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 morePuran Chand, a 38-year-old man who sold desi ghee and namkin bhujia for a living, died in a road accident on 30 December 1992 when a government jeep being driven rashly on the wrong side of the road collided with his moped. His widow and children sought Rs. 10 lakhs in compensation under Section 166 of the Motor Vehicles Act. The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal assessed his income at only Rs. 1,200/month (since he ran an unnamed shop in a small village and paid no tax) and awarded Rs. 1,15,200, which the Punjab and Haryana High Court later increased to Rs. 1,85,000 by applying a higher multiplier but a lower interest rate.
The Supreme Court held that the Tribunal's income assessment of Rs. 1,200/month was unrealistically low and revised it upward to Rs. 2,500/month, taking a more realistic view of the nature of his business and the time period involved. Applying the correct multiplier of 16 for a 38-year-old deceased, and following the Constitution Bench ruling in National Insurance Company Ltd. v. Pranay Sethi, the Court added 40% for future prospects, deducted one-third for personal expenses, and added a standard sum for "conventional heads" (loss of consortium/estate/funeral expenses), arriving at a total revised compensation of Rs. 5,23,000 with 9% annual interest from the date of the claim petition.
In motor accident compensation claims, courts will realistically reassess an informally-employed or self-employed victim's income rather than mechanically relying on the absence of tax records or a named business, and the standard formula set out in Pranay Sethi (multiplier based on age, plus a fixed percentage addition for future prospects, plus conventional-head compensation) governs how such awards are calculated.
