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 moreTwo related contracts between NHAI and private contractors contained arbitration clauses fixing a specific, modest fee structure for arbitrators. After a 2015 amendment to the Arbitration Act introduced a Fourth Schedule prescribing arbitrator fees, a dispute arose over whether arbitrators could charge fees under the Fourth Schedule instead of the lower contractually-fixed amount. In one case the arbitrators had followed a Delhi High Court ruling (Gayatri Jhansi Roadways) applying the Fourth Schedule, and a Single Judge had used this to terminate the arbitrators' mandate; in the connected case the High Court had taken the opposite view.
The Supreme Court held that where a contract already specifies the fee payable to arbitrators, that agreed fee structure governs and is not overridden by Section 31(8) read with Section 31A of the Act (which deal with costs generally, not arbitrators' fees) or by the Fourth Schedule. It also held that the Delhi High Court's contrary ruling in Gayatri Jhansi Roadways was not a correct statement of law. However, since the arbitrators had merely followed the law as it then stood (per the Delhi High Court), they had done nothing wrong, and the Single Judge's order terminating their mandate was set aside: the arbitration was directed to proceed, with the time for passing the award extended by one year.
When parties freely negotiate and fix the fee payable to an arbitrator in their contract, that agreement controls and generally cannot later be overridden by invoking the statutory fee schedule, but an arbitrator who follows binding precedent in good faith will not be penalised even if that precedent is later held wrong.
