought - Requires filing fresh application before Magistrate with written grounds and explanation for prior failure - Endorsement of superior officer required to prevent abuse - Held - High Court order set aside - [Paras 1-25, 37-38].

Criminal Law - Detention - Constitution of India - Article 22(2) - Twenty-four hour production rule - Appellant not produced before Magistrate within 24 hours of arrest - High Court observed appellant could sue police for illegal detention but refused to restrain future arrest - Supreme Court held that continued detention beyond 24 hours without judicial authority is unconstitutional - Release for such breach does not entitle the agency to bypass constitutional safeguards - Any re-arrest must follow judicial process and comply with constitutional mandates - Held - High Court erred in leaving remedy to civil action alone without addressing the right to protection against arbitrary re-arrest - [Paras 26-36].

Decision: Appeal allowed – Impugned order of the High Court and observations of the Magistrate set aside – Investigating agency directed to follow the mandate of Mihir Rajesh Shah and the procedure prescribed in paragraphs 24 to 25.1 and 36 if custodial interrogation is required.

Consumer Law - Insurance - Insurance Act 1938 - Section 64UM - Consumer Protection Act 1986 - Section 2(1)(g) - Fire insurance claim repudiated by appellant due to manipulated books of accounts and lack of evidence for accidental fire - NCDRC allowed the complaint directing payment ignoring surveyor reports citing abnormalities - Supreme Court observed that respondent failed to justify contradictory stands on loss and provided false declarations - surveyor reports indicated fire was not accidental and respondent attempted to inflate claims through book entries - held that NCDRC erred in brushing aside valid surveyor reports and ignoring breach of policy conditions - appeal allowed - [Paras 1-35].

Civil Law - Insurance - Insurance Act 1938 - Section 64UM - Role of Surveyor - Insurer appointed surveyors to assess fire loss - surveyor reports highlighted irregularities in accounting and lack of genuine fire minimization efforts - Apex Court held that while surveyor reports are not the final word they serve as vital evidence and cannot be ignored by NCDRC without cogent reasons - non-consideration of material findings by NCDRC results in miscarriage of justice - [Paras 20-26].

Civil Law - Insurance - Policy Conditions - Breach of terms - Policy Condition 6 and 8 - Insurance contract requires full disclosure and penalizes false declarations - respondent made false statements regarding stock existence and fire cause - held that insurer is lawfully entitled to reject claim on grounds of false averments and breach of policy conditions - [Paras 31-32].

Decision: Appeal allowed - NCDRC order dated 19.11.2024 set aside - Civil Appeal No. 11416 of 2025 dismissed - Registry to return deposited amount with interest - Parties to bear their own costs.

Civil Law - Trade Marks - Trade Marks Act 1999 - Section 134 - Commercial Courts Act 2015 - Constitution of Commercial Courts - Appellants contended that Section 134 requires infringement suits to be filed in District Court and that state notifications designating Civil Judge (Senior Division) as Commercial Courts dilute this special legislation - Respondents argued that Commercial Courts Act is subsequent legislation and prevails by way of non-obstante clause under Section 21 - Court noted apparent conflict between decisions in Kandla Export Corporation v OCI Corporation and Jaycee Housing Private Limited v Registrar (General) Orissa High Court - Held - Matter involves important questions regarding legislative intent and the interplay between special statutes and the Commercial Courts Act - Conflict requires resolution by a Larger Bench to ensure uniform law - [Paras 1-13].

Civil Law - Jurisdiction - Commercial Courts Act 2015 - Section 3 - Pecuniary jurisdiction - Determination of appropriate forum - High Court notifications in different states designating lower judiciary as Commercial Courts create anomalies regarding pecuniary limits and the right to appeal - Court held that legislative imprimatur cannot be diluted by notifications and referred the issue to a Larger Bench - [Paras 11-13].

Decision: Matter referred to a Larger Bench for resolution - Commercial Suit No. 11 of 2023 pending before the CJ (SD) – I, Jamshedpur shall stand stayed.

Civil Law - Land Acquisition - Land Acquisition Act 1894 - Section 28A - Limitation - Application for redetermination of compensation - Respondent-landowners filed application under Section 28A three months after a High Court appellate order which merely relied on an earlier appellate judgment - Reference Court had rejected the original reference decades prior - Supreme Court held that Section 28A limitation commences from the date of the Reference Court award and not from appellate orders - Further held that there is no fresh cause of action arising from successive appellate orders and such applications are time-barred - High Court order set aside - [Paras 1-36].

