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 moreIFCI, a financial institution, had given Blue Coast Hotels a Rs. 150-crore loan secured by a mortgage over its Goa hotel property, including some agricultural land. When the hotel defaulted and the loan turned into a non-performing asset, IFCI issued recovery notices under the SARFAESI Act, took symbolic possession, and after several deferred auctions, eventually sold the property to ITC Limited. Blue Coast challenged the entire recovery and sale process in the Bombay High Court, which set aside the sale on multiple grounds, including an alleged failure by IFCI to properly respond to Blue Coast's representation, inclusion of agricultural land in the security, and findings of fraud and collusion, and ITC and IFCI appealed to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court held that while Section 13(3A) of the SARFAESI Act (requiring a creditor to consider and give reasons for rejecting a borrower's representation) is mandatory, non-compliance did not help Blue Coast here because the record showed IFCI had in fact engaged with and repeatedly accommodated Blue Coast's repeated requests for more time, which Blue Coast used only to delay repayment, so Blue Coast could not now invoke a discretionary equitable remedy with "unclean hands." The Court also held the disputed land was not genuinely "agricultural land" exempt under Section 31(i), that symbolic (rather than physical) possession is a valid recognized device under the Act so IFCI remained a "secured creditor" even after transferring the property to ITC, and that the High Court's findings of fraud and collusion in the auction were unsupported by the facts. Concluding Blue Coast was not entitled to relief, the Court set aside the High Court's judgment and directed Blue Coast to hand over possession of the property to ITC within six months.
A borrower who repeatedly negotiates, makes unfulfilled repayment promises, and even formally acknowledges a creditor's right to seize assets on default cannot later use a court's writ jurisdiction to escape that outcome merely by pointing to a procedural lapse by the creditor: equitable relief is denied to a party that does not come to court with "clean hands."
