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 1979, a gang of 14-15 armed dacoits looted a house in a Uttar Pradesh village at night, shooting dead a man who tried to resist them. The trial court convicted the appellants and two other co-accused under Section 396 IPC (dacoity with murder) based mainly on eyewitness testimony and a test identification parade, and the Allahabad High Court upheld the conviction more than three decades later, in 2012. The appellants challenged their conviction before the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court found that no stolen property or valuables were ever recovered from the appellants, despite the prosecution's claim of a large-scale dacoity, only three kilograms of ghee was recovered from one non-appealing co-accused, which the Court found implausible as the sole evidence of a major robbery. Since there was no recovery evidence connecting the appellants to the stolen property and no proof that they possessed or disposed of it, the Court held that a conviction could not rest solely on the identification parade and oral testimony in the absence of any corroborating recovery. Finding the prosecution had failed to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt, the Court set aside the conviction and sentence, allowed the appeal, and ordered the appellants released unless wanted in any other case.
A criminal conviction, especially for a serious offence like dacoity, cannot rest on eyewitness identification alone: the absence of any recovered stolen property or other corroborating evidence can be fatal to the prosecution's case, even decades after the original trial.
