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.
14543 more judgements for members
You're seeing the newest cases. Log in — it's free — to keep scrolling, search by name or judge, and filter by court or legal area.
Log in to see moreA.Alam Pasha filed a corruption complaint in 2012 against B.S. Yeddiyurappa (Chief Minister of Karnataka from 2008-2011) and others under the Prevention of Corruption Act. The first complaint's resulting FIR was quashed by the High Court for lack of prior sanction, but a nearly identical second complaint was filed, dismissed by the trial court for the same reason, and then restored by the High Court, bringing the matter to the Supreme Court on whether such sanction/approval is legally required at that stage.
After hearing extensive arguments and framing several substantial legal questions about when sanction is required under Sections 17A and 19 of the Act, the Supreme Court discovered, while preparing its judgment, that a coordinate bench had already referred an overlapping question to a larger bench in a separate case (Manju Surana v. Sunil Arora). Rather than deciding the issue independently and risking inconsistent rulings, the Court held that judicial discipline required it to defer, and it ordered these petitions "tagged" alongside that pending larger-bench reference, sending the matter to the Chief Justice of India for appropriate directions. No final decision was made on the substantive questions raised.
When an important legal question is already pending before a larger bench of the Supreme Court, other benches facing the same question will pause and defer rather than risk conflicting rulings, so even a case that goes all the way to India's top court does not always produce a final, immediate answer.