Civil Law - Land Acquisition - Land Acquisition Act 1894 - Section 28A - Maintainability - Doctrine of merger and successive awards - Application for redetermination of compensation must be based on an award of the Reference Court and not an order passed in first appeal by the High Court - Subsequent appellate orders do not confer fresh entitlement or fresh limitation period for filing Section 28A applications - [Paras 21-34].

Civil Law - Land Acquisition - Land Acquisition Act 1894 - Section 28A - Procedural conduct - Where an appeal is pending before the High Court against a Reference Court award, the proper procedure is for the Collector to keep the Section 28A application in abeyance - Application cannot be filed afresh after a long delay following appellate decisions - [Paras 28-29].

Decision: Appeal allowed - Impugned High Court order set aside - Application under Section 28A of the Act of 1894 rejected - [Paras 35-36].

Criminal Law - Default Bail - Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 - Section 167(2) - Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 1967 - Section 43D - Respondents arrested for offences under IPC and UAPA - Special Judge granted extension of time for investigation - Respondents applied for default bail alleging investigation was complete and sanction was not a valid ground for extension - High Court allowed bail holding extension order illegal as investigation was complete and sanction is for cognizance not filing charge sheet - Supreme Court reversed holding that investigation is the exclusive domain of police and court cannot curtail statutory powers - Court held that extension for filing charge sheet on grounds like awaiting FSL reports and analysis of voluminous data is valid and not dependent on completion of investigation in all respects - Held - impugned judgment set aside and default bail application dismissed - [Paras 1-35].

Criminal Law - Cognizance - Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 1967 - Section 45 - Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 - Section 196 - Filing of charge sheet vs Taking cognizance - Distinction between investigation and prosecution - Sanction for prosecution is required for taking cognizance by the court and not for the filing of the charge sheet by the investigating agency - Filing a final report within the statutory period precludes the accrual of right to default bail - [Paras 26-29].

Criminal Law - Investigation - Power of Police - Discretion to investigate - Court interference - Investigation is the exclusive domain of the police and the court cannot dictate when the investigation should conclude - Court cannot curtail statutory powers of the police except in exceptional cases or where there is a statutory bar - [Paras 30-31].

Decision: Appeal allowed – Judgment of High Court set aside – Order of Special Judge upheld – Default bail application dismissed – Respondent No. 1 directed to surrender within 30 days and may pray for regular bail if so advised.

Civil Law - Tender - Government Contract - Eligibility Criteria - Mandatory versus Directory requirements - Appellant challenged High Court order quashing its technical bid for failure to meet experience criteria in tender for collection of user charges in Mandi premises - Tender required two years of specific experience in collecting user charges or parking fees for government bodies - Appellant relied on experience in cattle fair contracts - Court held that collection of user charges as a contractual duty for a public authority is a specialized operation fundamentally distinct from incidental revenue collection in cattle fair leases - Appellant lacked requisite experience - Held - High Court rightly exercised judicial review as the interpretation of the authority was patently arbitrary and dehors the tender conditions - [Paras 1-36].

Civil Law - Tender - Judicial Review - Scope of interference - Court held that while the author of a tender is the best judge of its requirements and courts should exercise restraint, such deference is not absolute - Interference is warranted when the interpretation is not in consonance with the language of the tender or is patently arbitrary - Held - The authority cannot treat an essential mandatory requirement as directory solely to favour a specific bidder - [Paras 14-24].

Civil Law - Tender - Approbate and Reprobate - Doctrine of - Appellant had participated in similar tenders for other Marketing Committees with identical clauses and was disqualified for lack of experience without challenging those orders - Court held that a party cannot adopt inconsistent positions on the meaning of identical contractual language to suit its convenience - Held - Conduct of the party reinforces the interpretation that the experience criterion is mandatory and not satisfied by the appellant - [Paras 31-33].

Civil Law - Tender - Financial Bid - Public Interest - Revenue considerations - Appellant argued that its bid was higher by Rs 1.5 crore and its rejection causes loss to public exchequer - Court held that revenue considerations cannot cure ineligibility and valid comparison is only possible among eligible bidders - Held - Public interest is served by upholding mandatory tender conditions rather than sacrificing them for a higher figure - [Paras 34-36].

Decision: Appeals dismissed – Order of the High Court confirmed – No order as to costs.

Criminal Law - Investigation - Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 - Section 173(8) - Brutal rape and murder of a 17-year-old girl - Prosecution failed to produce credible evidence against the accused who was ultimately acquitted by the Sessions Court - Investigating agencies including local police and CID and CBI failed to examine potential witnesses and conduct a fair investigation - Constitutional Court has the power to direct a denovo investigation to prevent miscarriage of justice - Supreme Court set aside the High Court order and directed a fresh investigation by a newly constituted Special Investigation Team - Held - Accused acquitted in the trial stands protected by Article 20(2) of the Constitution and Section 300 of CrPC and shall not be subjected to further prosecution - [Paras 1-62].

