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 and the complainant were brothers by birth; the complainant had been adopted by a childless relative and later inherited that relative's estate. The appellant claimed the complainant had gifted him some of that property in 1992, and the appellant sold portions of it between 1997 and 2005. In 2009, after their relationship soured, the complainant alleged the appellant had forged his signature on a fake notarized gift deed and used it to illegally transfer his land to third parties, and that the appellant's men later intimidated him with weapons. A police case followed, cognizance was taken against the appellant under IPC provisions for cheating and forgery, and both the trial court's and the Orissa High Court's orders upholding that cognizance were challenged before the Supreme Court.
During the appeal, the Supreme Court, noting the parties were brothers, appointed a mediator to explore settlement; while no full settlement was reached, the Court itself fixed Rs. 60 lakhs as reasonable compensation for the disputed land transactions (between the appellant's offer of Rs. 45-50 lakhs and the complainant's demand of Rs. 95 lakhs), payable in six monthly instalments, which the appellant duly paid and the complainant did not dispute receiving. Having found the dispute to be essentially civil in colour, a property/inheritance disagreement dressed up as a criminal complaint, the Court held that continuing criminal proceedings after substantial compensation had been paid would not serve the interest of justice. It accordingly quashed the cognizance order and all further criminal proceedings against the appellant, while barring either side from initiating any further civil or criminal proceedings over the same land.
Courts can quash criminal proceedings that are, in substance, a civil property dispute given a "cloak of criminality," especially between family members, and may use court-supervised compensation/settlement as a basis for bringing such matters to a close rather than letting a criminal trial run its course.
