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 moreDuring a property dispute, the appellant and two co-accused allegedly attacked members of the informant's family with choppers, causing the deaths of two young relatives and grievous injury to the informant herself. The Trial Court acquitted all five accused for lack of proof, but on the State's appeal, the High Court reversed the acquittal only as to the appellant, convicting him of murder and causing grievous hurt, while upholding the acquittal of the other four accused.
The Supreme Court found the only eyewitness's testimony consistently showed that the appellant had assaulted only the informant (causing grievous injury), while the two deaths were specifically attributed to the other two co-accused who had already been acquitted and whose acquittal was not challenged further. With no evidence of common intention to kill and no overt act by the appellant toward either deceased victim, the Court held the High Court was wrong to convict him of murder under Section 302 IPC. It upheld only his conviction under Section 326 IPC (voluntarily causing grievous hurt with a dangerous weapon) for the assault on the informant, and since he had already served more time in custody than the revised sentence required, ordered his immediate release.
A conviction must be tied to specific, proven acts by that particular accused, being present at the scene or named in a medical record is not enough; where eyewitness testimony clearly attributes the fatal acts to other individuals, a court cannot convict someone of murder merely because he was involved in the same incident.
