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 State Bank of India had granted a loan secured by a mortgage created by deposit of title deeds, and the borrower had separately signed a letter waiving certain statutory rights under the Transfer of Property Act, 1882. When the loan went unpaid, the Bank sold the mortgaged house at auction and issued a sale certificate. The borrower later challenged the sale in the High Court, arguing that because the rights-waiver letter was itself an unregistered document, the entire mortgage was invalid. The High Court agreed and set aside both the auction sale and the sale certificate; the Bank and the auction purchaser (an unrelated third party who had since taken possession and renovated the property) appealed to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court held that the High Court was wrong to set aside the sale. It found that the question of the mortgage's validity had never been raised at any earlier stage of the proceedings and was raised for the first time, belatedly, before the High Court, which should not have entertained it at that late stage. The Court also noted that the mortgage had in fact been acted upon by both sides to disburse and secure the loan, that part of the same mortgaged property had already been sold with finality, and that the auction purchaser was an innocent third party who had taken out a loan to pay the price and had already spent money renovating the property. On these grounds, the Supreme Court allowed the appeal and set aside the High Court's order, restoring the validity of the sale and the sale certificate.
Courts are reluctant to unwind a completed property sale, especially one relied upon by an innocent purchaser, on a technical legal objection that a party could have raised years earlier but did not; such objections are generally not entertained for the first time at a late stage of litigation.
