Real judgements, distilled
Court judgements broken down into the case type, how the decision played out, and the lesson worth remembering, with the full judgement available as a PDF.
Civil Appeal · 2026 INSC 1094
An older qualification must still satisfy the eligibility rules governing the appointment sought. Here, the certificate's early date did not secure reinstatement, and rejection of eligibility should not be confused with a conclusive finding that the certificate was forged.
Civil Appeal · 2026 INSC 1095
A party benefiting from a conditional stay must meet its deposit requirement or face enforcement. The additional ₹15 crore deposit secures the pending dispute; it does not settle the land's final compensation or amount to an immediate payment to the landowners.
Criminal Appeal · 2026 INSC 1093
An alleged attempt to kill does not become a lesser offence simply because the victim avoided a fatal injury. Restoring this charge means the accusation must be tried; it does not establish that the accused is guilty.
Civil Appeal · 2026 INSC 1090
For the assessment in this case, assistance reducing ordinary manufacturing costs was taxable even though the government wanted to encourage industry. The purpose and actual operation of the particular subsidy mattered more than its general development label.
Criminal Appeal · 2026 INSC 1091
Proof that someone caused a serious injury does not by itself prove the additional ingredients of robbery. A court can substitute a lesser offence supported by the evidence; the sentencing reduction here depended on Appa's particular circumstances.
Special Leave Petition (Civil) · 2026 INSC 1092
Someone challenging an election must ensure that the personal-presentation requirement is met and can be proved. Merely entering the court building does not establish compliance, and a filing defect can end the challenge before the election allegations are examined.
Civil Appeal · 2026 INSC 1088
An employee who retires on 30 June may be entitled to the increment that falls due on 1 July after completing a year of service. Authorities that delay paying the amounts due must pay interest after the deadline set by the court.
Civil Appeal · 2026 INSC 1089
Recruitment must follow the qualifications stated in the advertisement and the governing Recruitment Rules. A court will not override a merit-based eligibility decision made under those rules merely because the candidate concerned was higher in the written test.
Writ Petition (Criminal) · 2026:DHC:8797
A person who occupied property only because of employment has no independent right to remain once the employment and decree end. Even when a petition fails, courts can make practical arrangements to let a person recover personal belongings.
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Log in to see moreA seven-time Member of Parliament died by suicide in 2021, leaving behind a note that named several administration and police officials whom he accused of a sustained campaign of harassment, defamation, and an attempted extortion tied to a bid to take over a college trust he ran, allegedly to end his political career. His son (the appellant) filed a police complaint based on the note, but the Bombay High Court quashed the resulting FIR against the named officials, finding no case for abetment of suicide was made out. The son appealed to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court upheld the quashing of the FIR and dismissed the appeals. Surveying a long line of precedent, it held that a charge of abetment of suicide requires a clear, positive act by the accused that is proximate in time to the suicide and reflects a real intention to drive the victim to that extreme step: sustained harassment alone, without such a recent triggering incident, is not enough. Here, the specific incidents of alleged disrespect were months old, and just ten days before his death the deceased had received assurances of action from Parliament's Committee of Privileges, with no fresh precipitating event in between. The Court also found the suicide note itself suspect: its serious allegations of extortion and conspiracy had never been raised in any of the deceased's earlier complaints, and there were gaps in how and when it was recovered and produced, with no handwriting verification.
To bring a charge of abetment of suicide, there must be a clear, deliberate act by the accused, closely connected in time to the suicide, that left the victim with no option but to take that step: long-standing grievances or harassment, without such a proximate trigger, will not by themselves sustain a criminal prosecution.
