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 appellant, a printing company, had a contract to print lottery tickets, which both sides accepted was a "works contract." The trade tax authorities demanded tax under Section 3F(1)(b) of the U.P. Trade Tax Act, 1948 on the value of the ink, chemicals and other processing materials consumed in the printing process, treating this as a deemed sale of goods incorporated into the finished lottery tickets. The appellant contested this, arguing that ink and chemicals used in printing are consumed/used up in the process rather than "transferred" as goods to the customer, and therefore should not attract sales tax as a transfer of property in goods.
The Supreme Court examined in detail the legal test for taxing works contracts after the 46th Constitutional Amendment, distinguishing situations where goods are merely consumed (no taxable transfer) from situations where there is a genuine, tangible transfer of property in goods used during execution of the contract. It held that the three conditions for taxability under Section 3F(1)(b) were met: a works contract existed (printing lottery tickets); ink and chemicals were used in executing it; and there was a real, tangible transfer of property in the diluted ink (a composite of ink plus processing chemicals) onto the paper, which became part of the final printed ticket. The "deemed sale" was found to occur at the exact moment the ink was applied to the paper. Accordingly, the appeals were dismissed and the tax demand upheld. The Court also de-tagged two related but distinct appeals (Nos. 9189 & 8313 of 2015) for separate hearing on a different issue.
In a printing (or similar) works contract, tax authorities can validly tax the value of consumable materials like ink and chemicals if those materials physically become part of the final product handed to the customer: "consumption" is not automatically tax-free if it results in a tangible transfer of property.
