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 appellants (the husband's sister-in-law, her husband, and her father-in-law, all residing in Hyderabad) were implicated in a dowry-harassment case filed by the de facto complainant (the husband's wife) after the marriage broke down and the husband filed for divorce. The complaint alleged only generalised taunts about dowry and a vague claim that the appellants used to visit Guntur and pressure the family, with no specific dates, physical torture, or concrete acts attributed to them. The High Court had refused to quash the case, holding that the allegations required a trial.
The Supreme Court quashed the criminal case against the appellants, relying on its precedents in Geeta Mehrotra v. State of U.P. and Dara Lakshmi Narayana v. State of Telangana, which caution against dragging distant relatives of a husband into matrimonial disputes based on vague, omnibus allegations. The Court found no specific date, act, or evidence connecting the appellants, who lived in a different city and had no shown involvement, to any dowry demand, and held that such generalised accusations, often used to settle personal scores in matrimonial discord, cannot sustain a criminal prosecution. It concluded the FIR against the appellants was an abuse of process and allowed the appeal.
Courts will quash criminal cases against a husband's relatives where the complaint contains only vague, generalised allegations of dowry harassment with no specific dates, acts, or evidence of personal involvement: merely naming family members in a matrimonial dispute is not enough to put them through a criminal trial.
