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 moreIn a matrimonial case pending before the Family Court, Patiala House since 2011, the husband (respondent) had given an undertaking in 2014 to produce certain documents, including a New Zealand divorce decree and judgment. He only partially complied, and when the Family Court in December 2018 directed him to produce the remaining documents, he instead filed a writ petition before the Delhi High Court challenging that order, without disclosing his earlier undertaking. The High Court entertained the writ petition and stayed the long-pending Family Court trial, prompting the wife (appellant) to approach the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court held that a party who has given a solemn undertaking to a court is bound by it unless formally absolved by that same court, and the High Court should not have entertained a writ petition, let alone stayed a trial pending since 2011, while ignoring that unperformed undertaking. Since this crucial fact was not addressed in the High Court's judgment, that judgment could not be sustained. The Court set aside the High Court's order, dismissed the respondent's writ petition, and disposed of the appeal, while giving the respondent liberty to apply to the Family Court itself either to be relieved of the undertaking, to seek more time, or to produce the documents, leaving the Family Court free to proceed with the trial on its own merits.
An undertaking given to a court is a serious, binding commitment: a litigant cannot sidestep it by approaching a different, higher court for relief while leaving the undertaking unfulfilled; only the court that received the undertaking can relieve a party of it.
