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.
14543 more judgements for members
You're seeing the newest cases. Log in — it's free — to keep scrolling, search by name or judge, and filter by court or legal area.
Log in to see moreThe appellant was convicted of murdering an acquaintance with an axe and sentenced to life imprisonment by the Trial Court, a conviction later upheld by the Chhattisgarh High Court. The case rested entirely on circumstantial evidence: an alleged prior threat, a driving licence supposedly recovered from the crime scene, and a claimed motive arising from an old dispute. Several prosecution witnesses turned hostile or gave inconsistent accounts during the trial.
The Supreme Court found that each link in the chain of circumstantial evidence was weak or unproven: the recovery of the driving licence was doubtful since it was not part of the original charge-sheet and was contradicted by witness testimony, the alleged threat was not corroborated by any reliable witness, and the claimed motive did not establish immediacy or gravity of animosity. The Court reiterated that in cases built on circumstantial evidence, the chain must be complete and point unerringly to guilt, and that suspicion, however strong, cannot substitute for proof. Finding the prosecution's case failed at the threshold, the Court gave the appellant the benefit of doubt, set aside the conviction, and acquitted him.
A criminal conviction based purely on circumstantial evidence cannot stand unless every link in the chain is firmly and independently established beyond reasonable doubt; mere suspicion or a partially corroborated narrative is not enough to sustain a conviction, especially for a serious offence carrying life imprisonment.
