Succession Law – Validity of Will – Proof of Due Execution – Attestation – Witness Testimony – Exclusion of Legal Heir – Concurrent findings reversed – Will executed by testator excluding one out of nine children due to marriage outside the community – Sole attesting witness (DW-2) examined; trial and appellate courts held execution not proved as DW-2 did not attest to signature of second witness – Supreme Court held that cross-examination revealed DW-2 affirmed presence and signature of both attesting witnesses and testator – Held: Evidence satisfies Section 63(c) Succession Act and Section 68 Evidence Act – Leading questions in cross-examination can carry full probative value – No suspicious circumstances established regarding testator’s soundness of mind or voluntariness – Delay of 21 years in challenging will not fatal – Plaintiff failed to mount evidence or deny will in plaint – Judicial conscience satisfied regarding testator’s intent to exclude plaintiff – Res judicata not applicable due to nature of earlier injunction suit [Paras 2-10, 15, 22-29].

Wills – Exclusion of Heirs – Rule of Prudence – Disposition upheld – Court emphasized that testator’s intention must be respected and not substituted with judicial views – Exclusion of one heir justified by testator’s rationale – No evidence of undue influence, coercion, or fraud – Held: Courts must step into the testator’s shoes, not question motives when proof of will is adequate – Conscience of the court satisfied, will proved [Paras 23, 28-29].

Civil Procedure – Res Judicata – Earlier injunction suit not bar to partition claim – Title and validity of will not in issue in prior suit – Therefore, no estoppel or res judicata applies – Plaintiff not barred from filing partition suit but claim fails on merits due to valid will [Paras 10, 15].

Decision: Appeals allowed – Judgments of High Court and Trial Court set aside – Will held valid and properly executed – Plaintiff not entitled to partition – Suit dismissed [Paras 29-31].

Labour Law – Industrial Dispute – Termination – Delay in Raising Dispute – Respondent workman raised an industrial dispute after 15 years of termination from service – Labour Court held termination illegal and awarded full back wages – High Court upheld the award – Supreme Court held that although termination was illegal, delay of 16 years in raising the dispute is a relevant factor – Relief moulded to award only lump-sum compensation in lieu of reinstatement and back wages [Paras 2–13].

Industrial Disputes Act – Delay and Moulding of Relief – Court reiterated that delay in raising an industrial dispute does not per se bar relief, but is a valid ground to deny full back wages or reinstatement – Employer's failure to challenge reference under Article 226 does not estop them from raising delay before Labour Court – Relief moulded based on decisions in Ajaib Singh, Mohan Lal, and Shahaji – Held: Lump-sum compensation of ₹2,50,000 awarded instead of reinstatement or full back wages [Paras 6–11, 13].

Judicial Review – Challenge to Reference under Article 226 – High Court has jurisdiction to quash stale references – However, absence of such challenge does not preclude employer from raising delay before Labour Court – Distinction maintained between delay in making reference and consequences of delay in adjudication under ID Act [Paras 6–9].

Decision: Appeal allowed in part – Finding of illegal termination upheld – Orders of reinstatement and full back wages set aside – Respondent entitled to compensation of ₹2,50,000 to be paid within two months – Interest at 7% p.a. if delayed.

Criminal Law – Rape and Murder – Circumstantial Evidence – DNA Match – Conviction Confirmed – Deceased last seen in same vicinity as accused – Witnesses (PWs 4, 5, 6) corroborated presence and suspicious behaviour of accused – Blood-stained clothes, victim’s shrieks, and disappearance of accused from village strengthened prosecution’s chain – Medical and DNA evidence matched A1 and A2 – Time of death matched with eyewitness accounts – Held: Circumstantial evidence forms a complete and cogent chain to establish guilt under Sections 302 and 376D read with Section 34 IPC – Conviction confirmed [Paras 5-12].

