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 moreHakumat Rai was a commission agent at Phool Mandi, Darya Ganj, whose market was de-notified in 1998, displacing traders to be resettled elsewhere. He was not successful in a 1987 draw of lots for a shop at Okhla and spent years petitioning for an alternative shop, eventually seeking one at Gazipur Mandi. The Delhi High Court (Single Judge, upheld by Division Bench) had directed the Delhi Agricultural Marketing Board to allot him a shop at Gazipur and issue a Category 'B' license, prompting the Board's appeal to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court held that Hakumat Rai had no absolute legal right to a Gazipur shop, since those shops were earmarked for traders displaced from a different market (Shahdara), not Darya Ganj, and a 2014 notification meant he no longer even needed a license to continue his existing business. However, given that his claim for resettlement had been under consideration for decades, the Court modified the High Court's order: instead of a mandatory allotment, it directed that his case be considered for an available shop, along with other eligible applicants, subject to surplus availability, within six months. The appeal was disposed of on these modified terms.
A long wait for a government benefit does not by itself create a legal entitlement to it: courts can order fair reconsideration of a stale claim within a time limit, but they will not compel the agency to allot a benefit (like a shop) meant for a different eligible category.
