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's father had filed a suit in 1975 claiming ownership and possession of a Delhi plot (No. 27), alleging the respondent had illegally trespassed and built on it. The respondent claimed he had bought the land in 1966 from a third party, Dharampal. The trial court and first appellate court dismissed the suit, and the Delhi High Court upheld that dismissal in second appeal, prompting this further appeal to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court found that the sale deed the respondent relied on (dated 15.9.1966) had been fabricated: when the original deed was summoned from the Sub-Registrar's sealed records, it showed a different purchaser name and did not even mention the disputed plot number, and site maps proved the land the respondent's seller actually owned was a separate, non-adjoining plot. By contrast, the appellant's chain of title through a 1948 sale deed to his father was unchallenged and consistent with the official site maps. The Court held the lower courts had all erred in ignoring these documentary inconsistencies.
In property disputes, courts give decisive weight to the original registered documents held by the Sub-Registrar over a party's own produced copy, and apparent inconsistencies in site plans or document dates can expose fabricated title claims even decades later.
