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 father, sole owner of a Defence Colony house, willed its ground floor absolutely to his son and first floor absolutely to his daughter, while giving his wife only a "life interest": the right to live in the house and collect rent for her maintenance during her lifetime, with the property reverting fully to the son and daughter on her death. After the father's death, the mother and son jointly sued the daughter, claiming the mother's life interest had been enlarged into full ownership of the whole house (including a later-built third floor) under Section 14(1) of the Hindu Succession Act. Both the trial court and the Delhi High Court rejected this, holding the mother's interest fell under the narrower Section 14(2) exception instead.
The Supreme Court traced the settled law from V. Tulasamma and Sadhu Singh, explaining that Section 14(1)'s enlargement to full ownership applies only where a woman's limited interest merely recognizes a pre-existing right (like maintenance or a share at partition), whereas Section 14(2) applies where a will or similar instrument grants her a restricted estate for the first time, with no pre-existing right behind it. Here, the wife never had any pre-existing ownership claim to this self-acquired property: the will created her life interest afresh, while giving absolute ownership to the son and daughter directly and additionally granting the wife other properties outright for her independent maintenance. The Court held her life interest was therefore validly "restricted" under Section 14(2), never ripened into absolute ownership, and was extinguished by her death in 2016; the appeal was dismissed.
A widow's right to live in and use a property under a will does not automatically turn into full ownership: that only happens if the will is merely formalizing a pre-existing right she already had (such as maintenance); if the will is creating a brand-new, limited interest for her while giving full ownership of the same property to someone else, that limited interest stays limited for life.
