Insolvency Law - Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process - Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016 - Section 14 - Moratorium - Petitioner-Company admitted to CIRP and IRP appointed - IRP sought recovery of Rs. 5,05,00,000/- deposited in Supreme Court registry as condition for Director's anticipatory bail on grounds that funds were transferred from corporate account and constitute company assets - Complainant contested recovery arguing funds were deposited in personal criminal proceedings - Supreme Court held that since funds originated from Corporate Debtor's account and are subject to statutory moratorium under Section 14 of the Code they must be disbursed to IRP to preserve assets - Held - Registry directed to disburse the amount along with interest to IRP - [Paras 1-8].

Criminal Law - Anticipatory Bail - Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 - Section 482 - Conditions of deposit - Accused directed to deposit funds in Court to demonstrate bona fides for grant of anticipatory bail - Complainant sought withdrawal of funds - Supreme Court clarified that criminal proceedings are not recovery suits and mere deposit for bail does not confer ownership rights to complainant over assets belonging to a company under moratorium - Held - Complainant entitled to balance amounts only after furnishing bank guarantee - [Paras 7-9].

Decision: Application allowed – Registry directed to disburse Rs. 5,05,00,000/- plus accrued interest to the IRP – Complainant may withdraw remaining balance upon furnishing bank guarantee.

Professional Ethics - Professional Misconduct - Advocates Act 1961 - Section 38 - Appellant advocate alleged to have abused and threatened the respondent-complainant within court premises following dismissal of a labour court case - Bar Council of India suspended appellant for one year for professional misconduct - Appellant challenged suspension citing lack of proper opportunity of hearing and absence of advocate-client relationship with respondent - Supreme Court noted that nearly 21 years had lapsed since the complaint and that while the incident did not pertain to court proceedings the behavior of a lawyer within court premises constitutes a vital factor for professional conduct - Court held that while misconduct is established the disciplinary action of suspension is substituted with a formal warning to maintain professional decorum - Appeal disposed of - [Paras 1-11].

Professional Ethics - Lawyer's Conduct - Advocates Act 1961 - Section 38 - Duty of an advocate - Court clarified that every lawyer owes a duty to act decently within court premises not only towards their own clients but also towards opposing counsel and the parties against whom they are appearing - Any indecent behavior inside court premises warrants cognizance by the Bar Council regardless of whether the party is a client or an adversary - Held - Modification of penalty from suspension to warning is sufficient in view of the time elapsed - [Paras 9-10].

Decision: Appeal disposed of – Order of suspension passed by the Bar Council of India modified to a formal warning to the appellant to behave properly in court premises – Pending applications disposed of.

Civil Law - Education - Constitution of India - Article 243-Q - Admission to Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya - Rural Category reservation - Appellants were provisionally selected for admission but denied final entry because schools were situated in Nagar Panchayat areas termed as transitional areas - High Court held that transitional areas are urban and appellants lost rural character - Supreme Court observed that transitional areas are distinct from smaller or larger urban areas - Held - A transitional area remains rural until a final notification declaring it a municipality is issued by the Governor - The impugned judgment is set aside and respondents directed to grant admission - [Paras 4-51].

Civil Law - Interpretation of Statutes - Constitution of India - Article 243-Q - Rules of construction - Where different words are employed in the same provision they are intended to bear different meanings - The Constitution uses specific expressions for transitional areas, smaller urban areas, and larger urban areas - If transitional area were synonymous with urban area the distinction in the clause would serve no purpose - Held - The Legislature treats a transitional area as a category distinct from an urban area - [Paras 28-31].

Civil Law - Admission Criteria - Principles of Natural Justice - Doctrine of Rules of the Game - UDISE Guidelines issued after selection process concluded - Prospectus for JNVST-2026 did not include UDISE portal classification as a criterion - Respondents relied on subsequent guidelines to alter eligibility - Held - A selection process must be governed by criteria in force when it commenced - Eligibility conditions cannot be altered to the prejudice of candidates after the process has concluded - [Paras 40-46].

