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 long-running dispute in the Modern Cooperative Group Housing Society involved 27 members expelled in 1987, whose expulsion the Supreme Court later set aside in 2010, directing their re-admission and allotment of flats. Fifteen newly inducted members (including the alleged contemnors here) who had been occupying those very flats were ordered by the High Court, and then the Supreme Court (on dismissal of their SLP in 2017), to vacate and hand over possession, and they had filed undertakings to do so. When they failed to vacate despite the undertakings, the original (re-admitted) members filed this contempt petition.
The Court found that the alleged contemnors had indeed violated their undertakings by not vacating, but also recognized genuine equities in their favour: they had been inducted against actual vacancies (not clandestinely), had paid all dues, and had funded part of the construction. Rather than simply punishing for contempt, the Court crafted a practical solution: it directed the contemnors to vacate the disputed apartments by 31.08.2019 in favour of the originally wronged members, while allowing each contemnor who wished to remain in the society to deposit Rs. 10 lakhs towards a newly sanctioned 18-apartment tower (which the society's architect and the Municipal Corporation had confirmed was feasible within available FAR), with fresh draws of lots for the new building. The contempt petitions were disposed of on these terms, with no costs.
Contempt jurisdiction can be used not just to punish non-compliance but to fashion a practical, equitable remedy that protects the rights of the original decree-holders while accommodating genuine reliance interests of others caught in a long-running dispute: courts will look for solutions that satisfy both sides rather than a purely punitive outcome.
