CLAT legal current affairs, May 2026: Supreme Court judgments
4 judgments the Supreme Court delivered in May 2026, each summarised from the Court’s own judgment and linked to it, with a note on the principle a CLAT passage could turn on.
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Does a claim die with the person? Not always. Kumud Lall v. Suresh Chandra Roy (Dead) through LRs, 2026 INSC 443, decided 4 May 2026. A consumer complaint was pending against a doctor who died during the case. The Court held that the common law maxim actio personalis moritur cum persona (a personal action dies with the person) has been modified in India by statute, including the Fatal Accidents Act, 1855, the Legal Representatives’ Suits Act, 1855 and Section 306 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925. Whether a case continues against legal representatives is governed by Section 306. Claims that can be maintained against the estate survive; purely personal ones do not. The matter was sent back to the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission to be decided within six months, and the Court suggested the Law Commission consider whether Section 306 should be widened. Read the judgment on sci.gov.in (PDF).
What CLAT could ask: Legal maxims; survival of causes of action; claims against an estate.
Education in one’s mother language and Article 19(1)(a). Padam Mehta v. State of Rajasthan, 2026 INSC 476, decided 12 May 2026. The Court said the right to receive education in one’s mother language has its basis in Article 19(1)(a): the freedom of speech and expression includes the right to receive information in a form a person can understand. It relied on its earlier decision in State of Karnataka v. Associated Management of English Medium Primary and Secondary Schools. It directed Rajasthan to take time-bound steps to introduce Rajasthani as a subject in all schools, government and private, in a phased manner, and to file a compliance affidavit by 25 September 2026. Read the judgment on sci.gov.in (PDF).
What CLAT could ask: Article 19(1)(a) as a right to receive information; Article 21A; directions to the executive.
A partition suit cannot be thrown out at the threshold under Section 6(5). B.S. Lalitha v. Bhuvanesh, 2026 INSC 499, decided 15 May 2026. A partition suit filed in 2007 was rejected by the Karnataka High Court at the threshold, on the footing that Section 6(5) of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 barred it. The Supreme Court held that the High Court was wrong on three counts: the second application to reject the plaint was barred by res judicata, Section 6(5) does not bar the filing of a suit, and the plaint should not have been rejected without a trial on the contested questions. The plaint was restored and the trial court told to proceed quickly. Read the judgment on sci.gov.in (PDF).
What CLAT could ask: Section 6 of the Hindu Succession Act after the 2005 amendment; Order VII Rule 11 CPC; res judicata.
Stray dogs: nationwide directions on sterilisation and vaccination. In Re: “City Hounded by Strays, Kids Pay Price”, 2026 INSC 506, decided 19 May 2026. In a case it took up on its own motion, the Court issued directions to every State and Union Territory. They must take time-bound steps to expand sterilisation and vaccination capacity under the Animal Birth Control framework, and ensure at least one fully functional Animal Birth Control Centre in each district. The judgment also sets out a format in which States must report compliance, covering sterilisations, vaccinations, anti-rabies vaccine stocks, helplines and feeding spaces. Read the judgment on sci.gov.in (PDF).
What CLAT could ask: Suo motu jurisdiction; Article 21 and public safety; continuing directions and compliance reporting.
How to use this digest
CLAT does not ask you to recall a case name. It gives you a passage and asks you to apply the principle in it. For each judgment above, write the principle in one sentence, then change one fact and ask whether the result changes.
For daily legal current affairs from September 2026 onward, each written from the source document, see Legal Updates.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do these May 2026 judgments come from?
Each one was read from the judgment published on the Supreme Court of India’s website, sci.gov.in, and the entry links to that PDF. If a summary here and the judgment differ, the judgment is right.
Does CLAT ask for case names and dates?
Rarely. CLAT’s legal and current affairs passages test whether you can read a passage built on a recent development and apply its principle. Knowing what a court decided and why is what helps.
Why does this digest cover only Supreme Court judgments?
Because every entry has to be checked against a primary document, and the Court’s own judgments are that. News that could not be traced to an official source has been left out.
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