SC/ST Act – Caste-Based Offence – Absence of Knowledge of Victim’s Caste – Acquittal under SC/ST Act Provisions – Though caste of deceased was proved, prosecution failed to show that accused knew her caste – No acquaintance or motive related to caste established – Held: Essential ingredient under Sections 3(1)(w)(i) and 3(2)(v) of SC/ST Act not proved – Conviction under SC/ST Act unsustainable – Acquittal directed [Paras 2, 13-14].

Evidence Act – Section 27 – Improper Recovery – Confessional Statements in Police Custody – No Concealment – Knife, mobile phone and cash alleged to be recovered not admissible under Section 27 – No independent concealment shown – Recovery from person during arrest, not based on disclosure – Confession made in police presence inadmissible – Held: Recovery and confessional evidence unreliable – Conviction under Section 404 IPC against A2 set aside [Paras 6-8, 14].

Sentencing – Life Imprisonment – Remission – Modification from Whole-Life Sentence to 25 Years – Trial Court imposed death sentence; High Court reduced it to imprisonment till last breath – Supreme Court found mitigating factors: A2 had no past criminal record, was 40 years old, had a dependent family, and showed reformation in custody – Held: Case not in ‘rarest of rare’ category – Sentence modified to 25 years rigorous imprisonment without remission under Section 302 read with Section 34 IPC – Sentence under Section 376D read with Section 34 IPC to run concurrently [Paras 15-16].

Legal Aid – Direction for Appeal of Co-Convicts – Supreme Court noted that other two co-accused were convicted identically but had not filed appeals – Directed Telangana Legal Services Authority to assist in filing appeals for them via Supreme Court Legal Services Committee [Para 19].

Decision: Appeal partly allowed – Conviction under IPC upheld – Conviction under SC/ST Act and Section 404 IPC set aside – Sentence under Section 302 modified to 25 years without remission – Sentence under Section 376D to run concurrently.

Civil Law – Injunction – Title and Identification of Property – Rectification Deed – Suit Dismissed – Respondents filed suit for permanent injunction based on BDA auction and rectified sale deed – Trial court dismissed suit for want of title and property identification – High Court reversed based on unproven BDA survey – Supreme Court held rectification deed was executed after 20 years without clear reason – Site No. 66 was never constructed upon, violating auction conditions – Original allotment was in land whose acquisition was later quashed – Held: No title proved, rectification invalid, and no proper survey or boundary identification established – Deed lacked evidentiary value, no Commissioner deputed for identification – High Court erred in reversal – Trial court’s dismissal of suit restored [Paras 2-13].

Evidence – Burden of Proof – Production v. Proof – Survey Document Not Admissible – Survey document produced by plaintiff not authenticated or sealed – Author not examined – Document silent on metes and bounds – Held: Production is not proof – High Court’s reliance on unauthenticated survey unsustainable [Paras 11-12].

Civil Procedure – Bar to Subsequent Suit – Earlier Suit on Same Site and Parties – Plaint admitted earlier suit (O.S. No. 26629 of 2011) regarding same Site No. 66 – Second suit filed without leave of court and with changed survey numbers – Held: Improper exercise of jurisdiction – Plaintiff failed to pursue first suit – No explanation for second suit with altered property description [Para 7].

Land Acquisition – Allotment Based on Quashed Acquisition – Title Non-Est – Original allotment made on acquired land later released back to original owners – BDA had no title to transfer – Subsequent rectification deed unrelated to valid acquisition – Held: Respondents cannot claim rights over land acquired but later restored to appellants’ predecessor – Rectification lacked basis [Paras 8-9, 13].

Decision: Appeal allowed – High Court judgment set aside – Trial court decree dismissing suit for injunction restored.

Consumer Insurance Law – Fire Insurance – Repudiation of Claim – Theft Preceding Fire – Appellant’s factory suffered loss due to fire caused when miscreants attempted theft of transformer copper windings – Insurance claim repudiated on ground that burglary was proximate cause and excluded under RSMD clause – NCDRC upheld repudiation – Held: Once loss is caused by fire, which is a specified peril, the cause igniting the fire becomes immaterial unless expressly excluded [Paras 1–10, 20–21].

