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 moreA husband and wife, both Indian citizens who married in Srinagar and later lived in Qatar where their two sons were born, divorced there in 2022; the Qatar Family Court gave custody to the mother but guardianship to the father. The mother later brought the children to India mid-academic-session without the father's consent and allegedly without their original passports, breaking an undertaking to a Jammu & Kashmir High Court bench that she would return to Qatar for the elder child's schooling. The Qatar court subsequently revoked her custody for this conduct, an Indian contempt court found her guilty of violating her undertaking, and while the Family Court at Srinagar then granted custody to the father, the High Court reversed that and restored custody to the mother, leading to this appeal.
The Supreme Court held that while a child's welfare is always the paramount consideration in custody disputes, the High Court erred in treating the parents' conduct, the mother's undertaking-breach, and the Qatar court's custody revocation as largely irrelevant. It found the High Court had ignored several material facts: the mother's removal of the children without consent or original passports, the finality of the contempt finding against her, the Qatar court's revocation of her custody, and a mediation report before the Supreme Court in which both children expressed a clear wish to live with their father. Because these factors were wrongly discounted, the Court set aside the High Court's judgment and remanded the matter for fresh consideration on merits within four months.
In custody disputes, a parent's conduct (such as unilaterally relocating children across borders without consent, violating a court undertaking, or losing custody rights abroad for misconduct) is a legally relevant factor that courts must weigh alongside (not ignore in favour of) the generic "welfare of the child" standard, and children's own expressed wishes, gathered through proper mediation, must also be given real weight.
