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 moreA railway electrification contract worth over Rs. 165 crore was terminated by the Railways after the contractor failed to complete work on time, leading to a dispute. The contract's arbitration clause (as modified in 2016) required a panel of serving or retired Railway officers to act as arbitrators, but the contractor approached the Allahabad High Court, which instead appointed an independent retired judge as the sole arbitrator. The Railways appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing the High Court had ignored the contractually agreed arbitrator-appointment procedure.
The Supreme Court held that the modified contract clauses (64(3)(a)(ii) and 64(3)(b)) built in sufficient counter-balance, the contractor could choose two arbitrators from a panel of four names supplied by the Railways, so the "General Manager" nominating the panel did not make the process invalid or one-sided, unlike the situation in the earlier TRF Ltd. case. Since the agreement expressly specified a panel-based arbitral tribunal of three serving or retired Railway officers, the High Court had no power to override this and appoint an independent sole arbitrator. The Court set aside the High Court's orders and directed the Railways to send a fresh panel of four retired officers within 30 days, from which the contractor would select two within the following 30 days to constitute the Tribunal.
Courts will generally enforce the arbitrator-appointment procedure that parties agreed to in their contract, especially where the clause has been balanced to avoid one party unilaterally controlling the appointment, unless the process is genuinely one-sided and renders a party ineligible to appoint.
