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 filed a criminal complaint against respondent No. 1, a Sub-Inspector of Police, alleging offences under the IPC and the Bombay Police Act. The complaint was based on adverse observations made against the officer by a Sessions Judge in a separate murder trial (where four accused persons had been convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment). The Magistrate and the Bombay High Court both declined to allow the complaint to proceed, prompting this appeal to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court noted that the very order containing the adverse observations against the police officer, the foundation of the appellant's complaint, was itself under challenge in a pending criminal appeal filed by the convicted accused persons, and so was sub judice. Since the foundation of the complaint had not yet attained finality, the Court held it would not be appropriate to entertain this appeal at this stage. It disposed of the appeal finally, without expressing any opinion on the merits, but gave the appellant liberty to raise his grievance afresh depending on the outcome of that pending criminal appeal.
A court will generally decline to act on allegations whose factual basis is itself still being litigated and unsettled elsewhere: a complainant may need to wait for that foundational dispute to be finally resolved before a related complaint can be properly pursued.
