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 moreA minor girl who had been raped and become pregnant was brought to a hospital in advanced labour, where she delivered a baby; the three appellants, a gynaecologist who conducted the delivery, a paediatrician who attended to the newborn, and a hospital administrator, had no prior knowledge of the earlier assault and only came into the picture that day. They were nonetheless charged under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the IPC for allegedly failing to report the offence under Section 19(1) of the POCSO Act, on the theory that they ought to have deduced the victim's true age and the nature of the crime from the circumstances. The appellants challenged these criminal proceedings before the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court held that Section 19(1) of the POCSO Act imposes a duty to report only where a person has actual "knowledge" of an offence, not a duty to investigate or deduce facts from circumstances, and the medical records showed the victim's age was recorded as 18, giving the appellants no real basis to suspect she was a minor at the time of conception. Since none of the appellants had any contact with the victim before the delivery, and neither the victim nor her mother had told them about the earlier rape, the Court found no evidence rising even to the level of grave suspicion against them. The appeals were allowed and the criminal proceedings against the three medical professionals were quashed.
The legal duty to report a crime under POCSO arises only from actual knowledge of the offence, not from a failure to investigate or infer facts: professionals performing routine duties in good faith cannot be criminally prosecuted merely for not having pieced together suspicious circumstances.
