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.
14543 more judgements for members
You're seeing the newest cases. Log in — it's free — to keep scrolling, search by name or judge, and filter by court or legal area.
Log in to see moreThe appellant, an employee with 13 years of service, was terminated by his employer (Associated Cement Companies Ltd) after being convicted under Section 324 IPC (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons) for attacking the wife of a co-worker, which the management treated as an act of "moral turpitude" justifying dismissal. On appeal, the criminal punishment had been reduced to only a fine. The appellant challenged his termination before the Supreme Court, but died while the appeal was pending, and his legal heirs were brought on record in his place. During the proceedings, he had already received over Rs. 3 lakh in interim wages under Section 17B of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (a provision requiring payment of last-drawn wages to a workman during the pendency of certain proceedings).
Rather than ruling on whether the dismissal itself was justified, the Supreme Court, considering the appellant's death, his long years of service, and the overall facts, held that complete justice would be served by awarding his legal representatives a one-time monetary compensation of Rs. 3,00,000, to be paid within four weeks. The Court expressly clarified that this outcome was based on the peculiar facts of this specific case and was not to be treated as a precedent for other matters.
The Supreme Court can use its power to do "complete justice" to resolve a case through a practical, compensatory outcome rather than a strict legal ruling, particularly where a party's death during litigation makes continuing to contest the original dispute pointless, but such case-specific resolutions are explicitly not meant to set a general precedent.
