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 the intervening night of 11th-12th January 1999, a group of 10-12 assailants, including the appellant Raju Manjhi, broke into the house of one Kamdeo Singh in a village in Gaya district, Bihar, and robbed the family of gold ornaments and cash. During the robbery, the inmates were beaten, and the father-in-law Kameshwar Singh later died of his injuries, converting the charge from simple robbery (Section 395 IPC) to dacoity with murder (Section 396 IPC). The trial court convicted the appellant and sentenced him to life imprisonment, and the Patna High Court upheld this conviction on appeal.
The Supreme Court dismissed the appellant's appeal and upheld the conviction. The Court rejected the argument that recovery of only Rs.400 from the appellant was too flimsy a basis for conviction, holding that this recovery, combined with the appellant's confessional statement and other evidence on record, sufficiently established his participation. The Court also held that failure to conduct a test identification parade does not automatically make the evidence inadmissible, since such parades are an investigative aid, not a substantive right of the accused, and clarified that proof of motive is not essential where direct and confessional evidence already establishes guilt.
An accused cannot escape conviction merely by pointing to the absence of a formal test identification parade or an alleged lack of "motive" evidence when there is other direct and confessional evidence linking them to the crime: courts assess the totality of the evidence, not any single missing procedural step.
