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 moreSiba Nial @ Trilochan was convicted for the murder of a married couple, Dhaneswar Kata and his wife Nirupama, who were shot dead while sleeping on the terrace of their home in Odisha in 2013 - a killing the prosecution linked to opposition over the couple's inter-caste marriage and a property dispute. Neither the informant nor the other family members who were present on the terrace that night could identify the attackers, and the appellant was arrested only nine days after the incident, based mainly on the testimony of two neighbours who claimed to have seen him near the scene. The High Court had upheld his conviction.
The Supreme Court found the prosecution's case riddled with serious gaps: the two neighbour-witnesses stayed silent for nine days despite the shock the killings would have caused in the locality, none of the family members present at the scene named any culprit, and the forensic and ballistic evidence was ambiguous and did not clearly support the version given by the witnesses - the postmortem suggested the fatal shot was not fired at close range, contrary to the eyewitnesses' account. Given these unresolved doubts and contradictions, the Court held that the appellant's guilt had not been proved beyond reasonable doubt, set aside the conviction, and ordered his release from custody.
A criminal conviction cannot stand on witness testimony that is inconsistent with the forensic evidence or marred by unexplained, prolonged silence from key witnesses - the prosecution must prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt on the whole of the evidence, not just on some of it.
