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 moreA dispute arose over the election to the managing committee of the Thiruvalla East Co-operative Bank after a large number of members were excluded from the voters' list. Writ petitions challenging the election process were filed in the Kerala High Court, and while those were pending, the election went ahead under the Supreme Court's own interim arrangement. When the High Court finally heard the writ petitions, instead of deciding the real disputes on their merits, it sent the parties off to a separate statutory forum (the Cooperative Arbitration Court) and extended the one-month time limit for raising an election dispute under Section 69(3) of the Kerala Co-operative Societies Act.
The Supreme Court held that where a statute itself fixes a time limit for filing an election dispute and provides no mechanism to extend it, neither the High Court under Article 226 nor the Supreme Court under Articles 32, 136 or 142 can enlarge that period: courts must interpret limitation in election matters strictly. Since the High Court had no power to extend the statutory 30-day period while relegating the parties to the Arbitration Court, that part of its judgment was set aside. The Court remitted the writ petitions to the High Court for fresh consideration on all other contentions, kept its own earlier interim arrangement (the provisionally elected committee continuing on a day-to-day basis without taking policy decisions) in force until the High Court finally decided the matter, and disposed of the appeals and connected special leave petitions on these terms.
When a specific law sets a fixed deadline for challenging an election and does not allow for condoning delay, no court, however high, can stretch that deadline on its own; strict adherence to statutory timelines is treated as central to the integrity of the election process.
