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 moreFollowing a long-standing land dispute (with a pending civil suit) between related families, a confrontation broke out in 2002 near a village when the parties crossed paths, resulting in a death. The trial court convicted four accused persons for murder, but the High Court acquitted two of them for doubtful presence and altered the conviction of the remaining two from murder (Section 302/34 IPC) to culpable homicide not amounting to murder (Section 304 Part I/34 IPC), reducing their sentence to seven years. Both the complainant and the State of Karnataka appealed to the Supreme Court seeking restoration of the murder conviction for all four.
The Supreme Court noted that the incident arose from a sudden verbal duel and scuffle between relatives over a land dispute, with injuries sustained on both sides, and crucially, that the accused had also lodged their own FIR about the same incident and been hospitalised for their injuries, but the prosecution never investigated that FIR or placed the accused's injury reports on record. The Court held that this suppression of material evidence by the prosecution created a reasonable doubt that it could not overcome, and that the burden on an accused to support a defence (such as self-defence or a sudden fight) is far lighter than the prosecution's burden to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt. Finding no error in the High Court's reasoning on either the reduced conviction or the acquittal of the two other accused, the Supreme Court dismissed both appeals.
In a criminal trial, the prosecution must prove its case beyond reasonable doubt and cannot suppress evidence favourable to the accused (such as a cross-FIR or injury reports): such suppression by investigators can itself create the doubt that benefits the accused, regardless of how weak the defence's own case might otherwise look.
