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 moreRajia Begum claimed she became a 50.33% partner in a firm, "M/s RDDHI Gold," through a 2007 "Admission Deed" executed under a power of attorney, but Barnali Mukherjee (a co-partner) categorically denied that the deed was ever executed and alleged it was forged and fabricated. When Rajia Begum filed a civil suit relying on the deed, the other side sought to send the dispute to arbitration under an arbitration clause said to be contained in that very deed. Lower courts had earlier already rejected her separate attempt to get interim protection under Section 9, finding the deed's existence doubtful, but a High Court revision later reversed course and referred the fraud dispute to arbitration, while a related application to appoint an arbitrator under Section 11 was rejected, creating conflicting outcomes on the same facts.
The Supreme Court held that when the very existence or execution of the document containing the arbitration agreement is itself seriously disputed on allegations of forgery, going to the root of the agreement, the dispute is not arbitrable at that stage and cannot be referred to arbitration. It found that the Trial Court and First Appellate Court had concurrently and soundly held that the fraud allegations were serious and that the claimant had failed to produce the original or certified copy of the Admission Deed as legally required, and that the High Court, exercising limited supervisory jurisdiction under Article 227, was wrong to overturn those concurrent findings as if sitting in appeal. The Court accordingly set aside the High Court's order referring the dispute to arbitration under Section 8, while affirming the separate High Court order that had rejected the appointment of an arbitrator under Section 11, since appointing an arbitrator would be premature when the arbitration agreement's very existence remains unresolved.
Arbitration clauses are only enforceable if the underlying agreement containing them is genuine: a party cannot be forced into arbitration when the opposing side raises serious, substantiated allegations that the very document with the arbitration clause was forged; such threshold disputes must first be resolved by a court, not an arbitrator.
