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 moreThis appeal arose out of the Chhattisgarh Rent Control Act, 2011, which purported to allow a direct statutory appeal from the State's Rent Control Tribunal straight to the Supreme Court of India. Earlier benches of the Supreme Court doubted whether a State legislature even has the constitutional power to confer this kind of jurisdiction on the Supreme Court, and the question was referred to a Constitution Bench for a final answer.
The five-judge Bench held that under the Constitution's scheme for dividing law-making powers, only Parliament, never a State legislature, can make laws about the "constitution, organisation, jurisdiction and powers of the Supreme Court" (Entry 77 of the Union List). It held that the fact the Chhattisgarh law had received the President's assent made no difference, because presidential assent cannot cure a State legislature's fundamental lack of competence to legislate on that subject in the first place. Accordingly, the Court declared Section 13(2) of the Chhattisgarh Rent Control Act, the provision creating the direct appeal route to the Supreme Court, unconstitutional, null and void, resolving the specific constitutional question referred to this Bench.
State legislatures cannot create new rights of appeal that go directly to the Supreme Court, no matter how the law is passed, only Parliament has the power to expand the Supreme Court's jurisdiction, and getting the President's assent to a State law does not fix a basic lack of legislative power.
