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 deceased woman died of burn injuries within nine months of her marriage; the prosecution alleged her husband stuffed cloth in her mouth, poured kerosene over her, and set her on fire, driven by dowry demands from him and his parents (including the appellant, her father-in-law). The trial court convicted the husband, father-in-law, and mother-in-law under both Section 302 (murder) and Section 498A (cruelty) of the IPC, but the Madhya Pradesh High Court acquitted all three of murder while upholding only the Section 498A cruelty conviction. Three connected appeals arose from this High Court order: the father-in-law's appeal against his 498A conviction, the deceased's brother's appeal against the murder acquittals, and the State's appeal against the same acquittals, all disposed of together by this common judgment.
The Supreme Court examined whether the evidence against the father-in-law specifically supported a Section 498A conviction, applying the settled principle that where circumstantial evidence permits two views, the one favouring the accused must be preferred. It found no direct evidence implicating the father-in-law in cruelty or the dowry demand, and noted that the dowry-demand allegation was conspicuously absent from the family's initial statements to police, appearing only later in court testimony, suggesting it was added as an afterthought rather than an honest account. Because no independent witness corroborated the dowry demand and the evidence against the father-in-law was insufficient, the Court allowed his appeal and set aside his Section 498A conviction, while dismissing the separate appeals by the brother and the State against the murder acquittals of all three accused (leaving those acquittals undisturbed).
In dowry-related criminal cases, courts scrutinize whether allegations against family members (beyond the main accused) are backed by specific, contemporaneous evidence: vague or "extended" implication of in-laws, especially when key facts like a dowry demand surface only late in the trial rather than in the original police statement, will not sustain a conviction; the benefit of doubt goes to the accused when two views of the evidence are possible.
