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 appellant, an Army Medical Corps Colonel, was twice considered but not selected for promotion to Brigadier. He argued he was wrongly denied eligibility marks for a Ph.D. in Anthropology from Berhampur University and for a post-graduate training course, and that the promotion policy had been unlawfully amended (in 2006) before the five-year review period stated in the original 2004 policy had elapsed. The Armed Forces Tribunal rejected his claims, and he appealed to the Supreme Court.
The Court held that an employer's power to frame a promotion policy inherently includes the power to revise it, and the stated "review after five years" in the 2004 policy was not a binding fetter preventing earlier amendment, so the 2006 amendment, in force when the appellant was considered, validly applied to him. On the Ph.D. issue, the Court examined the Medical Council of India Act's First Schedule and found that while Berhampur University's medical degrees appear in it, a Ph.D. in Anthropology from that university is not a "recognised medical qualification," so the appellant was correctly denied a mark under the amended policy requiring MCI-recognised Ph.D.s. His post-graduate training certificate also failed to show he had completed a structured, two-year full-time training program during sanctioned study leave, as the policy required. The appeal was dismissed.
Employers (including the armed forces) are generally free to revise promotion policies before any internally stated review date, and eligibility for promotion marks tied to "recognised" qualifications will be strictly measured against the specific recognising body's own schedule/list, not against the degree's general validity.
