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 moreFollowing a 1994 altercation rooted in prior enmity, the appellants were convicted of murder under Section 302 read with Section 149 IPC for the deaths of Gopi Chand and Mahabir, with one appellant alleged to have fired the fatal shot and others to have used lathis. The trial court also convicted three other co-accused, but the High Court acquitted them while upholding the appellants' conviction, prompting both this appeal by the surviving appellant (the others having died during the appeal's pendency) and a separate State appeal against the acquittals, heard together.
The Court found that the appellant Manphool had sustained ten injuries, including a head wound, which the prosecution never explained: a lapse that, under settled law, casts doubt on the prosecution's version when the accused himself is injured in the same incident. Contradictory medical evidence about the number of wounds on the deceased Gopi Chand reinforced the Court's view that the full truth of how the fight started had not been placed before it, and the Court found a genuine possibility that the appellant had acted in self-defence but exceeded its limits. It therefore downgraded the conviction from murder (Section 302) to culpable homicide not amounting to murder (Section 304 Part II IPC), and since the sole surviving appellant had already served 8-9 years, reduced his sentence to time already served while upholding the modified conviction; his bail bonds were discharged. The State's separate appeal against the acquittal of three other co-accused was dismissed, the Court finding no good ground to interfere with the High Court's view on them.
When an accused sustains serious, unexplained injuries during the same incident that led to a death, courts must weigh whether the accused may have acted in excessive self-defence: this can reduce a murder conviction to the lesser offence of culpable homicide rather than full acquittal or an unmodified murder conviction.
