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 civil appeal (the lead matter among a very large batch of over 200 tagged income-tax civil appeals from the Income Tax Department against various assessees, heard together) concerned a dispute between the Commissioner of Income Tax, Kochi and the assessee company, M/S Hotel and Allied Trades (P) Ltd. All the appeals listed in the order, including this one, were taken up together before the Supreme Court for final disposal on a common, threshold ground rather than on their individual facts.
The Court did not examine the merits of the individual tax disputes. Instead, it applied the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT)'s policy circular setting a monetary threshold for pursuing tax litigation, noting that in all the appeals in this batch, including this one, the tax effect involved was less than Rs. 1 crore. Because such low-tax-effect appeals are covered by the CBDT Circular directing the Department not to pursue litigation below that threshold, the Court condoned any delay, granted leave, and dismissed all the appeals in the batch, including this case, on that basis.
The tax department has its own internal policy of not pursuing appeals where the amount of tax at stake is below a set threshold, and courts will enforce that self-imposed limit by dismissing such appeals outright: litigants facing small-value tax disputes may benefit from this threshold rather than having to fight the matter on its merits.
