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 moreA retired High Court judge, appearing in person on behalf of an organisation called the All India Backward Classes Federation, filed a public interest petition challenging certain admission rules of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana governing postgraduate medical courses. His core grievance was that Telangana's rules (unlike Andhra Pradesh's, which had already been amended) did not properly treat "Meritorious Reserved Candidates", reserved-category candidates who qualify on their own merit, as open-category candidates, which he argued unfairly reduced the number of seats effectively available to other reserved-category candidates.
The Court noted that the settled legal position on this issue, as laid down in cases like Indra Sawhney and R.K. Sabharwal, was already clear for undergraduate (MBBS) admissions, but that postgraduate admissions involved added complexity around candidates moving between specialties and categories. The Court held that such a complex, fact-specific question about how reservation percentages interact with individual candidates' choices could not be resolved in the abstract through a public interest litigation, especially without hearing the actual affected candidates who might be adversely impacted by any ruling. It therefore disposed of the petition without deciding the substantive question, leaving it open for High Courts to decide individual cases raising this issue on their own specific facts as they arise.
Courts will decline to lay down sweeping policy rules on complex reservation questions through a public interest petition when doing so would affect specific individuals who are not before the court: such disputes are better resolved case-by-case, with all affected parties actually heard.
