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 workers' union (the petitioner) had earlier obtained an Industrial Tribunal award directing the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), formerly the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai, to treat 2,700 of its waste-transport workers as permanent employees with retrospective benefits from the date they completed 240 days of service. The BMC's challenge to this award reached the Supreme Court, which in 2017 modified and largely upheld the award (with certain agreed modifications on the effective date of monetary benefits, and directions to verify which of the 2,700 workers were actually traceable/available). When the BMC failed to properly comply for years afterward, the union filed a contempt petition in 2018. By 2024, non-compliance had become so serious that the Supreme Court summoned the Municipal Commissioner and senior BMC engineers to personally appear and explain the status.
Reviewing the BMC's continuing failures, including delays in verification of eligible workers, incomplete payment of dues, and outstanding Provident Fund contributions (with about Rs. 228 crore found undeposited by the EPF authorities). The Court examined each outstanding compliance issue raised by the union in detail. On the Provident Fund dispute, since a related writ petition on the same issue was already pending before the Bombay High Court (with the union seeking to be impleaded there), the Supreme Court declined to pass a separate direction, leaving it to the High Court to decide on the impleadment application on its own merits so as not to influence those pending proceedings. With these clarifications and directions, the Court closed the long-pending contempt matter, discharged notices, and left it open to the parties to return to the Supreme Court if further clarification or enforcement becomes necessary.
Even after workers win a landmark judgment for permanent status and benefits, actually getting an employer (including a government body like a municipal corporation) to comply can take years and require repeated contempt proceedings, but courts will keep tracking compliance issue-by-issue rather than letting a stale judgment go unenforced, while respecting parallel proceedings already underway in other courts on overlapping issues.
