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's brother was shot dead in 2016, and the trial court convicted Respondent No. 2 (along with others) under Sections 302/307/34 IPC and the Arms Act, sentencing him to life imprisonment, based on the testimony of eyewitnesses including the appellant himself. While the convict's appeal was pending before the Patna High Court, the High Court suspended his sentence and released him on bail. The informant-appellant challenged that release, and a connected appeal involving a co-accused released on similar grounds (Ghanshyam Pandey) was heard together.
The Supreme Court held that the High Court erred in suspending the sentence, since the conviction rested on credible, consistent ocular evidence that the trial court had properly appreciated, reappreciating that evidence at the Section 389 Cr.P.C. bail stage is impermissible. It rejected the High Court's reasoning that the respondent hadn't personally fired the fatal shot, holding that under the doctrine of constructive liability in Section 34 IPC, every participant in a common intention is equally liable regardless of who struck the fatal blow. The Court also weighed the respondent's criminal antecedents and alleged attempts to intimidate the appellant. It set aside the suspension order in both connected appeals and directed the convicts to surrender within two weeks.
Suspension of sentence and bail for a person convicted of a serious offence like murder is meant to be the exception, not the norm, especially where the conviction rests on solid eyewitness evidence: appellate courts are not supposed to reappreciate evidence or dilute a co-accused's liability under the "common intention" principle merely to grant bail.
