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 moreIn September 2012, a 12-year-old girl in a village near Lucknow went missing after going out in the evening and was later found raped and murdered in a field; some of her belongings were found in a field cultivated by one of the two accused. The trial court convicted both accused, sentencing one (Putai) to death and the other (Dileep) to life imprisonment, based on circumstantial evidence including recovered articles, alleged "suspicious conduct," a sniffer dog's identification of one accused's comb, and DNA reports. The Allahabad High Court confirmed the death sentence and dismissed the appeals, leading to this final appeal before the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court found the investigation and trial riddled with serious flaws: no document proved when or how the accused's blood samples were drawn for DNA testing, breaking the chain of custody; the two medical experts who conducted the post-mortem gave contradictory accounts of how many forensic slides were taken; a "supplementary" DNA report implicating the accused was introduced years later on appeal via affidavit, without recalling the scientist who prepared it for cross-examination, making it inadmissible; and witness testimony about the recovered comb (allegedly identified by a sniffer dog) was inconsistent about even its colour. The Court held the alleged "suspicious conduct" of one accused (washing his face and going home) was entirely natural human behaviour, not incriminating, and that circumstantial evidence must exclude every reasonable hypothesis of innocence, which the prosecution failed to do here. Both accused were acquitted and ordered released.
A conviction, especially a death sentence, built on circumstantial evidence cannot stand if the chain of custody for forensic samples is broken or key scientific evidence is introduced without giving the accused a fair chance to challenge it; courts must scrutinise such gaps rigorously rather than accept a "shabby investigation" at face value.
