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 dispute concerned "Bakers Choultry," a charitable rest-house in Mylapore, Chennai, built on land governed by an 1834 rock inscription. The appellants' predecessor claimed the choultry was his private property with only a personal obligation to perform some charity, while the religious endowments authorities held it was a "specific endowment" under the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act, 1959, meaning it belonged to a public religious charity, not to the family. The claim was rejected at every prior stage, by the Deputy Commissioner, the Commissioner, a civil court, and finally the Madras High Court, before reaching the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal, holding that the 1834 rock inscription, which directed that surplus income from the choultry be used to feed Brahmins during specific Hindu festivals (Mylapore and Thiruvotriyur), created a valid "specific endowment" for a "religious charity" under Sections 6(19) and 6(16) of the Act. The Court reasoned that feeding the public during a religious festival qualifies as a public religious charity, that the inscription's bar on the manager's power to sell, mortgage, or alienate the property amounted to a valid divestment of ownership by the original donor, and that the appellants' predecessor had himself earlier claimed in other proceedings that the choultry was such an endowment, undercutting his later claim of private ownership.
An old religious or charitable dedication, even one recorded only in an inscription rather than a formal deed, can permanently convert private property into public trust property if it directs income toward a religious/charitable purpose and restricts the custodian's power to sell or transfer it; such dedications cannot later be reclaimed as personal property by descendants.
