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 committee managed a temple in Aligarh whose control was disputed by rival committees, with a civil suit (O.S. No. 623 of 2012) pending before the Additional Civil Judge and an earlier appellate order directing the parties to maintain status quo. Separately, a Gram Sabha functionary filed a writ petition asking the Allahabad High Court to enforce a 2007 order directing the temple's possession be handed to the Gram Sabha. The High Court's Division Bench directed the District Magistrate to hand over possession to the Gram Sabha side and later dismissed the temple committee's recall application, without engaging with the pending civil suit or the committee's objection that the writ petitioner lacked authority to sue on the Gram Sabha's behalf.
The Supreme Court found the High Court's approach "totally untenable" for ignoring both the pending civil suit's status-quo order and the Sub-Divisional Magistrate's report noting that proceedings could not go forward while that suit was pending. It also held that a legal proceeding required to be brought only pursuant to a Gram Sabha resolution cannot be validly filed by an individual functionary without one: settled law requires that when a statute prescribes a specific manner for doing something, it must be done that way or not at all. The Court allowed the appeals, set aside the High Court's orders, directed the pending civil suit to be decided within six months with the Gram Sabha impleaded as a party, and ordered the existing status quo to continue until that suit is resolved.
A court exercising writ jurisdiction cannot bypass a civil suit already pending between the same parties over the same property, and a person cannot maintain litigation on behalf of a public body like a Gram Sabha without the resolution or authorisation that the law requires for it.
