Election Law - Local Self-Government - Maharashtra Village Panchayats Act, 1959 - Section 14(1)(j-1) - Disqualification - Two-Child Norm - Changed Demographic Realities - Temporal Reasonableness - Appellant's election as Sarpanch set aside on the ground that she gave birth to a third child in 2014, violating the two-child norm under Section 14(1)(j-1) - Similar disqualification was upheld in Javed v. State of Haryana, (2003) 8 SCC 369 on the premise that population explosion impeded national socio-economic progress - Shift in national demographics from 2003 to 2024 showing Total Fertility Rate (TFR) plunging from 3.0 to 1.9, below the demographic replacement level of 2.1, with an impending transition towards an ageing population - Held, a statute which when enacted was rational and justified may, with the lapse of time and material change in underlying circumstances, become arbitrary, unreasonable, and non-sustainable - Cessante ratione cessat ipsa lex applies when the factual or legal foundation of a statutory classification collapses - The demographic premise of population explosion that sustained the two-child norm in Javed no longer holds ground - Laws aimed at penalising reproduction have lost relevance and risk producing injustice - Failure of the legal system to adapt to changed circumstances amounts to an abuse of power - Reference made to a larger Bench to reconsider the ratio laid down in Javed v. State of Haryana - Paras 2, 3, 6-30, 31-48, 65, 66.

Constitutional Law - Fundamental Rights - Constitution of India - Articles 14 & 21 - Political Representation - Gender Inequality - Reproductive Autonomy - Exclusionary Effect of Disqualifications - Impact of two-child disqualification on democratic representation, women, and marginalized classes - Held, disqualifying citizens from holding panchayat offices for having more than two children excludes an entire class from political participation without a rational connection to their capacity to hold public office - Imposition of such norms exclusively at the local panchayat level reflects top-down bias - In a patriarchal societal framework, women often lack control over reproductive decisions and are disproportionately victimized by marital desertion, denial of paternity, and forced abortions to avoid disqualification - Right to make reproductive choices and family planning decisions is an intrinsic facet of the right to privacy, dignity, and personal liberty under Article 21 - State cannot indirectly compel surrender of reproductive autonomy through the threat of electoral disqualification - Reasoning in Javed upholding such restrictions demands thorough re-visitation - Paras 4, 52-64.

Decision: Leave granted; matter referred to a larger Bench for reconsideration of the ratio in Javed v. State of Haryana; Registry directed to place papers before the Hon'ble Chief Justice of India for constitution of an appropriate Bench; interim stay on the High Court order permitting the appellant to continue as Sarpanch ordered to continue until disposal of the Civil Appeal.

Service Law - Constitutional Law - Constitution of India - Articles 14, 16, 39(d) and 318 - Uttarakhand Public Service Commission (Conditions of Service) Regulations, 2004 - Regulation 7(1) and Regulation 7(2) - Pay Minus Pension Principle - Constitutional Validity - Deduction of service pension from salary of retired Government servants appointed to constitutional posts - Respondents, upon retirement from the Indian Army and State Civil Service respectively, were appointed as Chairman and Member of the Uttarakhand Public Service Commission - In accordance with Regulation 7(2), their admissible salary under Regulation 7(1) was fixed after deducting the pension drawn in respect of their previous service - High Court struck down Regulation 7(2) as ultra vires Article 14 read with Article 39(d) holding that pension earned for past service had no nexus with the responsibilities of the new post and violated the doctrine of equal pay for equal work - Held, deduction of pension under Regulation 7(2) operates merely to keep the pension in abeyance during the tenure of the Chairman or Member, and does not amount to forfeiture or withdrawal of pension - Entitlement to pension kept in abeyance revives upon demitting office - Concept of "equal pay for equal work" has no application to the fixation of salary under the "pay minus pension" principle - Permitting appointees to draw full salary in addition to pension would lead to an anomalous situation where total emoluments exceed the prescribed pay scale of the constitutional post - Deduction does not vary conditions of service to the disadvantage of the appointees under the proviso to Article 318 - Regulation 7(2) is constitutionally valid and does not violate Articles 14, 16 or 39(d) of the Constitution - Paras 5-7.3, 9.4, 13.

