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 was a rice miller who had contracted with the Bihar State Food & Civil Supplies Corporation to mill paddy under the public distribution system, undertaking to furnish a bank guarantee (or pledge property) covering the value of paddy issued to him; the Corporation alleged he received thousands of quintals of paddy but failed to return the corresponding rice, amounting to an alleged defalcation of about Rs. 79.62 lakh, and an FIR under Sections 409/420 IPC was registered. This case was heard together with dozens of similar appeals by other millers, after a 2017 Supreme Court order had earlier modified bail/anticipatory-bail terms for all such accused across the state (requiring bank guarantees to be furnished and kept alive, on pain of automatic cancellation), and the Corporation later issued fresh demands treating "bank guarantee" as covering the entire "defalcated sum" rather than just the value of paddy actually taken.
The Court held that the 2017 order's reference to "bank guarantee" meant only the guarantee the miller was already obliged to furnish and maintain under his original milling agreement, not an inflated amount pegged to the alleged defalcated sum as the Corporation and trial court had assumed. Where millers had genuinely complied with their original agreement obligations (including by pledging unencumbered property in lieu of a bank guarantee, where the agreement allowed this), cancellation of their bail/anticipatory bail and the resulting non-bailable warrants were set aside and recalled. However, where millers had genuinely failed to furnish or keep alive the bank guarantee actually required under their own agreements, the cancellation of bail and warrants of arrest were upheld, and such millers were to be taken into custody immediately; the Corporation was also permitted to encash guarantees or auction pledged property to recover the amounts, following due process. All connected appeals, including the appellant's, were disposed of on these terms.
When a court order imposes a bail condition tied to a contractual obligation (such as a bank guarantee), the condition must be read strictly by its own terms: a government agency cannot unilaterally expand it to cover a larger disputed sum, but genuine non-compliance with the real underlying obligation will still result in bail being cancelled.
