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 moreDMK's original civil appeal challenged a Madras High Court order refusing to direct the Tamil Nadu State Election Commission to conduct local body elections using the 2011 Census (instead of the 2001 Census) for delimitation and reservation purposes. While that appeal was pending, a new Delimitation Commission completed a fresh delimitation exercise using the 2011 Census figures, but the State Government then carved four existing districts into nine new districts shortly before the Election Commission notified elections, without first re-delimiting the newly split districts. DMK and others filed interlocutory applications seeking to block elections in those nine new districts until proper delimitation was completed there.
The Supreme Court held that the constitutional mandate under Articles 243-B, 243-C and 243-D (proportional panchayat seats and reservations) could not be met in the nine newly-created districts without a fresh delimitation exercise there, so it directed elections to proceed in all other districts as scheduled, but barred elections in the nine reorganised districts until delimitation was completed within four months, with proportionate reservation applied throughout. On the original civil appeals, since the respondents had already shifted to using the 2011 Census for delimitation (DMK's core original grievance), the Court held the appeals had become infructuous and disposed of them accordingly, along with all pending applications.
Courts can treat a case as resolved ("infructuous") once the relief originally sought has effectively already been granted through subsequent administrative action, even without a contested merits ruling, and in election matters, courts will intervene before polling only to ensure procedural prerequisites like delimitation are properly completed, not to question the election itself.