Service Law - Subordinate Legislation - Retroactive Operation - Uttarakhand Public Service Commission (Conditions of Service) Regulations, 2004 - Regulation 7(2) - Determination by Governor - Office Memorandum dated 16.09.2008 - Subsequent Determination - Contention that the Governor's determination under Regulation 7(2) directing deduction of pension was issued vide Office Memorandum dated 16.09.2008 after the respondents' appointments in 2006 and could not be applied retrospectively - Held, the 2004 Regulations were already in force when the respondents were appointed and their salaries were determined in terms of Regulation 7(1) read with Regulation 7(2) - Sub-regulation (2) does not require that the Governor's determination must be made prior to or simultaneously with the appointment, nor does it prohibit fixing pay minus pension pending such determination - Office Memorandum reflecting the Governor's decision operated retroactively to govern appointments made under the 2004 Regulations - Challenge on ground of retrospectivity is meritless - Paras 6-6.1, 9-10.1.

Service Law - Estoppel and Acquiescence - Approbate and Reprobate - Rules of the Game - Challenge to Service Conditions after Acceptance of Appointment - Respondents accepted appointments to the posts of Chairman and Member under the 2004 Regulations with full knowledge of the service conditions, enjoyed tenure and benefits for over two years, and challenged Regulation 7(2) at the fag end of their tenure - Held, a candidate or employee who accepts an appointment with open eyes and conscious knowledge of applicable service regulations cannot subsequently resile or challenge the rules of the game - Principle of estoppel and acquiescence squarely bars the appointees from disputing the applicability and validity of the Regulations governing their appointment - Paras 11-12.1.

Decision: Appeals allowed – Impugned judgments and orders of the High Court set aside – Regulation 7(2) of the Uttarakhand Public Service Commission (Conditions of Service) Regulations, 2004 upheld.

Constitutional Law - Legislative Competence - Surcharge on Sales Tax - Constitution of India, Seventh Schedule List II Entry 54 - Orissa Sales Tax Act, 1947, Section 5-A - Punjab General Sales Tax Act, 1948, Section 5(1-C) - Reference to Seven-Judge Bench on whether State Legislature has competence under Entry 54 List II to levy a surcharge/additional tax calculated as a percentage of sales tax payable by a dealer, or whether it amounts to an impermissible 'tax on tax' or 'tax on income' - Assessees contended that a surcharge measured by quantum of tax payable is not a tax on the sale or purchase of goods - Held, the measure adopted for assessing a tax does not determine its character - Subject of the tax is the taxable event, whereas the measure is merely the yardstick adopted by the Legislature to compute the quantum payable - A surcharge computed as a percentage of sales tax is arithmetically an additional percentage of taxable turnover and partakes of the nature and character of the principal tax - A levy payable irrespective of profit or loss and bearing no relation to income cannot be characterised as a tax on income - Issue is squarely governed by the five-Judge Constitution Bench decision in S. Kodar v. State of Kerala, which affirmed that additional tax determined with reference to sales tax payable is an enhancement in the rate of sales tax falling within Entry 54 of List II - Paras 22-25, 30-35, 87-94.

Constitutional Law - Precedents and Larger Bench References - Removal of Perceived Conflict - Overruling of Precedent - Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957, Section 9 - Entry 54 List II vs. Entry 54 List I - Genesis of reference was a perceived divergence between Hoechst Pharmaceuticals Ltd. v. State of Bihar and India Cement Ltd. v. State of Tamil Nadu, as to whether a levy computed on another levy was ultra vires - Held, the conflict was apparent rather than real as India Cement did not deal with sales tax under Entry 54 List II, but struck down cess on royalty because the field was occupied under the MMDR Act - In any event, the foundation in India Cement treating 'royalty as a tax' has been overruled by the nine-Judge Bench in Mineral Area Development Authority v. Steel Authority of India Ltd., which authoritatively held royalty is not a tax - Consequently, the premise characterizing the cess as a 'tax on tax' was removed - There exists no conflict with S. Kodar - Where the doubt that occasioned a reference is dispelled by a larger Bench, the reference ceases to survive and is rendered infructuous and academic - Paras 56-61, 75-86, 102.

