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, a government medical officer, and the complainant, a widowed nurse at the same health centre, began a relationship after he told her he was separated from his wife and intended to marry her once formalities were completed. They lived together intermittently as a couple for a period, but he eventually married another woman, prompting her to file an FIR alleging rape under Section 376(2)(b) IPC and offences under the SC/ST Act. The Bombay High Court had refused to quash the FIR, so the matter reached the Supreme Court.
The Court reaffirmed the distinction between a false promise to marry made solely to obtain sex (which can amount to rape, since consent is then vitiated by a "misconception of fact") and a genuine relationship or broken promise that does not rise to deceit. Reviewing the complainant's own narrative, a consciously chosen, sustained live-in relationship entered into for companionship and love, with no allegation of force or passive submission, the Court found no misconception-induced consent and therefore no rape made out even taking the FIR's allegations at face value. It also found no ingredients of cheating (Section 420 IPC) or any offence under the SC/ST Act disclosed. The FIR, chargesheet, and criminal proceedings were accordingly quashed under Section 482 CrPC.
Not every failed promise of marriage after a consensual relationship amounts to rape in law: courts distinguish a deceitful promise made only to obtain sex from a genuine relationship or broken promise, and will quash a criminal case where the complainant's own account shows conscious, voluntary participation rather than consent obtained by fraud.
