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 1995, the defendant agreed to sell his house to the plaintiffs for Rs. 10,67,000, receiving Rs. 5,00,000 as part payment. When the defendant did not execute the sale deed despite notices, the plaintiffs sued for specific performance, and the Trial Court decreed the suit in their favour in 2000, disbelieving the defendant's claim that his signatures were obtained on blank stamp papers against a loan. On appeal, the defendant applied to introduce fresh documentary evidence (like a house-tax register extract) which the High Court allowed and then relied on to reverse the decree in 2008, without examining whether that evidence was actually consistent with the defendant's own pleaded case.
The Supreme Court framed the central legal question as whether an Appellate Court must examine a party's pleadings before permitting additional evidence under Order XLI Rule 27(1) of the CPC. It held that meeting the technical requirements of Rule 27(1) alone is not enough. The court must also verify that the proposed additional evidence is consistent with, and supports, the case actually pleaded by the party seeking to introduce it; evidence on a point never pleaded is irrelevant even if otherwise admissible. Since the High Court had allowed the defendant's additional evidence and used it to overturn the decree without this pleadings-based scrutiny, its judgment was unsustainable in law. The Supreme Court set aside the High Court's order and remanded the appeal for fresh consideration, expressing no opinion on the merits, and requested expedited disposal given the suit's age.
Winning permission to file additional evidence on appeal is not just a technical box-ticking exercise: the evidence must actually fit within what the party has pleaded, and appellate courts must check that fit before letting new evidence change the outcome of a case.
