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 appellant had agreed to sell land in Vadodara, which was eventually conveyed to respondent no. 1 along with a Memorandum of Understanding requiring execution of a mortgage deed to secure the appellant's rights pending change of the land's use. When the mortgage deed was executed but never registered, the appellant filed a Commercial Court suit seeking its enforcement. The respondents argued the dispute was not a genuine "commercial dispute" under the Commercial Courts Act, 2015, and applied to have the plaint returned to an ordinary civil court; the Commercial Court rejected that application, but the Gujarat High Court reversed and ordered the plaint returned, leading to this appeal.
The Supreme Court held that under Section 2(1)(c)(vii) of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015, a dispute over immovable property qualifies as a "commercial dispute" only if the property is "used exclusively" in trade or commerce, meaning actually and presently used, not merely likely to be used in future. Since neither the agreement nor the plaint pleaded that the land was being used exclusively for trade or commerce at the relevant time, and the suit was essentially one for specific performance of a mortgage-deed obligation, the dispute did not meet the statutory definition. Both judges (in concurring opinions) emphasized that the Act's fast-track, speedy-disposal purpose would be defeated by a loose interpretation that let ordinary property suits flood the Commercial Courts merely because of high value. The appeal was dismissed, upholding the High Court's order returning the plaint to the ordinary civil court, with no order as to costs.
To invoke the special, speedier jurisdiction of a Commercial Court over a property-related dispute, a litigant must specifically plead and show that the immovable property is actually and presently being used exclusively for trade or commerce: a property that is merely intended or likely to be used commercially in the future does not qualify, and the plaint itself must contain this foundational averment.
