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 company alleged that a husband and wife had taken Rs. 1.9 crore from it on a promise to transfer land, which turned out to be already mortgaged and sold to someone else, and then refused to repay the roughly Rs. 6.25 crore now due with interest. An FIR for cheating was registered in 2018. The accused couple obtained anticipatory bail protection that continued for nearly four years while settlement talks in mediation went nowhere; the Delhi High Court eventually rejected their anticipatory bail in 2023, specifically noting they had misled courts with false undertakings to repay. Despite this, once the chargesheet was filed, a magistrate granted them regular bail, and both the Sessions Court and the Delhi High Court declined to disturb that bail.
The Supreme Court set aside all three orders and directed the accused to surrender within two weeks. It held that the magistrate and Sessions Judge had ignored the accused's documented conduct, including misleading the High Court with a repayment undertaking they never honoured and concealing that their anticipatory bail had already been rejected, and had granted bail based merely on the chargesheet being filed, without weighing the material against them. The Court also flagged serious procedural irregularities, including that the accused appeared to have been released without any formal bail order between hearings, and criticized the High Court for refusing to send the case back to the same judge who had earlier rejected anticipatory bail based on an unrelated technicality about roster changes. The Court additionally directed judicial training for the officers involved and an internal police inquiry into the investigating officers' conduct.
Courts assessing bail must scrutinize an accused person's documented past conduct, such as broken undertakings and concealment of earlier rejected bail applications, and cannot grant bail on autopilot merely because a chargesheet has been filed; in serious economic offences involving large sums, such conduct is highly relevant even at the bail stage.
