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 was convicted under Section 366 IPC and Section 6 of the POCSO Act and sentenced to rigorous imprisonment, a conviction upheld by the Madras High Court. While his appeal was pending before the Supreme Court, the appellant married the victim in May 2021, and the couple have since had a child together. The Tamil Nadu State Legal Services Authority, on the Court's direction, confirmed that the appellant's wife was living happily with him and their child and wished to continue doing so; she filed an affidavit to this effect before the Court.
The Supreme Court noted that the marriage, the birth of a child, and the wife's own sworn wish to continue her family life were subsequent developments that made continued incarceration of the appellant harmful to the very victim the law sought to protect, as well as to the child and family unit. Invoking its special power under Article 142 of the Constitution to do complete justice, the Court quashed the criminal proceedings, conviction, and sentence against the appellant. It attached a strict condition that the appellant must never desert his wife and child and must maintain them for life, warning of serious consequences if he defaults, and it expressly stated that this order was based on the case's unique facts and must not be treated as a precedent for other cases.
The Supreme Court can use its extraordinary Article 142 power to reach an outcome that serves genuine justice even after a conviction, but it does so only in truly exceptional circumstances and explicitly refuses to let such an order become a template: POCSO convictions are not ordinarily undone by a later marriage to the victim.
