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 mason who was hit by an auto-rickshaw in 1992 suffered a fractured thigh bone and claimed further injuries to his skull and private parts, ultimately claiming 95% permanent disablement based on two doctors' evidence. The Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal accepted this and awarded about Rs. 4.58 lakh with 15% interest, but the Madras High Court, disbelieving the claim of skull and scrotum injury, reduced the award to about Rs. 2.11 lakh with 9% interest. The claimant (by then deceased, represented by his wife, mother and children) appealed to the Supreme Court against this reduction.
The Supreme Court upheld the High Court's reduction, agreeing that the Tribunal had erred by simply adding together the disability percentages certified by two different doctors (45% from one doctor who examined him right after the accident, and 50% from a second doctor who examined him 2.5 years later) to arrive at an unsupported 95% figure. It found the second doctor's testimony about scrotal injury and resulting inability to lead a marital life unreliable, especially since the claimant was in fact survived by a wife and three children, undermining that claim. The Court held the High Court's award was not "too low or grossly inadequate" and declined to restore the Tribunal's higher amount or interest rate, dismissing the appeal.
In compensation claims, disability percentages certified by different doctors at different times cannot simply be added together without a sound medical or factual basis: courts will scrutinise such evidence carefully, and exaggerated claims that are contradicted by other facts on record (like family circumstances) can undermine a claimant's credibility.
