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 passenger died after a heavily overloaded vehicle (a five-seater carrying nine people) met with an accident. The insurer had collected additional premium for a driver, conductor, and cleaner, and the Motor Accidents Tribunal had held both the insurer and the vehicle owner jointly liable to pay compensation to the deceased's family. On appeal, the Telangana High Court completely absolved the insurer, holding that the policy did not cover ordinary passengers and that overloading the vehicle amounted to a clear breach of the insurance conditions. The claimant (the deceased's family) appealed to the Supreme Court, since recovering the compensation directly from the vehicle owner had proven difficult.
The Supreme Court did not disturb the finding that the insurance policy technically did not cover a general passenger and that the vehicle had breached its policy terms by carrying far more people than permitted. However, relying on the well-established "pay and recover" principle from its own precedents, the Court held that even where there is a breach of policy conditions, the insurer should not be let off entirely, instead, the insurer must first pay the compensation to the victim's family, and can then separately recover that amount from the vehicle owner who caused the breach. The Court allowed the appeal on this limited basis, directing the insurer to pay while preserving its right of recovery against the owner.
Even when a vehicle owner breaches insurance conditions (such as by overloading a vehicle), Indian courts generally require the insurance company to first pay compensation to accident victims or their families and only then recover the amount from the at-fault owner: this "pay and recover" approach ensures innocent victims are not left without a remedy simply because of someone else's policy violation.
