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 claimant's roughly 9-hectare landholding in Akola district, Maharashtra, was acquired in 1986 for building a percolation tank. The Reference Court had enhanced her compensation to Rs.1,62,500 per hectare plus Rs.1,200 per orange tree (for 325 trees) and other amounts, but the Bombay High Court (Nagpur Bench) slashed this to Rs.50,000/Rs.9,500 per hectare for irrigated/dry land and scrapped the orange-tree compensation entirely.
The Supreme Court found the High Court had ignored substantial unrebutted evidence, from the claimant's witnesses and official records, showing the land was 85-90% irrigated with a perennial water source, and that there were genuinely over 300 fruit-bearing orange trees on it. It restored compensation closer to the Reference Court's figures (Rs.1,50,000 per hectare, plus Rs.10,000 for fencing/trees), while slightly reducing the orange-tree multiplier from twenty years' purchase to ten years' purchase (Rs.600 instead of Rs.1,200 per tree). The appeal was allowed and the High Court's judgment set aside.
In land acquisition cases, well-documented and un-contradicted evidence of a landholder's crops, irrigation, and farming income carries real weight: an appellate court cannot simply discount it without pointing to contrary evidence.
