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 1989, the appellant's estranged wife and their two young sons went missing during a trip; one son was found alive but injured, while the wife and other son were found dead. The appellant was arrested months later and allegedly confessed. The trial court acquitted him in 1993, doubting the surviving child's testimony as tutored, but the Madhya Pradesh High Court reversed this in 2012 and convicted him.
The Supreme Court held the High Court had ignored the "double presumption of innocence" that applies when reviewing an acquittal. It can only be reversed if the trial court's view was one no reasonable court could take. The child witness's testimony, recorded four years later and admittedly tutored, was contradicted by medical evidence, and no other evidence (forensics, motive, a traced vehicle) independently linked the appellant to the crime. With multiple links missing from the chain of circumstantial evidence, the conviction could not stand, and the acquittal was restored.
An appellate court cannot overturn a trial court's acquittal simply by re-weighing the evidence differently. It must show the trial court's view was one no reasonable court could reach. A child witness's testimony, especially where tutoring is suspected, ordinarily needs independent corroboration before it can support a conviction.
