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 society that had set up Cluny Women's College in West Bengal originally established it as a secular, non-minority institution, but later changed its position and asked the National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions (NCMEI) to certify the college as a Christian minority institution, which the NCMEI did in 2007. The University and the college's University-appointed governing body challenged this certificate in the Calcutta High Court, arguing the NCMEI had no power to declare minority status for an institution already established on a secular basis, and both a single judge and a Division Bench of the High Court agreed and struck down the certificate. This case was the lead matter in a batch of six connected civil appeals raising the same legal question about the NCMEI's powers.
The Supreme Court examined how Sections 10 and 11(f) of the National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions Act, 2004 had evolved through amendments, and held that these were two different, non-overlapping powers: Section 10 deals only with granting a "no objection certificate" for establishing a new minority institution, while Section 11(f) separately empowers the NCMEI to decide, at any later stage, all questions about whether an existing institution qualifies as a minority educational institution. On that basis, the Court held the NCMEI did have jurisdiction to declare Cluny Women's College a minority institution even though it had originally been set up as secular, since the fundamental right under Article 30 of the Constitution to run minority institutions cannot be waived by an initial choice to go secular. The Court declined the request to send the matter back to the NCMEI for a fresh hearing, noting the University itself had already accepted the NCMEI's related 2009 order. It allowed the appeal, set aside the Calcutta High Court's judgment, and upheld the 2007 minority-status certificate; the whole batch of connected appeals was disposed of on this reasoning.
A minority community's constitutional right to establish and administer its own educational institutions cannot be permanently lost simply because the institution was initially set up on a secular basis: the relevant regulatory body retains the power to recognize the institution's minority status later if the community genuinely seeks that recognition.
