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 1996, a group of armed men robbed a family at night in Karnataka, snatching jewellery and cash and assaulting some family members. The appellant, one of several accused, was tried and acquitted by the trial court, but the High Court reversed the acquittal and convicted him under Section 397 IPC (robbery with a deadly weapon), sentencing him to 7 years' rigorous imprisonment. He appealed to the Supreme Court. Several other accused in the same incident had separately been acquitted and those acquittals were never appealed.
The Supreme Court held that the High Court erred in overturning the trial court's acquittal. It found that the incident occurred at night with no identification parade conducted, undermining witness identification; one of the three "strong circumstances" the High Court relied upon (regarding the appellant's conduct) appeared to be based on an error in reading the evidence; and recovered articles/utensils that could have corroborated recovery evidence were never produced or exhibited at trial. Applying the settled principle that an appellate court must be extremely cautious before reversing an acquittal, the Court restored the acquittal, set aside the High Court's conviction, and discharged the appellant's bail bond.
An appellate court cannot lightly overturn a trial court's acquittal: it must show the trial court's view was impossible on the evidence, not merely take a different view; gaps like a missing identification parade or unproduced seized articles can be fatal to a reversal of acquittal.
