Legal Database
Judgments
Latest and landmark Supreme Court and High Court judgments analysed.
Reji Baby v. Subi Mary & Ors.
Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 — Sections 12 & 20 — Divorce Act, 1869 — Section 10A — Matrimonial settlement — Waiver of maintenance and monetary rights — Effect of subsequent proceedings — Parties entered into a consensual settlement resolving matrimonial and financial disputes and thereafter obtained divorce by mutual consent — Wife subsequently invoked jurisdiction under Section 12 of the Domestic Violence Act seeking monetary relief — Supreme Court held that a settlement voluntarily accepted and acted upon cannot be disregarded merely by initiating proceedings under another statute — A claim expressly relinquished as part of a binding settlement cannot ordinarily be revived unless the settlement itself is first questioned and invalidated in accordance with law — Allegations against the validity of a settlement cannot be used indirectly to reopen concluded financial arrangements without seeking appropriate legal relief against the settlement — Principle of finality applies to consensual resolution of matrimonial disputes — However, settlement between spouses does not extinguish independent rights of a child who was not a consenting party to such arrangement.
about 1 month ago
Landmark Precedent: Delhi HC Awards ₹24.6L Litigation Costs in Crocs vs Bata
On July 2, 2026, the High Court of Delhi delivered a benchmark procedural verdict in Crocs Inc USA v. M/S Bata India Ltd. & Ors., mandating the payment of actual, comprehensive litigation expenses to the successful defendant. Presided over by Justice Prathiba M. Singh, the ruling underscores the full statutory enforcement of the "costs follow the cause" principle embedded within the Commercial Courts Act, 2015. By explicitly clarifying that the administrative omission of a costs order during a suit's disposal does not amount to a waiver of a party's commercial right to indemnity, the Court checked aggressive intellectual property enforcement strategies, holding multinational corporations accountable for the substantial financial burdens imposed on domestic market competitors through unoriginal design monopolies.
3 months ago
Dignity Beyond Biology: The Landmark Harish Rana Verdict on Passive Euthanasia.
On March 11, 2026, the Supreme Court of India delivered a poignant and legally transformative verdict in Harish Rana v. Union of India, authorizing passive euthanasia for a 32-year-old man who had endured a permanent vegetative state for over thirteen years. Presided over by Justices J.B. Pardiwala and K.V. Viswanathan, the ruling represents the first comprehensive implementation of the "right to die with dignity" framework established in the Common Cause (2018) precedent. By legally reclassifying clinically assisted nutrition as a medical intervention rather than basic care, the Court bridged the gap between medical technology and human compassion, ultimately prioritizing the patient’s quality of life and dignity over the mere biological prolongation of suffering.
6 months ago