Fire Policy – Named Peril Policy – Interpretation of Exclusions – Fire listed as a separate specified peril with its own exclusions – Burglary/theft not included as an exclusion under “Fire” – Held: Exclusion under RSMD clause cannot be imported to defeat a claim arising under the independent peril of fire [Paras 20–22, 28].

Proximate Cause – Application in Fire Insurance – NCDRC relied on doctrine of proximate cause to treat burglary as active cause – Held: Doctrine of proximate cause has limited application where insured peril of fire is established and no exclusion applies – Courts need not investigate “cause of causes” in fire insurance claims [Paras 22–25].

Cause of Fire – Immateriality – Loss admittedly caused by fire and no allegation of fraud or wilful act by insured – Held: In fire insurance, cause of fire is immaterial so long as fire is accidental and not caused by insured’s wilful act – Theft preceding fire does not disentitle insured [Paras 23–26].

Construction of Insurance Contracts – Exclusion Clauses – Strict Interpretation – Exclusions must be construed narrowly and consistently with main purpose of policy – Where two interpretations possible, interpretation favouring insured must prevail – Held: RSMD exclusion could not be read so widely as to nullify coverage under fire peril [Paras 26–28].

Consumer Jurisdiction – Error by NCDRC – NCDRC failed to apply settled principles governing fire insurance and wrongly upheld repudiation – Held: Impugned judgment unsustainable in law [Paras 21, 29].

Decision: Appeal allowed – Repudiation letter dated 04.01.2008 and judgment of NCDRC set aside – Matter remanded to NCDRC for assessment of loss and grant of consequential relief – NCDRC directed to decide matter expeditiously, preferably within six months – Pending applications disposed of [Paras 29–31].

Criminal Law – Quashing of FIR – Abuse of Process – Appellant, former Minister and Chairman of Committee for Regularisation of Unauthorised Occupation, challenged FIR registered by Anti-Corruption Bureau alleging illegal grant of government land – Earlier complaints on same allegations investigated twice by Lokayukta and closed – FIR registered after preliminary inquiry by ACB – Held: Continuation of proceedings amounted to abuse of process of law and warranted quashing [Paras 2–6, 13–15, 21].

Sanction for Prosecution – Public Servant – Mandatory Prior Approval – Government Order governing ACB mandated prior approval even before commencement of investigation in respect of acts done in discharge of official duties – No sanction obtained before preliminary inquiry or registration of FIR – Held: Investigation itself was barred in law – FIR and all consequential proceedings vitiated – Case squarely covered by Bhajan Lal category of express legal bar [Paras 16–17].

Quashing Jurisdiction – Principles – Section 482 CrPC and Article 226 – Scope of interference reiterated – Inherent and extraordinary powers to be exercised sparingly but justified where proceedings are manifestly illegal, barred by law or tainted with mala fides – Held: High Court erred in refusing to quash FIR despite existence of statutory bar and abuse of process [Paras 12, 16–17].

Mala Fides – Political Vendetta – Repeated Complaints – Three complaints filed over span of years by persons affiliated to rival political party on same cause of action – Earlier complaints closed after detailed inquiries – FIR lodged after more than a decade from alleged acts and close to election period – Held: Cumulative circumstances disclose political motivation and colourable exercise of criminal process [Paras 18–19].

Delay – Criminal Proceedings – Effect – Though delay alone not fatal in corruption cases, unexplained and inordinate delay coupled with repeated closure of complaints and political rivalry strengthens inference of malice – Held: Proceedings liable to be quashed on ground of mala fides even apart from absence of sanction [Paras 19–20].

Role of Lokayukta and ACB – Jurisdictional Overlap – Lokayukta’s earlier reports exonerating appellant held relevant – Abolition of ACB and transfer of cases back to Lokayukta reinforced position that FIR could not survive – Held: Investigative findings of Lokayukta could not be ignored mechanically [Paras 14–15].

