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 village Sarpanch was killed in 1997 when a group of men attacked him with a sword, a farsa (long-bladed weapon), an axe and lathis (sticks) in front of eyewitnesses, after which the attackers fled with a warning. The trial court convicted five of the accused of murder based on eyewitness testimony, recovered weapons, and other evidence, and the Madhya Pradesh High Court upheld the conviction on appeal; two of the convicted men then brought this further appeal to the Supreme Court, arguing the FIR had been ante-dated and that they had been falsely implicated.
The Supreme Court examined the appellants' main arguments: that inconsistencies in police paperwork and a delay in forwarding the FIR to the magistrate suggested the FIR was fabricated after the fact, and that a key eyewitness's injuries may have been faked. The Court found that other contemporaneous police documents (the crime details form, medical examination records, and post-mortem request) were all consistent with the FIR having been genuinely registered at the time claimed, and held that the delay in forwarding the report to the magistrate, while real, caused no prejudice to the accused given the strength of the eyewitness and corroborating evidence. Relying on precedent that an injured eyewitness's testimony carries special weight and is unlikely to spare the real culprit to falsely implicate another, the Court found no merit in the appeal and dismissed it, upholding the conviction and life sentence.
A delay in administrative steps like forwarding an FIR to a magistrate does not by itself invalidate a prosecution's case: courts will look at whether the delay actually caused real prejudice to the accused, and will give an injured eyewitness's account strong weight when it is consistent with other contemporaneous records.
