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 moreTwo brothers disputed ownership of a house in Indore that had belonged to their maternal grandfather. The respondent (elder brother) sued to evict the appellant (younger brother) from the property, relying on a 1945 handwritten Will by which their grandfather had allegedly bequeathed the house solely to him. The appellant argued he was entitled to a half share as a grandson and that the Will was unreliable, since it surfaced only after the plaintiff amended his pleadings and other legal heirs of the grandfather were never made parties to the suit. Both the trial court and the Madhya Pradesh High Court had ruled in the respondent's favour based on the Will.
The Supreme Court examined the evidence on the Will's genuineness and found no suspicious circumstances: the handwriting was proved by a witness familiar with the testator's hand, and bank records showed the Will had been pledged for a loan as far back as 1964, long before the lawsuit, undercutting the claim that it was a recent fabrication. The Court held that the appellant's name being added to municipal tax records, without any supporting evidence of how or why, could not by itself confer ownership rights, especially since he had earlier paid taxes in the respondent's name alone. Finding the concurrent findings of the trial court and High Court well-reasoned and not warranting interference, the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal with no order as to costs.
A handwritten Will can be upheld as genuine based on corroborating circumstantial evidence (such as independent proof of handwriting and long-standing prior reliance on the document), and merely getting one's name added to municipal tax records does not by itself establish ownership of property without further proof.