Decision: Appeals allowed - Impugned judgments set aside - Respondents directed to grant admission to appellants forthwith and provide bridge classes if academic session has commenced - [Paras 50-53].

Criminal Law - Murder - Indian Penal Code 1860 - Section 302 - Appellant convicted by Trial Court and upheld by High Court based on last seen theory - Deceased found dead with multiple homicidal wounds - Prosecution witnesses including the wife of the other accused initially declared hostile before testifying to the assault - Supreme Court found that testimony of witnesses regarding last seen theory did not inspire confidence and lacked corroborative incriminating circumstances - Held - Conviction cannot be sustained merely on last seen theory - Appellant acquitted - [Paras 1-7].

Evidence Law - Witness Testimony - Indian Evidence Act 1872 - Section 154 - Hostile witnesses - Key witnesses declared hostile before providing testimony regarding the assault - Supreme Court found testimonies unreliable and insufficient to ground a conviction - Held - Testimony does not inspire confidence - [Paras 4-5].

Criminal Law - Last Seen Theory - Evidence Act 1872 - Section 3 - Circumstantial evidence - Conviction based solely on last seen theory without other supporting incriminating evidence - Held - Law does not permit conviction merely on last seen theory without other corroborating evidence - [Paras 3-5].

Decision: Appeal allowed - Appellant acquitted of all charges - Any bonds executed for release on remission stand cancelled - [Paras 6-8].

Criminal Law - Dishonour of Cheque - Negotiable Instruments Act 1881 - Sections 138, 141 and 142 - Complaint filed against a director without impleading the company as an accused - High Court declined to quash but directed trial court to invoke Section 319 of CrPC to implead company as accused - Supreme Court held that in view of Aneeta Hada judgment prosecution of a director is not maintainable without impleading the company - Held - Since the complaint suffered from a fatal defect and the limitation period for filing a fresh complaint under Section 142 of NI Act had expired the trial court cannot use Section 319 of CrPC to cure such a fundamental defect - Complaint and consequential proceedings quashed - [Paras 1-17].

Criminal Law - Procedure - Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 - Section 319 - Power to add additional accused - Whether applicable to cure non-joinder of company in Section 138 NI Act case - Held - Power under Section 319 CrPC cannot be used as a device to initiate prosecution against a company beyond the period of limitation prescribed under the NI Act - Where a complaint suffers from a fatal defect at the threshold it is a nullity and cannot be revived - [Paras 12-16].

Decision: Appeal allowed – The impugned order of the High Court is set aside – The complaint and all consequential proceedings under Section 138 of the NI Act are quashed.

Civil Law - Code of Civil Procedure 1908 - Order VI Rule 17 and Order VII Rule 11 - Section 149 - Counter Claim - Application for payment of court fees filed after closure of evidence - Trial Court permitted payment of court fees with 4 years delay - High Court affirmed - Apex Court observed that counter claim was not on record and trial had concluded - Amendment of pleadings post-commencement of trial requires showing due diligence which was absent here - Mere financial incapacity does not satisfy requirements for late amendment - Held - Suit shall be adjudicated without the counter claim - [Paras 1-11].

Civil Law - Code of Civil Procedure 1908 - Section 149 - Court Fees - Power of Court to allow payment at any stage - Court has authority to permit payment of court fees at any stage of the suit but such power must be balanced against procedural fairness where trial has already concluded and evidence is closed - Held - Permitting payment of court fees for a counter claim after evidence was closed and without a valid application for amendment under Order VI Rule 17 is unsustainable - [Paras 7-11].

Decision: Appeal allowed - Order of the High Court and Trial Court set aside - The suit shall be adjudicated without the counter claim.

Civil Law - Code of Civil Procedure 1908 - Order VI Rule 17 - Amendment of plaint - Appellate stage - Plaintiff sought amendment of plaint in appeal after suit was dismissed on merits due to a discrepancy in the registration number of the vehicle mentioned in the agreement and the plaint - District Court rejected the amendment application noting that the plaintiff failed to exercise due diligence despite specific notice regarding the error prior to trial - Supreme Court held that the proviso to Order VI Rule 17 permits amendment after commencement of trial only if the party could not have raised the matter despite due diligence - Plaintiff acted with sheer carelessness as the error could have been corrected before trial - No case for amendment at appellate stage after the suit stood dismissed - Held - Appeal allowed and impugned order set aside - [Paras 1-8].

