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 moreAhead of the 2019 Lok Sabha and Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections, the Model Code of Conduct restricted public rallies without prior permission. Manchu Mohan Babu (Chairman of Sri Vidyaniketan Educational Institutions) and his son Manchu Vishnu Vardhan Babu led a rally and dharna with staff and students in Tirupati, protesting the state government's failure to reimburse student fees. Police registered an FIR alleging public nuisance, wrongful restraint, undue influence at elections, and obstruction of roads, and a chargesheet followed; the Andhra Pradesh High Court refused to quash the case.
The Supreme Court applied the well-established Bhajan Lal test (State of Haryana v. Bhajan Lal) for quashing criminal proceedings, asking whether, even taking the FIR and chargesheet at face value, they disclose the ingredients of the alleged offences. Examining Sections 290, 341 and 171F IPC and Section 34 of the Police Act, the Court found none of the essential ingredients were made out: there was no material showing injury or danger to the public, no voluntary obstruction of any person, no undue influence at an election, and no act falling within the specific categories listed under the Police Act provision. The Court held the appellants were merely exercising their fundamental right to freedom of speech and peaceful assembly, and that continuing the prosecution served no purpose.
A criminal case can be quashed at the threshold if the FIR and chargesheet, even taken as wholly true, do not actually spell out every legal ingredient of the offence charged, and peaceful protest or assembly, without an actual disclosed act of obstruction or harm, is protected as an exercise of the fundamental right to free speech.
