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 moreTwo sets of connected civil appeals, pending for nearly a decade, involved a family dispute over control and management of two family-owned companies, Detinners Pvt. Ltd. and Esemen Metalo Chemicals Pvt. Ltd., which had been under the control of one Sk. Md. Naqi before his death. After his death, his descendants (the parties to the appeal) contested control of the companies and their properties. The Supreme Court had earlier appointed a senior counsel, Mr. R. Basant, to mediate between the family members.
Through the mediation efforts of Mr. Basant (assisted by Mr. A. Karthik and Mr. D.N. Mitra), the family members reached a comprehensive settlement, reduced to signed "Family Settlement Terms" covering equitable distribution of the family's realisable assets. The Court allowed applications to implead additional family members and the company as parties, took the settlement terms on record, and disposed of both sets of appeals in terms of that settlement, directing that any future dispute about compliance with specific clauses of the settlement must be brought back only to the Supreme Court itself. The Court also noted that the mediating counsel declined any fee, and the parties agreed instead to make a contribution to the Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital.
Long-running family/business disputes can be resolved through court-facilitated mediation even after years of litigation, and the Supreme Court can finally dispose of appeals purely on the basis of a negotiated settlement, while retaining exclusive jurisdiction over future disputes about that settlement's enforcement.
