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 respondent had filed an application under Section 20 of the Arbitration Act, 1940 seeking appointment of an arbitrator to resolve disputes arising from the dissolution of a partnership firm, "Gupta Bus Service," formed in 1960 with the appellants' predecessors-in-title. The appellants (defendants) objected that since the partnership was unregistered, the bar under Section 69(3) of the Partnership Act made the application not maintainable. The trial court overruled this objection, and the Allahabad High Court dismissed the appellants' writ petition challenging that decision, leading to this appeal.
The Supreme Court found that the High Court had failed to consider and apply its own binding precedent, Krishna Motor Service vs. H.B. Vittala Kamath (1996) 10 SCC 88, which was directly relevant to the maintainability question. Rather than deciding the merits itself for the first time, the Court set aside the High Court's order and remanded the writ petition back to the High Court for a fresh decision in light of that precedent, directing it to decide the matter afresh within six months given the age of the dispute, without expressing any opinion on the merits.
When a High Court decides a case without considering a directly applicable Supreme Court precedent, the Supreme Court will often set aside that decision and send the matter back for fresh consideration in light of the correct law, rather than deciding the underlying merits itself for the first time.
