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 appellants (teachers) had challenged an amendment the State of Madhya Pradesh had introduced to the M.P. Education Service (School Branch) Recruitment and Promotion Rules, 1982; the High Court had upheld the amendment's validity. While their appeal was pending before the Supreme Court, the State introduced two further amendments to the same rules, in 2016 and 2018, with the 2016 amendment itself already under challenge before the High Court.
The Court observed that even if it allowed these appeals and struck down the original (1982-era) amendment, the appellants would still get no real benefit, because the subsequent 2016 and 2018 amendments would continue to stand in their way. Counsel for the appellants conceded they would need to be able to attack the basis of the original impugned order in their fresh challenge to the newer rules. The State's counsel agreed the appellants could raise all available contentions, including about the amendment process itself, in that fresh challenge, unaffected by the findings in the order under appeal. The Court therefore disposed of the appeals with liberty to the appellants to raise all contentions afresh before the High Court in the pending challenge to the newer rules, directing that the High Court decide that challenge uninfluenced by the earlier findings, and separately permitted any affected teacher who had missed a competitive exam due to an age bar (because of the pendency of this litigation) to apply for age relaxation.
When a law or rule under challenge has already been superseded by later amendments during the course of litigation, courts will often dispose of the old challenge as having become academic, while expressly preserving the litigant's right to raise the same or related arguments afresh against the newer version of the rule, rather than leaving them without any practical remedy.
