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 moreFollowing a property dispute between brothers, the appellant (accused no. 1) and three relatives were alleged to have set fire to a thatched shed near his sister-in-law's house on the night of Shivratri in 2009. The trial court convicted all four and imposed fines; on appeal, the High Court acquitted three of the four accused but enhanced the appellant's sentence to six months' imprisonment and a larger fine.
The Supreme Court found serious, unexplained contradictions among the prosecution's own eyewitnesses, close relatives with a personal stake in the family's property dispute, about who was present, what exactly burned, and how the accused were identified in the dark. The Court also noted that documentary evidence filed by the defence before the High Court had been received but never actually considered. Given the lack of any independent witness and the real possibility of a false complaint arising from the ongoing property feud, the Court held the conviction was unsafe and amounted to a miscarriage of justice, acquitting the appellant and ordering any fine already paid to be refunded.
A criminal conviction built only on the testimony of interested family members, riddled with contradictions and unconsidered defence evidence, cannot stand: courts must be especially careful where a pre-existing family dispute could motivate a false accusation.
