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, along with three others, was accused of trespassing into the deceased's house, dragging him to the terrace, throwing him down, and assaulting him with sticks and fists. The victim survived in critical condition for about nine months before dying of septicemia and pneumonia leading to cardio-respiratory arrest. The trial court convicted the appellant and co-accused for murder (Section 302 IPC) and sentenced them to life imprisonment. The High Court of Chhattisgarh partly allowed the appeal, altering the conviction to attempted murder (Section 307 IPC) on the reasoning that the victim did not die directly of the assault injuries but of later medical complications, and reduced the sentence to seven years. The appellant then approached the Supreme Court seeking full acquittal, arguing the long gap between injury and death broke the chain of causation and that eyewitnesses were unreliable.
The Supreme Court examined the law of causation in criminal homicide, holding that if the original injury is of a fatal or life-threatening nature, it makes no difference that death is actually caused by a complication (like septicemia or pneumonia) naturally flowing from that injury rather than the injury itself: the causal connection remains proximate, not remote, merely because of the passage of time. On these facts, the Court found the High Court had committed a serious error in downgrading the offence to Section 307 IPC merely because the victim survived nine months before succumbing to complications arising from the original injuries. However, since the State had not appealed the High Court's order, and the appellant's own appeal only sought a further reduction, the Court found no merit in the appellant's appeal and dismissed it, effectively leaving the Section 307 conviction and seven-year sentence undisturbed as against this appellant.
In law, a person cannot escape a graver criminal charge merely because death was delayed and technically caused by a medical complication. If that complication flows naturally from the original fatal injury, the assailant remains criminally responsible for the death.
