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, father-in-law of the deceased Laxmi Rani, was alleged to have quarrelled with and harassed her over dowry-related demands, then forcibly poured kerosene on her and set her on fire in 1986 after she tried to return to her parents' home. The trial court convicted the appellant and his wife (the deceased's mother-in-law) under Section 302/34 IPC (murder), but the High Court acquitted the mother-in-law and held the case was actually one of suicide, convicting the appellant instead under Section 306 IPC (abetment of suicide) for having tortured her, sentencing him to five years' rigorous imprisonment.
The Supreme Court noted that the deceased's dying declaration recorded by the Executive Magistrate directly described the appellant pouring kerosene and setting her alight, which would ordinarily support a murder conviction under Section 302 IPC, but since the State had not appealed the acquittal under Section 302, and given the long passage of time since 1986, the Court declined to revisit that aspect. Instead, it confined itself to the conviction actually under appeal (Section 306 IPC) and held that since the evidence clearly established the appellant had harassed and tortured the deceased, there was no reason to interfere with his conviction and sentence. The appeal was dismissed and the appellant directed to surrender within four weeks to serve his remaining sentence.
In India's appellate system, a court generally will not enhance or revisit an acquittal on a more serious charge if the prosecution/State itself never appealed that specific acquittal: the appellate court's review stays confined to the conviction actually challenged before it.
