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 moreOn 22 November 1998, the complainant's brother Nripen Debnath was crossing the accused persons' field in a bullock cart to collect harvested paddy from his own field, which led to a wordy altercation and then a physical attack by the appellants using agricultural implements (a "pasli"/"henso" and a "dau"), fatally injuring Nripen Debnath and injuring two others. The Calcutta High Court had confirmed the appellants' conviction under Section 302/34 IPC (murder) with life imprisonment, while setting aside a separate conviction under Section 326 IPC.
The Supreme Court examined the sequence of events and found that the confrontation arose suddenly and without premeditation, from a chance encounter over a right of way, rather than from any pre-planned attack. It held that the accused carrying agricultural tools was unremarkable since they were on their way to farm work, and that the injuries inflicted, while fatal, did not show the kind of cruelty or taking of undue advantage that would bar the application of Exception 4 to Section 300 IPC (sudden fight without premeditation). On this basis, the Court altered the conviction from Section 302/34 IPC (murder) to Section 304 Part I IPC (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and reduced the sentence to ten years' imprisonment, allowing the appeal to that extent.
A killing that erupts suddenly out of an unplanned quarrel, even a fatal one involving weapons that happen to be at hand, can be treated by courts as a lesser offence than murder if there was no premeditation and no excessive cruelty, illustrating how the specific facts of how a fight started and unfolded can materially change the severity of the conviction.
