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 moreA beedi manufacturing partnership, Mangalore Ganesh Beedi Works, was dissolved in 1987 after its partners fell out, and the High Court ordered the business sold as a going concern to the highest-bidding partners. Three former partners formed an association of persons (AOP) and bought the business in 1994 for Rs 92 crore. The AOP claimed the legal costs of protecting the business as a business expense and claimed depreciation on the trademarks, copyrights and know-how it had acquired, but the tax department argued that only goodwill had been sold.
The Court answered the first question in the taxpayer's favour: the Tribunal's finding that the legal costs protected the going concern was a finding of fact, and the High Court could not overturn it without a question of law framed on perversity. On depreciation, the Court held that the trademarks, copyrights and know-how were part of the auctioned business, relying on the partnership deed, the High Court's sale order and two independent valuations. Because the depreciation provision for that year did not distinguish between tangible and intangible assets, these items could be depreciated as "plant," and the tax department could not rewrite an arm's-length commercial agreement. The second question, on deductions under sections 35A and 35AB, was expressly left open for an appropriate case, so the appeals were disposed of "in the above terms."
Legal costs incurred in good faith to protect a running business can generally be deducted for tax purposes, even if the litigation is later lost. In tax disputes, the actual terms of a commercial sale and the valuations behind it carry real weight.
