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 respondents had filed a suit under Section 92 of the Code of Civil Procedure seeking a scheme for proper management of a village Gurudwara in Ambala, alleging it was a public place of worship being mismanaged by the appellant's family, who were traditionally its Mohtmims (caretakers). The appellant argued the Gurudwara was his family's private property and that the suit itself was not maintainable because the mandatory prior leave of the court to file such a suit had never actually been granted. Both the trial court and the lower appellate courts had ruled against the appellant and framed a management scheme for the Gurudwara.
The Supreme Court agreed that, as a matter of law, the appellant was technically correct: no formal leave under Section 92 CPC had been granted before the suit was instituted, which would normally be fatal to such a suit. However, the Court found that the appellant had never raised this objection at trial despite being aware of this requirement (he had successfully used the same objection in an earlier, separate suit), had fully participated in a trial on merits, and had himself admitted facts (such as land being donated by villagers) supporting the finding that the Gurudwara was public, not private, property. On these peculiar facts, the Court declined to overturn the concurrent findings and dismissed the appeal, explicitly directing that the decision not be treated as a precedent.
A technical legal defect, such as a missing procedural permission, can be lost if a party fails to raise it at the earliest opportunity and instead fully participates in the trial on merits: courts are reluctant to upset settled factual findings on a technicality raised too late.
