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 Delhi Development Authority's land acquisition for a plot was challenged by the landowner, Nafe Singh, and the matter reached the Supreme Court after the DDA's appeal against an adverse order. The core legal issue, whether the old acquisition proceedings had lapsed because possession/compensation had not been completed within the statutory period, was, as the Court noted, already settled against the DDA by two of its own earlier decisions on essentially the same point (Civil Appeal No. 8477 of 2016 and Civil Appeal No. 5811 of 2015).
Treating the legal question as already settled by its own precedent, the Supreme Court dismissed the DDA's appeal, affirming that the earlier acquisition proceedings stood lapsed. However, recognising the practical difficulty this creates for the authority, the Court gave the DDA a one-year window to start fresh acquisition proceedings afresh by issuing a new notification under Section 11 of the 2013 Act. The Court made clear that if the DDA failed to initiate a fresh notification within that one year, and if it was in possession of the land, it would have to hand physical possession back to the original landowner. All pending applications were disposed of with no order as to costs.
When a land acquisition is found to have lapsed under Section 24(2) of the 2013 Act (typically because compensation was not paid or possession not taken within time), the acquiring authority does not automatically lose the land forever: courts may grant a limited window to restart acquisition properly, but if that window is missed, possession must go back to the landowner.