Constitutional Law - Judicial Process - Reference to Larger Bench - Articles 141 and 145(3) of Constitution of India - Reference ceases to survive when foundational conflict is removed - Purpose of reference to a larger Bench is to resolve a genuine doubt or conflict in law declared by the Supreme Court - Continued survival of a reference depends upon the continued existence of that doubt - A Seven-Judge Bench is a scarce institutional resource and should not be occupied in restating settled law when the doubt has already been authoritatively resolved - Where statutory entries have also been substituted by the Constitution (One Hundred and First Amendment) Act, 2016 and enactments replaced by GST regime, question holds no prospective significance - Reference answered as infructuous - Paras 71-78, 95-97, 102-103.

Decision: Reference answered as having been rendered infructuous. Competence of State Legislatures to levy impugned surcharges governed by S. Kodar v. State of Kerala. Distinct questions concerning Section 30-AA of the Punjab General Sales Tax Act, 1948 and credit of cess to the Punjab Social Security Fund under Article 266 of the Constitution left open. Matters remitted to appropriate regular Benches for disposal on individual merits.

Private International Law - Recognition of Foreign Matrimonial Judgment - Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 - Section 13 - Enforceability of Foreign Divorce Decree - Marriage solemnized under Hindu rites in India - Husband instituted divorce proceedings before Indian court which were dismissed and appeal withdrawn - Husband obtained UK citizenship and subsequently obtained divorce decree from Cambridge County Court on ground of irretrievable breakdown of marriage - Wife contested jurisdiction - Husband solemnized second marriage in UK - Wife lodged complaint for bigamy under Section 494 IPC - Held, a foreign matrimonial decree does not assume automatic recognition unless tested on the anvil of Section 13 CPC, the personal law governing marriage, and jurisdictional principles - Jurisdiction assumed by foreign court and grounds of relief must align with the matrimonial law under which parties married - Irretrievable breakdown of marriage is not a statutory ground under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 - Decree obtained in contravention of Indian matrimonial law violates Section 13 CPC and cannot be recognized - Husband cannot rely on an invalid foreign decree to claim dissolution of marriage in India and escape liability under Section 494 IPC - Paras 16-24.

Criminal Law - Bigamy - Indian Penal Code, 1860 - Sections 4 & 494 - Extraterritorial Operation and Nationality - Second Marriage Abroad - Husband argued that being a naturalized British citizen and having solemnized second marriage outside India, IPC had no application under Section 4 IPC - Delay in lodging FIR - Continuing Offence - Held, where first marriage was solemnized in India under Hindu rites and customs, inquiry under Section 494 IPC cannot be confined solely to the place of the second marriage but must take into account the subsisting matrimonial relationship - Legal consequences flowing from a subsisting marriage cannot be defeated by subsequent change of nationality - Bigamy is a continuing offence, and criminal proceedings cannot be quashed on the ground of delay in lodging FIR - Quashing petition of husband dismissed - Paras 25-27, 33.

Criminal Law - Quashing of Proceedings - Criminal Conspiracy - Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 - Section 482 - Indian Penal Code, 1860 - Sections 120B & 494 - Liability of In-Laws and Second Wife - Chargesheet filed alleging parents of husband conspired by executing properties to encourage second marriage - Magistrate took cognizance against second wife whose name was deleted from chargesheet - Inherent powers to quash criminal proceedings - Held, criminal liability cannot flow merely from familial relationship - In the absence of evidence showing active participation, facilitation, or overt acts in the solemnization of the second marriage, in-laws cannot be made liable for conspiracy under Section 494 IPC - Inferential knowledge without overt acts is insufficient to establish common intention or conspiracy - Second wife had no overt act or conscious knowledge of subsisting first marriage attributed to her - Continuance of criminal proceedings against parents and second wife constitutes abuse of process of court - Proceedings quashed qua parents and second wife - Paras 28-33.