Public Land Allotment – Welfare State – Constitutional Perspective – Court emphasised State’s trustee role in allotment of land to weaker sections and necessity of non-arbitrary action – However, criminal prosecution must still conform to procedural safeguards and constitutional limitations – Held: Welfare objectives cannot justify illegal prosecution [Paras 11, 20].

Connected Appeal – Beneficiary of Land Allotment – Once FIR against main accused quashed and allotment upheld by competent authority, continuation of proceedings against beneficiary unsustainable – Held: FIR and proceedings quashed in connected appeal as well [Paras 22–23].

Decision: Appeals allowed – FIR in Crime No. 5/2018 dated 08.01.2018 registered by Anti-Corruption Bureau, Karnataka, and all consequential proceedings quashed – Impugned judgments of the High Court set aside – Pending applications disposed of [Paras 21–23].

Service Law – Pay Scale Anomaly – Parity in Pay – Appellant appointed as Industries Extension Officer pursuant to a common competitive examination conducted in 1981 – Differential pay scales introduced after pay revisions resulted in discrimination among similarly situated posts – Learned Single Judge directed grant of higher pay scale on parity relying on Patna High Court judgments – Division Bench reversed on grounds of delay, laches, and cascading effect – Held: Differential treatment violates Article 14 and appellant entitled to parity in pay scale [Paras 1–5, 30].

Judicial Precedent – Binding Nature of Pre-Reorganisation Judgments – Bihar Reorganisation Act, 2000 – Section 34(4) – Judgment of Patna High Court in Nagendra Sahani v. State of Bihar rendered prior to bifurcation – Held: By virtue of Section 34(4), such judgment has binding effect as a judgment of the Jharkhand High Court and cannot be treated as merely persuasive [Paras 17–23, 31].

Judicial Discipline – Coordinate Bench Decisions – Division Bench disregarded binding precedent without referring the matter to a larger Bench – Held: Ignoring binding precedent violates principles of judicial discipline and propriety [Paras 22–23].

Delay and Laches – Continuing Cause of Action – Pay Fixation Disputes – Claim for correct pay scale constitutes a recurring and continuing wrong – Every month of lesser pay gives rise to fresh cause of action – Held: Writ petition not barred by delay or laches, particularly when representations were pursued and rejected shortly before filing of writ petition [Paras 24–26, 32].

Similarly Situated Employees – Extension of Benefit Without Individual Litigation – When relief granted by court to one set of employees, similarly placed persons entitled to same benefit without approaching court separately – Held: Denial of parity would encourage multiplicity of litigation and result in arbitrariness [Paras 27–28].

Administrative and Financial Considerations – Constitutional Mandate – State as Model Employer – Financial burden or cascading effect cannot override constitutional guarantee of equality – Recommendations of expert committees acknowledging anomaly strengthen claim of employees – Held: State cannot rely on its own inaction to deny lawful benefits [Paras 29–32].

Decision: Appeal allowed – Impugned judgment of Division Bench dated 30.03.2022 set aside – Judgment of learned Single Judge dated 14.12.2011 restored – Respondents directed to grant higher pay scale with consequential benefits within three months – Appellant entitled to costs as per rules [Paras 33–34].

Criminal Law – Rape – Conviction Based on Hostile Witnesses – Appellant, a medical practitioner, convicted for offence under Section 376(2)(d) IPC – Victim and her husband turned hostile during trial – Trial Court convicted accused and High Court not only affirmed conviction but enhanced sentence to ten years – Held: Conviction cannot be sustained when primary witnesses do not support prosecution and remaining evidence does not conclusively establish guilt. Acquittal. [Paras 1–5, 18–20].

