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 State of Telangana acquired land in Narsingi and Poppalguda villages near Hyderabad in 2005-06 for construction of the Outer Ring Road, initially compensating landowners between INR 7.5-9.45 lakh per acre. After a reference court and then the Telangana High Court enhanced this compensation: ultimately fixing it at INR 1.35 crore per acre based on auction sale rates from a nearby "Golden Mile" commercial project, both the landowners (seeking even higher compensation) and the State/Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (seeking a reduction) cross-appealed to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court held that the High Court erred in relying on the Golden Mile auction sale rates, because those plots were materially different (developed, connected to utilities, larger commercial parcels) from the barren acquired land, the auction took place after the acquisition was already notified (making it an unreliable, inflated benchmark), and auction prices generally reflect competitive bidding rather than true market value. Instead, the Court identified an earlier, more comparable set of pre-notification sale deeds from 2004 (Ex.A1 and Ex.A2) as the most reliable exemplars, and after applying a 20% per year compounding escalation for two years, fixed the market value at INR 44,64,000 per acre: a substantial reduction from the High Court's figure. The Court also corrected the interest rate awarded on the enhanced compensation, holding it must follow the statutory rate under Section 34 of the 1894 Act (9% for the first year, 15% thereafter) rather than the flat 12% the High Court had ordered.
When land is acquired by the government, compensation must be based on genuine, comparable, and time-proximate sale transactions, not on inflated auction prices from unrelated, more-developed projects, and especially not on sales that occurred after the acquisition was already announced, since land values often spike once an acquisition becomes public knowledge.