Civil Law - Code of Civil Procedure 1908 - Order VI Rule 17 - Pre-trial vs post-trial amendment - The Court observed that Order VI Rule 17 permits pre-trial amendments more liberally than those sought after commencement of trial - Proviso restricts post-trial amendments unless the court concludes that the party could not have raised the matter before trial despite due diligence - Held - Failure to correct a known discrepancy in pleadings before trial constitutes sheer carelessness - [Paras 4-6].

Decision: Appeal allowed - Impugned order set aside - First Appeal pending before Principal District Judge, Salem to be considered on its merits – [Paras 7-8].

Service Law - Regularisation - Government Order G.O. No. 22 dated 28.02.2006 - Daily wage employees - Appellant appointed as daily wage watchman in 1992 via employment exchange process - State failed to regularise service upon completion of ten years of service as required by G.O. No. 22 - Service regularised only in 2010 under G.O. No. 187 - Single Judge allowed writ petition directing regularisation from completion of ten years - Division Bench set aside order relying on policy discretion and the Full Bench decision in S. Dhanasekaran - Supreme Court held that the Division Bench erred in applying policy for backdoor entries to a candidate recruited through proper channels - State cannot discriminate between similarly placed employees - Held - Impugned judgment set aside and order of Single Judge restored - [Paras 1-20].

Service Law - Right to Equality - Constitution of India 1950 - Article 14 - Arbitrary denial of benefits - State sought to rely on G.O. No. 74 of 2013 to justify prospective regularisation - Supreme Court held that rights are determined by facts existing at the date of institution of action - Subsequent Government Orders issued after initiation of litigation cannot curtail accrued rights of an employee who was not a backdoor appointee - Held - Denial of retrospective benefits is discriminatory and violates Article 14 - [Paras 13-17].

Service Law - Interpretation of Government Orders - G.O. No. 22 dated 28.02.2006 - Scope and Applicability - G.O. clearly intended to regularise employees who rendered ten years of service as on 01.01.2006 - Court distinguished this case from A. Singamuthu as the appellant was not a part-time employee but recruited through a selection process - Interpretation of G.O. No. 22 should not be restricted by subsequent clarifications that do not apply to the facts of the instant case - Held - Appellant entitled to benefits of regularisation upon completion of ten years - [Paras 16-19].

Decision: Civil Appeal allowed – Judgment of the Division Bench set aside and the order of the Single Judge restored – Respondents directed to release all consequential benefits within three months.

Civil Law - Succession - Indian Succession Act 1925 - Nominee status - Appellant-widow challenged direction of High Court awarding life insurance proceeds to respondent-father-in-law who was recorded as nominee - During proceedings parties agreed that widow and mother of deceased are sole Class I heirs - Appellant relinquished claim to entire proceeds and contention regarding payment of premiums - Court applied principle that nominee holds money in trust for persons entitled to succeed to the estate - Held - Respondent directed to pay half of proceeds to appellant within two months failing which interest at 12% per annum shall apply - Succession cases ordered to be closed if no other assets remain for partition - [Paras 1-9].

Criminal Law - Quashing of Proceedings - Indian Penal Code 1860 - Sections 498A and 506 read with Section 34 - FIR registered at Vasant Kunj Police Station - Appellant conceded to not proceed with criminal complaint against respondents upon receiving half share of insurance proceeds - Court stayed proceedings for two months and directed Station House Officer to file closure report upon proof of payment - Held - Criminal proceedings effectively disposed of subject to compliance with financial terms - [Paras 9-10].

Decision: Appeal allowed - Respondent directed to pay 50% of the insurance proceeds to the appellant within two months - Criminal proceedings (FIR No. 288/2024) stayed and directed for closure upon payment - Legal Services Committee counsel to be paid fees.