Decision: Criminal Appeal arising out of SLP (Crl.) No. 7708 of 2019 dismissed qua husband; Criminal Appeals arising out of SLP (Crl.) Nos. 7793 of 2019 and 7812 of 2019 allowed and criminal proceedings quashed qua second wife and parents.

Criminal Law - Appeal against Acquittal - Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 - Section 378 - Scope of Appellate Interference - High Court reversed judgment of acquittal passed by Trial Court and convicted appellants for double murder - Trial Court had brushed aside ocular testimony on trivial discrepancies and conjectural grounds - Held, Appellate Court possesses full power to review, re-appreciate, and reconsider evidence upon which acquittal is founded - Interference is justified when Trial Court's reasoning is perverse, wholly unreasonable, not based on record, and unsustainable in law - Trial Court erred in discarding direct evidence of eyewitnesses and glorifying non-essential aspects - No two views were possible and guilt was established beyond reasonable doubt - Conviction upheld - Paras 19-21.

Criminal Law - Inquest Proceedings - Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 - Section 174 - Scope and Object - Omission of Eyewitness Names in Inquest Report - Trial Court acquitted accused noting absence of eyewitnesses' names in Column No. 7 of Inquest Panchnama - Held, scope of Section 174 CrPC is strictly limited to ascertaining apparent cause of death, whether accidental, suicidal, or homicidal, and describing wounds and weapons - Details regarding overt acts, who assaulted, manner of assault, or names of eyewitnesses are entirely foreign to inquest proceedings - Testimony of credible eyewitnesses cannot be discarded merely because their names do not appear in inquest report - Paras 34-36.

Criminal Law - Medical Evidence vs Direct Ocular Testimony - Indian Penal Code, 1860 - Section 302 - Estimation of Time of Death based on Digestive Process - Doctor opined four-hour gap between two deaths based on stomach contents in response to Court question, leading Trial Court to disbelieve eyewitness account of simultaneous attacks - Held, process of digestion depends on multiple variables including nature of food, individual digestive capacity, and health condition, rendering digestive testimony inconclusive - Medical opinion based on stomach contents cannot override clear, cogent, and trustworthy oral evidence of natural eyewitnesses - Direct ocular evidence preferred over inconclusive medical conjectures - Paras 38-44.

Criminal Law - Appreciation of Evidence - Indian Evidence Act, 1872 - Section 134 - Related and Injured Witnesses - Evidentiary value of spouses of deceased - Trial Court rejected testimonies of wives of deceased treating them as interested witnesses - Held, related witness cannot ipso facto be termed an interested or partisan witness - Spouses sleeping next to victims in middle of night are natural witnesses, and one was also an injured witness - Their clear, graphic account of assault in close proximity with adequate electric light remained unshaken - Minor contradictions do not impair credibility of direct evidence - Paras 24-33, 37.

Decision:Appeal dismissed - High Court judgment affirming conviction and sentence of life imprisonment upheld - Appellants directed to surrender forthwith.

Evidence Law - Expert Evidence - Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 - Section 293 read with Section 313 - Indian Penal Code, 1860 - Section 306 - Handwriting Expert's Opinion - Non-examination of Expert Witness - Burden of Proof - Prosecution relied upon four disputed letters allegedly sent by appellant to deceased wife containing abusive language and threats, attributing authorship via handwriting expert's report - Investigating Officer did not obtain specimen handwriting during investigation and prosecution failed to examine the handwriting expert as a witness - Trial Court and High Court convicted appellant noting lack of specific denial of authorship in his Section 313 CrPC statement - Held, handwriting identification is not an infallible science and expert opinion is inherently weak and infirm, requiring cautious approach and substantial corroboration - Reports of handwriting experts are not admissible per se under Section 293 CrPC (or Section 329 BNSS) and must be formally proved by examining the expert to provide the accused an opportunity of cross-examination - Prosecution must stand on its own legs to establish guilt beyond reasonable doubt and cannot rely on defects in defence or omission in accused's Section 313 CrPC statement as a substitute for proof of incriminating circumstances - Reliance on disputed letters without examining expert was erroneous - Paras 20-24.

