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, a schoolteacher in Hospet, struck a second-standard student with a wooden stick for not wearing uniform shoes, causing an eye injury that required two surgeries and ultimately resulted in permanent loss of sight in that eye. The trial court had acquitted the teacher, citing contradictions in witness testimony, the child witness allegedly being "tutored," and a 25-day delay in filing the FIR. The High Court reversed that acquittal and convicted him under Section 326 IPC (voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons/means), sentencing him to two years' imprisonment.
The Supreme Court upheld the High Court's reversal of acquittal, finding the child witness's evidence credible (merely being briefed about court procedure is not "tutoring" about the incident itself) and corroborated by other eye-witnesses and medical evidence. However, the Court held there was no proof that the wooden stick used qualified as a "dangerous weapon," so a conviction under Section 326 IPC was not sustainable. It modified the conviction to the lesser offence of Section 325 IPC (voluntarily causing grievous hurt), reduced the sentence to one year's imprisonment, and imposed a Rs. 50,000 fine to be paid as compensation to the injured student.
Even when a conviction is otherwise justified, the specific charge must match the evidence exactly, using an ordinary object like a stick does not automatically make it a "dangerous weapon" for purposes of the more serious offence, and courts will recalibrate the charge and sentence accordingly rather than simply upholding or overturning the whole conviction.
