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 second wife, was convicted of murdering her infant son by strangulation and sentenced to life imprisonment, a conviction affirmed by the Himachal Pradesh High Court. The prosecution's case rested mainly on alleged extra-judicial confessions to her husband and village elders, and circumstantial evidence including a recovered dupatta with blood and skin tissue. The appellant denied the confessions and gave an alternative account of finding her son unresponsive after leaving him with the husband's first wife overnight.
The Supreme Court applied the settled principle that extra-judicial confessions are inherently weak evidence requiring strong corroboration, and found none here: a key independent witness (Sita Devi) was never examined. Applying the "golden principles" for circumstantial evidence from Sharad Birdhichand Sarda, the Court found the appellant's whereabouts during the critical period were not conclusively established, there was an unexplained multi-hour gap between the estimated time of death and medical examination, the recovered dupatta was never shown to the postmortem doctor for verification, and no biological link was established between the bloodstains and the child. The Court also found no credible motive and noted that the appellant's own act of promptly seeking medical help was inconsistent with guilt. It acquitted her, holding the prosecution had failed to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
A conviction based on circumstantial evidence must form a complete, unbroken chain pointing only to guilt: weak evidence like an uncorroborated extra-judicial confession, combined with gaps in the timeline and unexplained conduct, is not enough to sustain even a life sentence.
