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 1984, a mob attack in a Bihar village left one man, Md. Nadir Sah @ Jumma, shot dead, allegedly by a group of accused persons armed with firearms. The trial court acquitted the accused, finding the eyewitness identification unreliable, noting an unexplained delay in the FIR, and drawing an adverse inference from irregularities in police timing and missing witnesses. The Patna High Court later reversed this acquittal on appeal, convicting several of the accused (the appellants) under Section 302 (murder) read with Sections 34 and 148 IPC and sentencing them to life imprisonment.
The Supreme Court held that the High Court was wrong to overturn the trial court's acquittal merely because a different view of the evidence was possible. Relying on a long line of precedent (including Sheo Swarup, Surajpal Singh, Muralidhar, and Ghurey Lal), the Court reiterated that an appellate court can only disturb an acquittal for "very substantial and compelling reasons," such as the trial court's findings being palpably wrong or based on an erroneous view of law, not simply because the evidence could also support conviction. Finding that the trial court's view (on delay in lodging the FIR, unreliable eyewitness identification, and investigative lapses) was a reasonable and possible one, the Supreme Court restored the acquittal and set aside the High Court's conviction. Three of the original appellants had died during the pendency of the appeal, so their appeals abated.
When a trial court acquits an accused person, that acquittal carries a strengthened presumption of innocence; an appellate court cannot overturn it just because another view of the same evidence is also possible: it must show the trial court's reasoning was clearly wrong or legally unsound.
