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, a Member of the Rajya Sabha, posted a video of a mass wedding function on social media in which a poem was recited in the background. A complainant alleged the poem's words incited enmity between communities and harmed national unity, and an FIR was registered under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) corresponding to promoting enmity between groups and imputations prejudicial to national integration. The Gujarat High Court declined to quash the FIR, reasoning that the investigation was at a nascent stage.
The Supreme Court itself translated and read the poem and found, on a plain reading, that it made no reference to any religion, caste, or community, did not promote disharmony or hatred, and was in fact a message about facing injustice with love and non-violence, so none of the ingredients of the alleged offences were made out even on the face of the FIR. The Court held that free expression, including poetry, satire, and art, is essential to a healthy democracy and must be judged by the standards of "reasonable, strong-minded" people rather than the "weak and oscillating," and that courts can and should quash an FIR at a nascent investigation stage if no offence is disclosed at all, rather than waiting for investigation to run its course. It also laid down guidance that police must consider free speech protections and, where the speech-related offence carries a sentence under 3 years, ordinarily conduct a preliminary inquiry before registering an FIR. The Court quashed the FIR and all further proceedings.
Merely posting or reciting a poem, artwork, or piece of political speech that some listeners find provocative does not by itself amount to a crime: criminal liability for "promoting enmity" requires the actual words to target a specific religion, caste, or community and to genuinely threaten public harmony; courts can quash such FIRs early rather than forcing citizens to endure a prolonged investigation for protected speech.
