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 moreThis dispute concerned a family's entitlement to share in ancestral property, litigated through a bunch of second appeals before the Punjab & Haryana High Court. The High Court, while deciding these second appeals, had allowed some and dismissed others, effectively reversing the trial court's finding about one party's share in the property, but without first identifying and framing any "substantial question of law," as the Code of Civil Procedure requires before a second appeal can be decided.
The Supreme Court held that framing a substantial question of law is a mandatory legal requirement before a High Court can admit or decide a second appeal: it is a jurisdictional safeguard, not a mere formality. Since the High Court had gone straight to modifying the trial court's findings without ever framing such a question, the Supreme Court held this was a jurisdictional error requiring correction. The Court allowed the appeal, set aside the High Court's judgment, and sent the second appeals back to the High Court to be decided afresh, this time only after properly framing the substantial questions of law, while expressly not giving any opinion on who should ultimately win the underlying property dispute.
A second appeal in a civil case cannot be decided by a High Court unless it first formally identifies the specific legal question(s) at stake; skipping this step is a procedural shortcut that courts are not permitted to take, even if it means a case already pending for years must go back for a fresh hearing.
