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 a road-construction tender for a project in Meghalaya, the appellant authority issued a Letter of Award (LOA) to the respondent bidder, who duly accepted it. Nearly two years later, before the formal Concession Agreement was ever signed, the authority withdrew the LOA because a required No Objection Certificate for the project land from the local district council was never obtained. The dispute was whether the arbitration clause contained in the unsigned draft Concession Agreement governed the disagreement, or whether it had to go to the Delhi courts, as specified elsewhere in the bidding documents.
Following its own recent precedent in a near-identical case (PSA Mumbai Investments v. Board of Trustees of JNPT), the Supreme Court held that under Section 7 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872, accepting a Letter of Award is not the same as an absolute and unqualified acceptance forming a binding contract: several further steps, including execution of the final Concession Agreement, still remained. Because no binding contract had come into existence, the arbitration clause in the still-unsigned draft agreement never took legal effect; instead, the bidding documents' own clause gave exclusive jurisdiction over disputes to the Delhi courts. The Delhi High Court's order appointing an arbitrator was accordingly set aside and the appeal allowed.
In a tendering or bidding process, merely accepting a Letter of Award is usually not the same as signing a complete, binding contract: until every specified step (such as formally executing the final agreement) is completed, terms in the draft agreement, including an arbitration clause, may not yet take effect.
