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 moreIn 2002, armed men robbed a family's home in Bihar and kidnapped their eight-year-old son, leaving a ransom note demanding Rs. 6 lakhs. When one accomplice, Pramod Kumar, was caught trying to collect the ransom, he named the appellant as involved and said the boy was being kept at his house. On a raid, the child was found asleep in a room at the appellant's second house, and the appellant was convicted under Section 364A and sentenced to life imprisonment, a conviction upheld by the Patna High Court.
The Supreme Court found the prosecution's case seriously deficient. The child's parents and the child himself, the key witnesses, never identified the appellant, and the conviction rested mainly on the confessional statement of an absconding co-accused, which alone is not substantive evidence. There was no investigation into who actually owned the house where the child was found, no proof the appellant made or was linked to any ransom demand, and the child himself never testified that the appellant threatened him. Since Section 364A requires proof both of kidnapping/detention and of a threat (or reasonable apprehension) of death or hurt, and the prosecution failed to establish the threat element convincingly, the Court held the conviction could not be sustained and acquitted the appellant.
A conviction, especially one carrying life imprisonment, cannot rest on the uncorroborated word of an absconding co-accused's confession alone. The prosecution must independently prove every essential ingredient of the offence, including any required element of threat or apprehension of harm, and gaps in identification or investigation can be fatal to a case even against a serious criminal charge.
