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 moreLand belonging to the respondents had been acquired and used by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) for a public purpose, but there was an admitted lapse in the acquisition process and, crucially, no compensation had ever been paid to either the original owners or the subsequent purchasers. The High Court directed the DDA to work out and pay compensation under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, prompting the DDA's appeal to the Supreme Court.
The respondents told the Court they would be satisfied with compensation calculated under the 2013 Act, given that the land was already being used for a public purpose and could not practically be returned. The Supreme Court found this case was covered by its own earlier ruling in Delhi Development Authority v. Sukhbir Singh & Ors. (2016), and that the High Court's direction was fair and limited to simply requiring DDA to calculate and pay compensation under the 2013 Act within a set time. Seeing no reason to interfere with that straightforward and reasonable order, the Court dismissed DDA's appeal, giving it six months to work out and disburse the compensation.
When a public authority has taken over private land for a public purpose but never paid compensation, courts will not allow a procedural lapse in the original acquisition to be used as a reason to avoid paying fair compensation: the landowner's right to be paid survives the authority's own errors.
