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 lawyer and resident of village Saini near Greater Noida, challenged attempts by a private company to forcibly take over a century-old common village pond used by local villagers, after local authorities failed to act on his repeated complaints. He approached the National Green Tribunal (NGT), which summarily dismissed his case based merely on an affidavit from the development authority claiming it would create alternative, larger water bodies elsewhere, without actually deciding the merits of his grievance. He then appealed this dismissal to the Supreme Court under Section 22 of the National Green Tribunal Act.
The Supreme Court held that the NGT erred in dismissing the matter without adjudicating the merits, and went on to examine the substance of the dispute itself. It held that protecting village common water bodies is tied to the fundamental right to life under Article 21, since such water bodies sustain drinking water, groundwater levels, local ecology, and livelihoods. The Court rejected the government's policy of simply replacing destroyed natural water bodies with artificial ones elsewhere, finding that this "mechanical" approach ignored the irreversible ecological and social harm of destroying an existing water body (loss of vegetation, groundwater seepage, displaced wildlife, and inconvenience to villagers who would have to travel further). It allowed the appeal, quashed the allotment of the ponds and canals to the private company, and directed the authorities to restore, maintain, and protect the water bodies and clear obstructions to their natural catchment area within three months.
Village common lands and water bodies cannot be handed over to private parties merely because the government promises to build a replacement elsewhere: courts treat the destruction of such community resources as a serious, often irreversible harm connected to villagers' basic right to life, not a problem that can be solved by simple substitution.
