Top Legal Developments [4 - 10 May 2026] | Police Station cleaning for Bail Condition; EU’s ‘Only Yes Means Yes’ Rape Law Push; and More

Bail Conditions Struck Down

The Supreme Court, in a suo motu matter concerning bail conditions imposed by the Orissa High Court and district courts in Odisha, declared conditions requiring accused persons to clean police stations or perform similar acts as null and void. Describing such conditions as abhorrent, degrading, and unknown to law, the Court issued omnibus directions recognising the wider implications of the practice. The ruling reinforces that bail conditions must bear a rational connection to the purposes of bail and cannot be used to impose punitive or demeaning obligations on accused persons.

Dowry Death and Bail Scrutiny

In a separate ruling, the Supreme Court cancelled bail granted in a dowry death case, holding that bail cannot rest on tenuous grounds such as alleged delay in lodging the FIR or a superficial reading of the cause of death. Where prima facie evidence of cruelty exists and death occurs within seven years of marriage, bail courts must apply the statutory presumption under Section 118 of the Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, and scrutinise material evidence carefully. The Court observed that young girls do not marry in order to be killed for dowry.

Corporate and Labour Rulings

The Supreme Court held that an oppression and mismanagement petition under Sections 397 and 398 of the Companies Act, 1956 is maintainable even where the petitioner's name does not appear in the register of members. The expression "member" in these provisions cannot be read narrowly or technically, given the equitable nature of the jurisdiction. In a labour law matter, the Court directed regularisation of ISRO daily-wage workers and quashed the Gang Labourers Scheme, 2012 for failing to comply with binding Central Administrative Tribunal directions that had attained finality.

Other Key Developments

The Court also held that the right to speedy trial prevails over the gravity of an offence, directing bail where Article 21 is infringed. In the ReT closure matter, litiga…