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 school teacher (Respondent No. 1) faced repeated complaints and two separate police FIRs from adolescent girl students alleging inappropriate and sexually harassing behaviour, leading to his arrest in one case. The school's management suspended him and set up a three-member Inquiry Committee; while the Committee's Convenor (the management's nominee) found the charges proved and recommended termination after examining 12 witnesses including five girl students, the other two members declined to give a firm decision, wrongly believing that doing so while related criminal cases were pending would amount to contempt of court. The management relied on the Convenor's report and terminated the teacher's service, but the School Tribunal and later the Bombay High Court set this aside, holding the inquiry was incomplete and remitting it for a fresh decision, effectively reinstating the teacher in the meantime.
The Supreme Court held that the Tribunal and High Court were wrong to send the matter back for a fresh inquiry. It found that pending criminal proceedings do not prevent a parallel departmental inquiry from reaching its own conclusions, since the two processes serve different purposes and use different standards of proof, so the two committee members' refusal to decide, fearing "contempt of court," was legally unsustainable. Given the seriousness and volume of evidence (12 witnesses, including five schoolgirls, and two FIRs with charge-sheets already filed), and citing the Supreme Court's own precedent that allegations of sexual harassment must be examined with sensitivity to the broader probabilities rather than narrow technicalities, the Court held the management had acted fairly, transparently, and appropriately in relying on the Convenor's report. It allowed the appeal, set aside the Tribunal's and High Court's orders, and restored the order terminating the teacher's employment.
An institution does not have to wait for a criminal trial to conclude before taking disciplinary action based on its own inquiry into allegations of sexual harassment of children: departmental proceedings and criminal cases are legally independent, and courts expect institutions to act promptly and decisively when credible evidence of such misconduct exists.
