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 plaintiff claimed ownership of a vacant site and house based on an alleged oral family partition between his father and uncle decades earlier, and a later 1995 family settlement document. He sued to cancel a 1993 sale deed under which the defendant had purchased the same property from the plaintiff's cousin, and to recover possession. The trial court and first appellate court both ruled in the plaintiff's favour, but the Karnataka High Court, hearing a second appeal, reversed them, holding the plaintiff had produced only revenue record extracts (not actual title deeds) and had failed to prove either the oral partition or clear ownership.
The Supreme Court agreed with the High Court's assessment of the evidence. It noted the documents relied on by the plaintiff, assessment/demand register extracts, did not establish ownership, and that a related suit the same plaintiff had filed against the purchaser of an adjoining half of the same property had also been dismissed on identical grounds for lack of proof of title. The Court reiterated the settled principle that a plaintiff must succeed on the strength of his own case and cannot rely on the weakness of the defendant's case, and it found the plaintiff had not discharged that burden. The appeal was dismissed.
Revenue records such as khata or assessment extracts are not proof of ownership of land; anyone claiming title to property must produce genuine title documents, and cannot rely on possession entries in government records or on gaps in the opposing party's case.
