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 moreThe petitioner, residing in the United Kingdom, sought appointment of an arbitrator to resolve a dispute arising from a real-estate partnership he claimed to have been involved in with the respondent. An earlier partnership between the petitioner's sister and the respondent (formed in 2008) was dissolved, after which a new partnership was allegedly entered into between the petitioner and the respondent in 2014. The petitioner claimed he had paid over Rs. 2.31 crore under a profit-sharing clause and was owed money. The respondent contested the arbitration request as hopelessly time-barred, noting that even the petitioner's own pleadings placed the last relevant payment/notice years before the arbitration request was actually made, including a delayed notice in December 2020, followed by a request to the Karnataka High Court in 2022 that lingered until 2025.
The Supreme Court examined the timeline set out by the petitioner himself, including a payment received in August 2017, and found that even calculating limitation most favourably, the claim was already time-barred by December 2020, before the arbitration notice was even issued. The delay was compounded by further gaps: a challenge to a Magistrate's order was itself filed late without any explanation, and the arbitration request was ultimately filed in court years after the original notice. On this basis the Court held the claim for appointment of an arbitrator was barred by limitation and dismissed the petition.
A request for appointment of an arbitrator is itself subject to limitation; sitting on a claim for years, including through multiple rounds of unexplained delay, can extinguish the right to arbitrate a dispute altogether, regardless of the underlying merits.
