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 appellant, sister-in-law of a woman named Surekha who had died in 2002, was convicted under Sections 498-A (cruelty to a married woman) and 306 (abetment of suicide) read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code, and sentenced to two years and five years' imprisonment respectively, to run concurrently. Surekha's husband (the appellant's brother) was convicted for the same offences and had already served his sentence. The Supreme Court had earlier, in 2009, limited its notice in this appeal only to the question of the quantum (severity) of sentence, not the conviction itself.
The appellant's counsel argued that she was a married woman living with her own husband and two grown children who needed her care, and that she had already served one year, ten months, and ten days out of her sentence by the time of this hearing. Considering these facts and circumstances, the Supreme Court reduced her five-year sentence under Section 306 IPC to two years, while expressly clarifying that this reduction was based on the peculiar facts of this particular case and should not be treated as a general precedent for sentencing in such offences. The appeal was allowed only in part (on sentence, not conviction) and disposed of, with the appellant directed to surrender within four weeks to serve the remainder of her sentence, failing which she would be taken into custody.
The Supreme Court can reduce an already-final criminal sentence on humanitarian or family-circumstance grounds in an appeal limited to sentencing, but such reductions are fact-specific to the individual case and are not meant to be relied upon as a precedent in other cases.
