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 was convicted of murdering his own son after a dispute arose over the son's objection to his father building a house on their land. The prosecution's case was that the appellant attacked his son with an axe, causing fatal injuries, in front of family members who raised an alarm. The Trial Court convicted him and sentenced him to life imprisonment, and the High Court upheld that conviction and appeal was further pursued before the Supreme Court, by which time 22 years had passed since the 1997 incident.
The Supreme Court agreed that the High Court had not analysed the evidence as thoroughly as a first appellate court should in a murder case, but declined to send the case back for a fresh hearing given the 22-year delay, choosing instead to review the evidence itself. It found that although no one witnessed the actual stabbing, family members saw the accused enter the room with an axe and leave with it moments before the son was found dead with matching injuries, and this was corroborated by medical evidence. The lack of forensic testing on the axe was a lapse but not fatal to the prosecution's case given the strength of the other evidence. The appeal was dismissed and the conviction upheld.
A murder conviction can be sustained on strong circumstantial evidence (such as being seen entering and leaving the scene armed, consistent with medical findings) even without a direct eyewitness to the fatal blow, and appellate courts may independently review the record rather than order a retrial when decades have already elapsed.
