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 moreThree brothers were co-tenants of a property; the appellants are descendants of one brother and claimed that another brother had, by a notarised affidavit and a later relinquishment by his widow, transferred his rights in the tenancy to the appellants' predecessor. The appellants sued for a declaration and injunction, but their request for interim relief was dismissed by the trial court. On appeal against only that interim order, the High Court went further and effectively dismissed the substantive suit itself, while directing that some of the appellants' other prayers be considered instead in a separate suit filed by the opposing party.
The Supreme Court held that the High Court's approach was legally impermissible: hearing only an appeal against refusal of an interim injunction pending the suit, the High Court could not use that occasion to dismiss the substantive suit and redirect the remaining claims into a different suit filed by the opposing side. It set aside the High Court's order, restored the original suit to the Bombay City Civil Court's file for trial on merits, and granted an interim direction restraining the respondents from dispossessing the appellants pending that suit's outcome: expressly clarifying it had not expressed any view on the merits of the underlying property dispute.
An appellate court hearing only an interlocutory appeal (such as one against refusal of interim injunction) cannot use that limited occasion to finally decide or dismiss the main suit itself: procedural boundaries between interim and final relief must be respected, even when using powers like Order 41 Rule 33 CPC to pass further orders.
