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 development agreement and power of attorney let Ferani Hotels develop three Mumbai plots owned by the estate of late E.F. Dinshaw, administered by Nusli Wadia; disputes later arose between them and spilled into separate civil litigation. Amid that private dispute, Wadia (as administrator) filed an RTI request with the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai seeking copies of the building plans, layouts, and development plans Ferani had submitted for official sanction. The Public Information Officer refused, citing commercial confidence and copyright, but the State Chief Information Commissioner and then the Bombay High Court both ordered disclosure, holding the plans were public records tied to a public-interest construction project. Ferani appealed to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court held that building plans and layouts submitted to a public authority (the Municipal Corporation) for sanction become part of the public record once approved, and are not shielded as "commercial confidence" or "trade secrets" under Section 8(1)(d) of the RTI Act, nor as "personal information" under Section 8(1)(j). The Court reasoned that disclosure serves the larger public interest since flat purchasers and the public need access to sanctioned development plans, a position reinforced by disclosure obligations under the Maharashtra Ownership Flats Act and the newer RERA. It rejected Ferani's argument that the dispute's private/commercial origin should bar disclosure, calling the appeal a "legal misadventure" driven by a personal vendetta rather than any genuine objection to disclosure. The Court dismissed the appeal and separately directed that, going forward, developers should display sanctioned plans at the construction site itself, in keeping with RERA's transparency objectives.
Documents a private developer submits to a government authority for official sanction (like building plans) become public records once approved, and ordinarily must be disclosed under the RTI Act even if the request is intertwined with a private commercial dispute between the parties: mere inconvenience to one side is not a valid ground to withhold public records.
