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 2017 clash rooted in political rivalry that left one man dead and another injured by gunfire, the respondent-accused was named in an FIR but remained absconding for about six years, evading arrest despite a reward being announced and being declared untraceable while co-accused stood trial. When the trial court eventually acquitted the co-accused (finding the prosecution had failed to prove they fired the fatal shots), the still-absconding accused used that acquittal to secure anticipatory bail from the Madhya Pradesh High Court, which directed him to surrender and receive bail the same day. The original complainant appealed this to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court held that the High Court's reasoning was fundamentally flawed because an accused who has been absconding for years and evading the justice system cannot be permitted to benefit from favourable findings made in a trial he deliberately avoided. The prosecution was never required to produce evidence against him since he was never before the court, so his co-accused's acquittal was legally irrelevant to his bail plea. Citing precedent that a fugitive from justice must show "cleanliness of hands" before invoking the court's discretion, the Court found that granting bail to a long-term absconder sets a bad precedent and unfairly rewards evasion over the co-accused who faced trial honestly. It also rejected the accused's argument about clean post-bail conduct, holding that this is relevant only to bail-cancellation applications, not appeals against a bail grant. The High Court's order was set aside, and the accused was directed to surrender within four weeks, after which he remains free to seek regular bail on its own merits.
An accused who deliberately evades arrest and remains a fugitive for years cannot later claim the benefit of an acquittal secured by co-accused who stood trial without him. Courts will not let absconding be rewarded with anticipatory bail, since doing so would penalise those who honestly submitted to the judicial process.
