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.
14543 more judgements for members
You're seeing the newest cases. Log in — it's free — to keep scrolling, search by name or judge, and filter by court or legal area.
Log in to see moreThe appellant was convicted by a Sessions Court in Assam for kidnapping and murdering a 16-year-old girl he was reportedly in a romantic relationship with, after her father lodged a police complaint when she went missing and her dead body was later found. The Gauhati High Court had already set aside his conviction for kidnapping (since evidence showed the girl went with him voluntarily) but upheld his conviction for murder and destruction of evidence, based on the theory that he was "last seen" with her and that his statements led police to discover the body. The appellant challenged this before the Supreme Court, arguing the evidence was purely circumstantial and did not prove his guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
The Supreme Court found the prosecution's chain of circumstantial evidence incomplete and unreliable. It noted there was a significant time gap between when the appellant was last seen with the victim and when her body was recovered, undermining the "last seen together" theory. Crucially, the Court found there was no motive for the killing: evidence showed the appellant and victim were in love and families had discussed marriage, and the postmortem ruled out recent sexual assault. Relying on precedents holding that absence of motive weighs heavily in favour of the accused in circumstantial-evidence cases, the Court held the prosecution failed to prove each link of the chain, acquitted the appellant, and set aside both lower court judgments.
In cases resting entirely on circumstantial evidence, courts must ensure every link in the chain of circumstances is proved beyond doubt and points unerringly to the accused's guilt: a plausible alternative explanation, or absence of any motive, can be enough to defeat a conviction even where suspicion exists.
