Samadhan Samaroh awards have no precedential value, the Supreme Court has said while refusing to recall one such award in A. Tamilarasi’s case. The Court also directed that no punitive action be taken against the officers concerned in connection with the award.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court has declined to recall an award dated August 23, 2026, holding that it was made on the particular facts of the case and is not a binding precedent for other matters, in A. Tamilarasi v. The Government of Tamil Nadu & Ors.
The order was passed on November 6, 2026 by a bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana in Miscellaneous Application Diary No. 62785/2026, which arises from SLP(C) No. 8051/2019. It was uploaded on November 8.
What the Court left untouched
The Court condoned the delay and then declined to recall the award, even though authorised officers were not present or the officers who attended were not duly authorised to appear.
In paragraph 2, the bench explained that the August 23 award, passed during Samadhan Samaroh, reflected the peculiar facts and circumstances of the particular case. It was not to be treated as a binding precedent in another case.
It then added, in the same paragraph: “Even otherwise, the awards passed by this Court in Samadhan Samaroh do not have any precedential value.”
No punitive action against the officers
The bench also directed that no punitive action be taken against the officers concerned in connection with the passing of the award. This direction sits in paragraph 2, next to the refusal to recall.
The order thus separates two questions. The award stays in place for this case, while awards passed by the Court in Samadhan Samaroh are expressly denied precedential value for other litigation.
Under paragraph 3, the miscellaneous application and all pending applications stood disposed of. The two-page order does not set out the underlying dispute or the substantive terms of the August 23 award.
Case Title: A. Tamilarasi v. The Government of Tamil Nadu, represented by its Principal Secretary, Department of School Education & Ors.
Case Number: Miscellaneous Application Diary No. 62785/2026, arising from SLP(C) No. 8051/2019
Applications: IA No. 322220/2026 (condonation of delay) and IA No. 312859/2026 (recall)
Court: Supreme Court of India
Bench: Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V. Mohana
Date of Order: November 6, 2026
Status: Delay condoned; recall declined; miscellaneous application and pending applications disposed of.
