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 journalist from Uttarakhand filed a public interest application before the National Green Tribunal alleging large-scale illegal tree felling and blasting in private forest land near Narendranagar, Tehri Garhwal, where a resort was being constructed. The Tribunal held that two of the disputed parcels (Khasra No. 512 and 513) were "private forest" land attracting the Forest (Conservation) Act and ordered action against the violators, but found a third parcel (Khasra No. 605) to be barren/non-forest revenue land not covered by the Act, relying on a site inspection rather than a Forest Survey of India report that had suggested degradation of forest cover. The appellant challenged the Tribunal's finding on Khasra No. 605 before the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court held that the Forest Survey of India's report was unreliable because it measured the parcel's area inconsistently with the official revenue records and proceeded on a generalized "tree canopy density" test without consulting those records. The Court gave weight to the older revenue records, which recorded Khasra No. 605 as "banjar" (barren) land since 1938, predating the dispute, and found no evidence of blasting or recent tree felling there, so the Forest Conservation Act did not apply to that plot. The Court upheld the Tribunal's judgment and dismissed the appeal, while also directing that the already-ordered inquiry into the unchallenged violations on the other two parcels (512 and 513) be completed within three months.
In disputes over whether land counts as "forest" for environmental protection purposes, long-standing official revenue records predating any dispute carry significant evidentiary weight, and a survey report inconsistent with those records on basic facts like plot area can be rejected by courts.