Criminal Law - Abetment of Suicide - Indian Penal Code, 1860 - Sections 107 & 306 - Instigation and Mens Rea - Matrimonial Discord and Remoteness - Deceased wife was living separately at her parental house for over two years pursuing criminal cases under Section 498A IPC and domestic violence proceedings against appellant - Wife died of burn injuries; initial hospital admission ticket and inquest statements indicated sudden fire/short circuit without attributing suicide - Mother lodged complaint 15 days later alleging husband's threatening letters drove deceased to suicide - No charge framed under Section 498A IPC - Letters contained abusive remarks interspersed with fervent pleas for reconciliation and withdrawal of litigation - Held, letters read in totality reflected attempts by a separated husband under pressure of litigation to effect reconciliation rather than an intention to instigate suicide - Contents did not constitute ingredients of abetment under Section 107 IPC - In absence of any proximate act of incitement leaving deceased with no alternative, conviction under Section 306 IPC unsustainable - Conviction and sentence set aside - Paras 25-31.

Decision: Appeal allowed - Judgment of conviction and sentence set aside - Appellant acquitted of the charge under Section 306 IPC - Bail bonds discharged.

Civil Law - Service Law - UP Police Constable and Head Constable Service Rules, 2015 - Rule 15(6)(d) - Direct Recruitment - Medical Examination - Alleged Squint Eye Defect - Appellant successfully cleared Document Verification and Physical Standard Test for the post of Constable Civil Police under U.P. Police Constable Civil Direct Recruitment, 2023 - Appellant was subsequently declared medically unfit by the Medical Board and Division Medical Board on grounds of squint eye, without furnishing written rejection order - Independent medical evaluations from government hospitals cast serious doubt on fitness assessment, but representation for re-examination was rejected - High Court dismissed writ petition on ground that selection process had concluded - Supreme Court directed examination by an expert Ophthalmology Medical Board at King George's Medical University, Lucknow - Expert report certified visual acuity as 6/6 and ocular direction straight with normal parameters - Held, appellant was deprived of her legitimate right for being appointed after successfully clearing all selection tests - In view of the medical board certifying her vision as proper/normal, appellant is entitled to appointment - High Court order set aside with direction to issue appointment/call letter if otherwise entitled, with stipulation that appellant shall not claim seniority over candidates already appointed - Paras 2-6.

Decision: Appeal allowed - Impugned order of the High Court set aside - Respondents directed to issue order of appointment/call letter to the appellant if otherwise entitled, without benefit of seniority over candidates appointed prior thereto.

Labour Law - Abolition and Eradication of Bonded Labour - Constitution of India - Articles 21 & 23 - Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976 - Sections 4, 10, 11, 12, 13 & 14 - Interconnected Obligations of Identification, Release, and Rehabilitation - Rescued bonded labourers subjected to severe delays of up to three years in receiving immediate financial assistance under Central Sector Scheme for Rehabilitation of Bonded Labourers - Administrative friction and disparate certificate formats between rescuing State (Uttar Pradesh) and home State (Bihar) leading to non-disbursement of relief - Held, prohibition of bonded labour is a core assurance of human dignity under Articles 21 and 23 of the Constitution - State obligation does not terminate upon physical rescue; identification, release, and rehabilitation constitute interconnected, inseparable stages of a continuing constitutional duty - Rehabilitation delayed amounts to rehabilitation denied, forcing victims back into economic vulnerability and exploitation - Entitlement to immediate relief cannot be subjected to inter-State administrative differences or jurisdictional delays - Immediate financial assistance must not be withheld merely because investigation or criminal prosecution of exploiters remains pending - Paras 1, 12-21, 27.

