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 accused and the complainant (prosecutrix), who knew each other and were in a relationship, had physical relations after the accused repeatedly promised to marry her, including inviting her to stay at his residence for a day, during which the relationship occurred despite her initial reluctance. Over the following weeks the accused kept assuring both the complainant and, later, both families that marriage would follow, with a wedding function scheduled and postponed more than once. He ultimately married another woman, to whom (evidence showed) he had effectively been committed well before these events, and the complainant then filed a police complaint. The trial court convicted him under Section 376 IPC and sentenced him to 10 years' rigorous imprisonment; the Chhattisgarh High Court upheld the conviction, leading to this appeal.
The Supreme Court reviewed its own precedents on the distinction between a mere "breach of promise" to marry (not rape) and a "false promise" made with no real intention of marrying, used only to obtain consent (which vitiates consent under Section 90 IPC and can amount to rape). Examining the evidence, including that the accused was already committed to marrying another woman before and during his assurances to the complainant, and that he fled rather than face the families' marriage talks, the Court concluded that from the very inception he never intended to marry her and had used a false promise solely to obtain her consent. It therefore upheld the conviction under Section 376 IPC, rejecting the argument that this was merely consensual sex or an unfulfilled promise. However, taking into account the facts and the minimum sentence prescribed at the time of the offence, the Court reduced the sentence from 10 years' to 7 years' rigorous imprisonment, partly allowing the appeal only to that extent.
Sexual relations obtained through a promise of marriage that the accused never genuinely intended to keep, as opposed to a promise later broken for genuine, unforeseen reasons, can legally amount to rape because the resulting consent is treated as given under a "misconception of fact"; courts examine the person's conduct and circumstances from the outset to tell a false promise from a true one that simply fell through.