Evidence – Hostile Witnesses – Reliability – Victim (PW-1) and her husband (PW-2) resiled from earlier statements and were declared hostile – High Court presumed that witnesses were won over by accused – Held: Court cannot presume that witnesses were won over in absence of prosecution case or cogent material to that effect – Testimony of hostile witnesses requires cautious scrutiny and corroboration [Paras 10–11, 18].

First Information Report – Evidentiary Value – FIR lodged by victim alleging rape – High Court relied upon contents of FIR through Investigating Officer – Held: FIR is not substantive evidence and allegations therein cannot form sole basis of conviction unless proved by reliable evidence during trial [Paras 6, 19].

Medical Evidence – Lack of Corroboration – Doctor examining victim found only minor abrasions on neck and no injuries on private parts – No signs of recent sexual intercourse found – Semen not detected on victim’s body – Held: Medical evidence did not corroborate prosecution version of forcible sexual intercourse [Paras 16–17, 19].

Forensic Evidence – Recovery Panchnama – Panch witnesses to recovery of clothes turned hostile – Witnesses stated signatures were taken on prepared papers at police instance – Held: Recovery of clothes and FSL report based on such panchnamas could not be relied upon to sustain conviction [Paras 13–15].

Investigation – Non-Examination of Material Witnesses – Independent witnesses present in clinic at time of alleged incident not examined despite being cited in chargesheet – Held: Non-examination of material independent witnesses further weakened prosecution case [Para 19].

Presumption and Proof – Burden on Prosecution – Serious offence of rape requires proof beyond reasonable doubt – Courts below erred in drawing presumptions against accused when prosecution evidence was shaky and unreliable – Held: Benefit of doubt must go to accused [Paras 18–20].

Decision: Appeals allowed – Conviction and sentence recorded by Trial Court and affirmed/enhanced by High Court set aside – Appellant acquitted – Bail bonds discharged [Paras 20–22].

Criminal Law – Murder – Appeal Against Acquittal – Appellant-complainant challenged judgment of High Court setting aside conviction of accused under Section 302 read with Section 34 IPC – Trial Court had convicted accused for murder of appellant’s son – High Court acquitted accused after re-appreciation of evidence – Held: No compelling or substantial reason to interfere with acquittal recorded by High Court [Paras 1–2, 8–11].

Evidence Appreciation – Credibility of Eye-Witnesses – PW-1 (father of deceased) and PW-2 projected as eye-witnesses – Their version regarding dragging of a serving Army Captain by three accused, possession of weapons, and manner of assault found improbable and inconsistent – Material omissions in earliest complaint and contradictions in subsequent statements – Held: Prosecution story did not inspire confidence [Paras 5–7].

Medical and Ocular Evidence – Inconsistencies – Medical evidence showed firearm and other injuries – Alleged assault by hockey stick not mentioned in initial complaint – No explanation as to source or recovery of hockey stick – Ocular version not fully supported by contemporaneous documentary evidence – Held: Discrepancies weakened prosecution case [Paras 6–8].

Recovery and Forensic Evidence – Failure of Prosecution – Licensed firearm allegedly used in offence recovered but not sent for ballistic examination – No effort to establish nexus between weapon and fatal injuries – Held: Serious lapse in investigation creating reasonable doubt [Para 8].

Standard of Proof – “May Be” vs “Must Be” – Criminal conviction requires proof beyond reasonable doubt – Mere suspicion or possibility insufficient – Reiterated distinction between “may be proved” and “must be proved” – Held: Prosecution failed to cross threshold of proof [Paras 9–9.1].

Appellate Interference – Scope in Acquittal Appeals – Presumption of innocence reinforced by acquittal – Interference permissible only when view taken is perverse or unreasonable – Where two plausible views possible, one favouring accused must prevail – Held: High Court’s view was plausible and could not be substituted [Paras 9.2–9.5, 10].

Decision: Appeal dismissed – Acquittal of respondent Nos.1 to 3 affirmed – No interference warranted with judgment of the High Court – Interlocutory applications dismissed as not surviving [Paras 10–11].