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, a neighbour of the deceased, was alleged to have entered her room at night and attempted to outrage her modesty; the next morning the deceased died by suicide along with her infant daughter. The Trial Court acquitted the appellant of abetment of suicide (Section 306 IPC) but convicted him under Sections 354 (outraging modesty) and 448 (house trespass) IPC. When the appellant alone appealed his conviction to the Madras High Court, the High Court, noting that the State had not appealed the Section 306 acquittal, took up a suo motu revision on its own, and ultimately convicted the appellant under Section 306 IPC as well, enhancing his sentence.
The Supreme Court held that where only the convict has appealed and neither the victim, the complainant, nor the State has challenged an acquittal or sought enhancement of sentence, a High Court cannot exercise suo motu revisional power to convict the appellant on an additional charge or enhance his sentence, doing so effectively punishes a person more severely for exercising his own right of appeal. The Court found this procedurally impermissible regardless of how the evidence on the abetment charge might otherwise have been viewed. It accordingly set aside the conviction and enhanced sentence under Section 306 IPC, while confirming the original conviction and sentence under Sections 354 and 448 IPC as passed by the Trial Court and affirmed by the Sessions Court.
An appellate or revisional court cannot use a convict's own appeal as an opportunity to convict him of a more serious, previously acquitted charge or enhance his sentence, unless the prosecution or victim has independently challenged that acquittal: a person should never be worse off for having exercised his right to appeal.
