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, an electrician with a 60% locomotor disability, was due to retire at 58. A government office memorandum (OM) had extended the retirement age to 60 for visually impaired employees only. He argued this benefit should extend to other disabled categories too, but was retired at 58 anyway, and the OM was later withdrawn entirely before his case was finally decided by the High Court, which ruled against him.
The Supreme Court held, relying on its own earlier ruling in a similar case (State of Punjab v. Bhupinder Singh), that confining the retirement-age extension to only visually impaired employees was discriminatory: the benefit should extend to all disability categories recognised under the disability rights statutes. However, the Court also held that the government was free to withdraw the OM altogether, since no employee has a fundamental right to a particular retirement age, and the withdrawal was validly made before any court had actually granted the appellant the benefit. The appeals were partly allowed: the appellant was held entitled to continue in service (and get back wages/benefits) only up to the date the OM was withdrawn, not all the way to age 60.
A government benefit granted to one category of disabled employees generally cannot be denied to other similarly-placed disabled categories, but such policy benefits are not a permanent entitlement and can be validly withdrawn by the same authority that created them.
