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 sued for specific performance of a 2003 agreement to sell land in Tamil Nadu, relying on an unregistered agreement to sell, an unregistered power of attorney, and a related unregistered sale agreement, after the seller's heirs challenged their admissibility as evidence. The trial court ruled all three documents could be marked and exhibited as evidence, leaving questions of their genuineness and validity for later. The High Court, on revision, reversed this and held the documents inadmissible, prompting the present appeal.
The Supreme Court held that under Section 17(1A) read with Section 49 of the Registration Act, 1908, an unregistered document affecting immovable property can still be admitted as evidence of the underlying contract in a specific-performance suit, even though it cannot be used to claim protection of possession under Section 53A of the Transfer of Property Act. It found the High Court wrongly went beyond the limited question of admissibility by interpreting the power of attorney's substance instead of leaving that, along with genuineness and stamp-duty issues, for trial on evidence. It restored the trial court's order allowing all three documents to be exhibited, directed the trial court to independently decide all other validity/genuineness issues, and asked that the long-pending 2010 suit be disposed of within six months.
An unregistered document required to be registered is not automatically useless in a specific-performance lawsuit: it can still be admitted as proof of the underlying agreement to sell, even though it cannot independently protect possession of the property; the deeper question of whether the document is genuine is decided later, at trial, not at the admissibility stage.