Constitutional Law - Scope of Writ Jurisdiction - Constitution of India - Article 32 - Remedying Systemic Deficiencies - Public Interest Litigation - Non-adversarial, constructive constitutional remediation - Held, jurisdiction of the Supreme Court under Article 32 is not confined merely to redressing individual violations of fundamental rights, but encompasses judicial intervention to identify and dismantle systemic deficiencies that impede the effective realization of constitutional guarantees - Duty of the Court is to ensure existing statutory and welfare frameworks operate effectively and in conformity with constitutional mandates without supplanting executive functions - Paras 22-23.

Labour Law - Nationwide Guidelines and Standard Operating Procedure - Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976 - Sections 10 to 14 - Time-Bound Directions for Rescue, Release, Financial Disbursement, and Monitoring - Implementation of SOP dated 14.05.2026 - Held, Union of India and all States/UTs directed to uniformly implement SOP within six months - Complaints of bonded labour to be verified ordinarily within 24 hours followed by immediate rescue, and release certificates to be issued in a nationally uniform format ordinarily within 24 hours of determination - Rescued persons' statements to be recorded with procedural safeguards in a language understood by them - Immediate financial assistance under the Rehabilitation Scheme to be disbursed ordinarily within 7 days of release certificate, and individual rehabilitation plans initiated within 90 days - States to appoint Nodal Officers for inter-State coordination within six months; administrative disputes between States shall not delay payments - States/UTs directed to ensure active functioning of District and Sub-Divisional Vigilance Committees and prompt utilisation of district rehabilitation funds - Implementation to be tracked via NAVJIVAN Portal, reviewed monthly by State-level Monitoring Committees, and monitored by designated District Grievance Redressal Officers with mandatory resolution of grievances within 30 days - Special protective and rehabilitative protocols mandated for child labourers - Joint verification and time-bound disbursement directed for unpaid rescued labourers - Paras 24-35.

Decision: Comprehensive nationwide binding directions issued to Union of India and all States and Union Territories; petitions kept pending to monitor compliance; compliance affidavits directed to be filed within specified periods; matters listed after seven months.

Criminal Law - Murder in Matrimonial Home - Burden of Proof - Indian Evidence Act, 1872 - Section 106 - Indian Penal Code, 1860 - Section 302 - Deceased died an unnatural death within nine months of marriage inside the privacy of matrimonial home while in exclusive custody and company of husband - Medical evidence confirmed homicidal death due to asphyxia by throttling - Husband set up false defence of accidental death due to epileptic seizure during sexual intercourse, refuted by post-mortem findings - Trial Court acquitted husband under Section 302 IPC, but High Court reversed acquittal and convicted him under Section 302 IPC - Held, where an offence takes place in the privacy of a house, a lighter initial burden rests on the prosecution and a corresponding burden shifts upon the inmates under Section 106 of the Evidence Act to offer a cogent explanation - The failure of the husband to discharge this burden, coupled with the tender of a demonstrably false defence, completes the chain of circumstantial evidence establishing guilt under Section 302 IPC - Conviction under Section 302 IPC upheld - Paras 34-40.

Criminal Law - Dowry Death and Cruelty - Indian Penal Code, 1860 - Sections 304-B & 498-A read with Section 34 - Statutory Presumption - Indian Evidence Act, 1872 - Section 113-B - Deceased subjected to persistent physical cruelty, mental torture, starvation, and threats to life over unlawful demands for Rs. 50,000/- cash, plot of land, television set, and tape deck soon before her death - Testimony of brother of deceased corroborated by marriage mediator, father, and independent neighbours - Held, prosecution established all foundational facts of cruelty and harassment in connection with dowry demands soon before death within seven years of marriage - Appellants failed to rebut the statutory presumption under Section 113-B of the Evidence Act - Conviction under Sections 498-A and 304-B read with Section 34 IPC affirmed - Paras 41-44.

Decision: Appeals dismissed - Common judgment of High Court convicting husband under Section 302 IPC and affirming conviction of appellants under Sections 498-A and 304-B read with Section 34 IPC upheld - Appeal qua deceased appellant-Digambar abated - Bail bonds cancelled and surviving appellants directed to surrender within four weeks to serve out remaining sentences.