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 appellants were lessees running medicine shops inside government hospital premises in Madhya Pradesh under leases granted through open bidding years earlier. In 2013 the State asked them to vacate, citing a new government scheme to supply free essential medicines to patients directly. The shop premises were lawfully constructed (not unauthorised encroachments), but the original lease terms had long expired and had not been formally renewed.
The Supreme Court held that the State's objective of ensuring free medicine supply had to be balanced against the appellants' right to carry on their business, and found no reason the two could not coexist, especially since the State itself had acknowledged private medicine shops operating just outside the hospital gates. The Court also found the eviction notice procedurally unfair because the appellants were not given an opportunity to be heard before being asked to vacate. However, since the leases had expired and the appellants had no indefeasible right to continue indefinitely, the Court set aside the High Court's orders, allowed the appeals, and directed that the State may hold a fresh open bid for the shops (in which the appellants may also participate), with the appellants continuing undisturbed at an enhanced rent until the fresh bidding is completed.
Even where a lease has long expired, a tenant/licensee cannot be summarily evicted without being given a fair opportunity to be heard, and competing public and private interests (here, free government medicine supply versus a lessee's livelihood) should be balanced through a fair process such as open bidding, rather than outright removal.
