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 respondent-landlord's regular tenant, Ranjan Ghosh, died in 2016. His son, the petitioner, continued residing in the rented premises and claimed a right to remain as an inherited statutory tenant. The landlord issued a notice stating that under Section 2(g) of the West Bengal Premises Tenancy Act, 1997, the son's inherited tenancy right lasted only five years from the original tenant's death, after which he ceased to be a lawful tenant. When the son failed to vacate or respond satisfactorily, the landlord filed an eviction suit, which the trial court decreed in the landlord's favour under Order XII Rule 6 of the Civil Procedure Code (judgment based on admissions), a decision upheld by the Calcutta High Court.
The Supreme Court found no error in the High Court's approach, holding that the petitioner's own conduct, including having earlier filed applications under Sections 7(1) and 7(2) of the 1997 Act (provisions applicable only to tenants governed by that Act), contradicted his later argument that the Act did not apply to him at all. Since this argument was never raised before the trial court or the High Court, and the petitioner's admissions in his pleadings supported the landlord's case, the Court held the suit was rightly decreed on admissions without need for a full trial. The petition was dismissed and the eviction order upheld.
Under the West Bengal Premises Tenancy Act, an inherited tenancy right for a deceased tenant's heir is time-limited (five years from death), and a litigant cannot switch legal positions midway: arguments not raised in the courts below, especially where a party's own prior conduct contradicts them, will not be entertained by the Supreme Court.
