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 moreA school management (Asha Education Society) had appointed certain teachers for a course that was only ever recognised by the State on a year-to-year, experimental basis. When the course failed to gain permanent recognition, it was formally de-recognised in 2000, and the teachers' appointments ended along with it. A labour Tribunal, later upheld by the High Court, directed the management to reinstate the teachers with full back wages, treating the termination as improper under the state's private-school employment protection law. By the time the matter reached the Supreme Court, the teachers had already, after a six-year gap, found positions in other schools, leaving only the back-wages claim still in dispute.
The Supreme Court held that since the teachers' appointments were never against permanent vacancies and were tied to a course recognised only year-to-year (and ultimately discontinued), their claim to full back wages for the entire gap period was not justified. At most, the Court held, they could claim wages and benefits for the remainder of the academic year in which they were terminated, since that is the period for which their appointment would have continued had the course not ended. The appeals were disposed of on this limited basis, directing the management to pay salary and benefits only for that remaining academic-year period, with no order as to costs.
An employee's entitlement to back wages after a disputed termination is shaped by the real nature of the appointment, where the role itself was only ever sanctioned on a temporary, year-to-year basis, compensation is limited accordingly, rather than extending to the full period of unemployment.
