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 moreIn 1980, a group of 13 people assaulted the complainant, Manohar Singh, and three others over a dispute about possession of agricultural land, causing the complainant as many as 10 injuries, including incised and bone-deep wounds. The trial court convicted several of the accused of serious offences, but on appeal, the Sessions Court reduced the convictions to the lesser offence of simple hurt and granted the accused probation (subject to a modest fine), and the High Court declined to interfere with this on revision by the complainant.
The Supreme Court held that, 35 years after the incident, it would not be appropriate to impose fresh imprisonment on the accused, but found that the lower courts had failed to properly focus on compensating the injured victim, which it described as now integral to just sentencing. Reviewing a line of its own precedents on Sections 357 and 357-A of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the Court held that courts have a near-mandatory duty to apply their minds to victim compensation in every criminal case, considering the medical and other losses actually suffered by the victim. Given the extent and severity of Manohar Singh's injuries, the Court set aside the earlier small fine and directed the surviving accused to pay him Rs. 50,000 as compensation within two months, failing which they would face three months' imprisonment.
Indian courts are expected to actively consider and award meaningful compensation to crime victims under Sections 357/357-A CrPC, not just decide on punishment for the accused, and this duty to compensate the victim can survive and be enforced even many years after the original offence.
