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-father, an engineer working on rotational overseas postings, sought a stable custody/visitation arrangement for his young daughter after the marriage broke down and the mother took the child to live with her in Kerala. The Family Court's arrangement required him to file a fresh application every time he visited India to get overnight custody; despite filing about twenty applications and four High Court petitions over a year, he obtained only 37 days of physical access. The High Court declined to replace this "apply-each-time" system with a fixed schedule, granting only ad hoc interim custody on two specific occasions.
The Supreme Court allowed the appeal in part, finding that requiring a fresh application on every visit placed an undue procedural burden on both the father and, indirectly, the child, especially given the Family Court's counsellor report that the child was comfortable with him. It replaced the piecemeal system with a detailed standing interim schedule (weekend custody during his visits, split vacations, defined video-call windows, travel-consent conditions, and a notice-and-objection procedure) that would apply until the main custody case is finally decided, without further need for repeated applications.
Courts increasingly favour clear, predictable visitation schedules over case-by-case litigation, particularly where a non-custodial parent's overseas work makes recurring applications impractical: procedural convenience for the court system should not come at the cost of a child's meaningful relationship with both parents.
