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 moreEPC Constructions (formerly Essar Projects) had executed a large fertilizer-plant construction contract for Matix Fertilizers, under which roughly Rs. 572 crores became due. Because Matix was facing a funding crunch, the parties agreed in 2015 to convert Rs. 250 crores of these dues into Cumulative Redeemable Preference Shares (CRPS) issued by Matix to EPC, so Matix could show the equity infusion its lenders required. Years later, EPC (by then in liquidation) filed an application under Section 7 of the IBC against Matix, claiming the CRPS amount as a "financial debt" and seeking to trigger insolvency proceedings. Both the NCLT and NCLAT rejected the application, holding the CRPS represented an investment, not a debt currently due.
The Supreme Court agreed with the tribunals, holding that once the outstanding contractual dues were converted into CRPS, the earlier debt was extinguished and EPC's relationship with Matix became that of a preference shareholder, not a creditor: "the egg having been scrambled," it could not be unscrambled to revive the old debt claim. The Court held that a preference shareholder, as such, does not qualify as a "financial creditor" under the IBC's definitions, and an application under Section 7 (which only a financial creditor can bring) was therefore not maintainable. It rejected the argument that entries in Matix's books of account treating the CRPS as a liability were determinative, noting that accounting-standard treatment does not override the true legal nature of the transaction as reflected in the documents actually executed by the parties. The appeal was accordingly dismissed.
Converting outstanding commercial dues into preference shares by mutual agreement extinguishes the original debt: the shareholder cannot later treat the same amount as a debt to invoke insolvency proceedings; how a transaction is booked in accounts does not change its real legal character.
