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.
14543 more judgements for members
You're seeing the newest cases. Log in — it's free — to keep scrolling, search by name or judge, and filter by court or legal area.
Log in to see moreA motor accident in 2009 killed a boy and injured his aunt when a reversing car hit them. The car was registered in the name of the first respondent, who claimed he had already sold it in 2007, after which it allegedly passed through two more owners before reaching the appellant. The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal awarded compensation and held the registered owner jointly liable with the driver, but the Punjab and Haryana High Court overturned this, holding that liability should fall on the last person shown to be in possession (the appellant) rather than the registered owner.
The Supreme Court held that under Section 2(30) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, the person in whose name a vehicle is registered is treated as its "owner" for liability purposes, with only narrow statutory exceptions (minors, and vehicles under hire-purchase/lease/hypothecation). It clarified that the precedents relied on by the High Court (concerning a requisitioned vehicle and a hypothecated vehicle) did not apply to an ordinary unregistered private sale. The Court reasoned that Parliament's purpose in defining "owner" this way was to prevent accident victims from being forced to trace an unregistered chain of informal sales to find someone liable. Since the vehicle remained registered in the first respondent's name and was uninsured at the time of the accident, he was the "owner" liable to pay compensation; the High Court's judgment was set aside and the Tribunal's award restored against the first respondent.
If you sell your vehicle, you must get the registration formally transferred: until that happens, you remain legally the "owner" and can be held liable for accidents the vehicle causes, even if you claim to have handed over possession and documents to a buyer.