Writ Law - Fair Investigation - Constitution of India - Article 21 - Fair investigation is a constitutional right - Investigating agency cannot conduct investigation in a tainted and biased manner - Failure of investigation or visible deficiency in collecting evidence necessitates intervention by courts to protect the ends of justice - Held - State directed to constitute a Special Investigation Team to conduct a denovo investigation - [Paras 51-61].

Evidence Law - Scientific evidence - Indian Evidence Act 1872 - Improper preservation of vaginal swab and failure to collect available CCTV footage and forensic evidence - Failure of investigating officers to act in the golden hour - Held - Such lapses and systemic failures call for a de novo investigation to identify the real perpetrators - [Paras 26-40].

Decision: Impugned High Court order set aside - Denovo investigation ordered in Crime No. 250/2012 by a newly constituted Special Investigation Team - Investigation to be concluded within three months - Santhosh Rao (the acquitted accused) is excluded from further prosecution or investigation pursuant to Article 20(2) of the Constitution and Section 300 CrPC.

Civil Law - Civil Procedure - Code of Civil Procedure 1908 - Order XIV Rule 2(1) and 2(2) - Order XX Rule 5 - Preliminary issue - Suit for declaration and recovery of possession where limitation was framed as an issue - Trial Court determined limitation as a preliminary issue after evidence had already been adduced by both parties - High Court affirmed the decision - Supreme Court held that the statutory power under Order XIV Rule 2(2) to try an issue first is a prospective power that cannot be invoked once the court has embarked upon the trial of issues generally - The power to order prior trial of a qualifying issue does not authorize retrospective reordering of a trial already underway - The orders of the courts below were unsustainable as the suit had already progressed to the stage of trial - Held - Appeal allowed and suit restored for trial on merits - [Paras 1-48].

Civil Law - Limitation - Limitation Act 1963 - Articles 59 and 65 - Preliminary Issue - Mixed question of fact and law - Determination of limitation as a preliminary issue requires that the facts be admitted or clear on the face of the plaint - Where the limitation issue is tied to disputed facts such as the validity of a Power of Attorney or whether a transaction is void or voidable it cannot be decided as a preliminary issue without permitting evidence - Held - Trial Court erred in treating limitation as a pure question of law to be decided in isolation after trial had commenced - [Paras 18-20, 45].

Civil Law - Civil Procedure - Code of Civil Procedure 1908 - Section 151 - Inherent powers - Invoking inherent powers to circumvent conditions of Order XIV Rule 2 - Appellant sought to treat the limitation issue as a preliminary issue using Section 151 after trial had begun - Held - Section 151 cannot be invoked to bypass the temporal limits and procedural sequence explicitly regulated by the Code - The legislative scheme concerning the sequence of trial cannot be circumvented via inherent powers - [Paras 39-40].

Decision: Appeal allowed – Orders of the Trial Court, Appellate Court, and High Court set aside – Suit restored to the file of the Munsiff Court, Kottarakara – Trial Court directed to decide the suit within three months – Interim stay vacated – No order as to costs.

Criminal Law - Murder - Indian Penal Code 1860 - Sections 148, 506 and 302 read with 149 - Alleged eyewitnesses were related to the deceased and provided inconsistent testimonies regarding their presence at the scene - Incident occurred on a pitch-dark night making identification from a distance of 60 cubits improbable - High Court correctly rejected eyewitness testimony but erroneously relied on circumstantial evidence to uphold convictions - Supreme Court found that the chain of circumstances was incomplete and failed to exclude the hypothesis of innocence - Held - Impugned judgment set aside and appellants acquitted based on benefit of doubt - [Paras 1-35].

Evidence Law - Circumstantial Evidence - Indian Evidence Act 1872 - Section 3 - Standard of proof - The "panchsutra" of circumstantial evidence requires that all facts must be fully established and consistent only with the guilt of the accused - In the present case, motive was not proven for all appellants and the prosecution failed to recover weapons or link the accused to the crime through a complete chain - Held - In criminal jurisprudence where two views are possible the one favourable to the accused must prevail - [Paras 23-33].

Evidence Law - Identity - Indian Evidence Act 1872 - Section 9 - Identification of assailants - Identification made on a pitch-dark night merely based on sound or the light of torches held by the assailants which would cause blindness is unreliable - Held - Identifying assailants with absolute certainty in such conditions is not possible and evidence cannot be relied upon - [Paras 18-21].

Decision: The appeals are allowed – The judgment and order of the High Court and the Trial Court are quashed and set aside – Appellants are acquitted.