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 moreElections were held for the post of Director (General Category) of a bank (respondent no. 3), but just two days before voting, writ petitions were filed in the High Court, which passed interim orders staying the declaration of the election result pending consideration of the writ petitions. The aggrieved candidates/appellants approached the Supreme Court challenging these interim stay orders.
The Supreme Court found it difficult to agree with the High Court's approach of restraining the declaration of an election result through an interim order issued so close to the voting date, and noted that whether the writ petitions should even have been entertained was itself a larger question for the High Court to decide. The Court set aside the High Court's interim orders staying the result and directed the Election Officer to declare the pending results, but made the declaration expressly subject to the final outcome of the writ petitions still pending before the High Court. The appeals were allowed to this limited extent, with no order as to costs.
Courts are generally reluctant to let last-minute interim orders freeze an already-conducted election result indefinitely: they may allow the result to be declared while still preserving the underlying legal challenge to be decided on its own merits later, so declaring a result does not itself resolve the final validity of the election.
