India: Civil Law

The Supreme Court of India has issued its most comprehensive guidance on summary judgment under Order XIII-A of the Code of Civil Procedure, establishing a nine-point framework that could fundamentally reshape how commercial disputes are resolved. In Reliance Eminent Trading v. Delhi Development Authority, the Court clarified when courts should bypass full trials and decide cases at an earlier stage, potentially ending the practice of forcing parties through years of litigation when material facts are alrea

On August 31, 2026, the Allahabad High Court ruled that civil courts cannot resolve boundary demarcations of agricultural land under the guise of issuing a permanent injunction. The decision in Hamid Khan And 4 Others v. Jwala Prasad And 13 Others (Second Appeal No. 475 of 2026) set aside concurrent decrees passed by lower civil courts and reinforced the mandatory role of statutory revenue procedures in Uttar Pradesh.

This newsletter examines recent Supreme Court judgments across arbitration, civil law, criminal law, insolvency, and white-collar crime. Key rulings address the binding of non-signatories to arbitration agreements, the scope of "industry" under the Industrial Disputes Act, limitations on FIR registration following Section 156(3) rejections, and the evidentiary requirements for proving bribery demands under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The High Court of Delhi, through its judgment dated 16.06.2026 in Smt. Khatiza Begam v. Ms. Salma Khan , dismissed a Regular Second Appeal under Section 100 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (“CPC”), by relying on the settled law that the jurisdiction of the Second Appellate Court is confined to cases involving a substantial question of law and cannot be invoked for reappreciation of evidence or factual findings.

Benami transactions have long served in India as a device to circumvent statutory restrictions including property ownership and conceal beneficial ownership from tax and regulatory authorities. This mischief is well known when a person pays the consideration for a property but acquires it in the name of another, thereby separating real ownership from ostensible title.

The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS) has replaced the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, raising critical questions about whether the law on discharge and framing of charges has fundamentally changed. While the substantive principles remain largely continuous with established jurisprudence, the BNSS introduces important procedural timelines and electronic hearing provisions that courts and advocates must navigate carefully. This analysis examines the continuity of legal standards, the new proc

The Calcutta High Court's Division Bench has ruled on a critical procedural question regarding the appealability of Single Bench decisions in trademark matters.

The Supreme Court in Jennifer Messias v. Leonard G. Lobo addressed a critical procedural question in partition litigation: can execution proceedings continue when a decree, though labeled 'preliminary,' contains substantive...

The Supreme Court in Anand Narayan Shukla v. Jagat Dhari has delivered a significant judgment clarifying that courts retain continuing supervisory jurisdiction over specific performance decrees and that failure to deposit balance...