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 moreThe appellant's land in Vikhroli, Mumbai had been reserved since 1991 in the city's Development Plan for acquisition by the Railways, but the Railways never actually acquired it. After the mandatory 10-year acquisition period under Section 127 of the MRTP Act lapsed, and after the appellant served the statutory notice (to which the Railways replied it had no acquisition plans), the appellant's right to have the reservation lapse and the land released became final. Instead of releasing the land, the State Government later tried to re-reserve the same land for a different public purpose (a road), which the appellant challenged; the Bombay High Court declined to interfere, treating the state's notification as merely "proposed."
The Supreme Court held that once land reservation lapses under Section 127 of the MRTP Act, because the 10-year acquisition period, plus the further 6-month notice period, has expired without acquisition, the owner acquires a vested statutory right to have the land released and to develop it freely. Relying on binding Constitution Bench precedent (Girnar Traders), the Court held the State Government has no power to resurrect or repurpose a reservation on land whose earlier reservation has already lapsed in this manner; the High Court was wrong to treat the State's new notification as merely tentative and non-reviewable at this stage. The Supreme Court therefore allowed the appeal, set aside the High Court's order, and quashed the State's 2008 notification attempting to re-reserve the land for a development-plan road.
Once a statutory reservation on private land lapses because the government failed to acquire it within the legally prescribed time, the owner's right to use that land freely becomes final: the government cannot simply issue a fresh notification to re-reserve the same land for a different purpose to get around that lapse.
