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 moreIn an incident from 1980, the appellants' stray bullocks wandered into a neighbour's compound; the neighbour (the eventual deceased) drove them out with a lathi, sparking an altercation. The deceased returned with companions armed with a lathi, while the appellants came armed with an iron rod and a knife, leading to a mutual assault in which the deceased was fatally injured (femoral artery cut) and two others sustained simple injuries. The High Court had already set aside a murder conviction, finding no common intention among the appellants, and convicted appellant no. 2 instead under the lesser offence of culpable homicide (Section 304 Part II IPC), while sustaining other convictions including attempt to murder (Section 307).
The Supreme Court held the attempt-to-murder conviction (Section 307 IPC) unsustainable because the injuries to the two witnesses were medically found to be merely "simple" in nature, inconsistent with an intention or attempt to kill, and set that part of the conviction aside. It upheld appellant no. 2's conviction under Section 304 Part II IPC for the fatal injury, since the knowledge that death could result from a knife-and-iron-rod assault could reasonably be attributed to him even without a shared common intention. However, given the sudden, unpremeditated nature of the fight over straying cattle, the non-vital nature of most injuries, the assailants fleeing rather than finishing the attack, and the long lapse of time since 1980, the Court reduced his sentence from eight years to two years. The other convictions under Sections 323 and 324 (simple/grievous hurt) were left undisturbed.
Courts carefully separate "intention" from mere "knowledge" in assessing criminal liability for a fight that turns fatal: a sudden quarrel without premeditation, even one resulting in death, is generally treated as the lesser offence of culpable homicide rather than murder or attempted murder, and sentencing can be reduced where injuries to other victims were only minor and the case is decades old.
