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 had lent Rs. 80,000 to a man who later could not repay the debt despite repeated demands for repayment of principal and interest. The borrower died by suicide, leaving a note describing his financial difficulties and inability to repay the loan. The trial court convicted the appellant-lender of abetment of suicide under Section 306 IPC, and the Madras High Court upheld the conviction while reducing the sentence from three years to three months.
The Supreme Court examined the suicide note and the oral evidence of the deceased's family and found that, while they showed the deceased was under financial pressure and may have been spoken to abusively about repayment, nothing in the evidence showed the appellant had instigated or intended to drive the deceased to suicide. The Court reiterated that abetment of suicide requires proof of actual instigation or intention to abet, and that merely using harsh or abusive language while demanding repayment of a genuine debt does not, by itself, meet that standard. Finding the essential ingredients of Section 306 IPC unproved, the Court set aside the conviction and allowed the appeal, acquitting the appellant.
A creditor who presses a debtor for repayment, even using harsh words, cannot be convicted of abetting that debtor's suicide unless there is clear evidence of intentional instigation, demanding repayment of a lawful debt is not, on its own, a crime.
