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 moreRavindra Prasad Singh, a Bihar government servant, was accused in two vigilance cases of amassing disproportionate assets of over Rs. 12.96 lakh plus various immovable properties between 1975 and 2009. An Authorised Officer ordered confiscation of most of these assets (many held in the name of his wife, Sudha Singh) after finding her claimed independent income from stitching/tailoring unsubstantiated. Ravindra Prasad Singh died while his and his wife's appeal against the confiscation order was pending before the High Court, and the High Court set aside the confiscation proceedings entirely, reasoning that since the case against the main (now-deceased) accused had abated, nothing survived against the wife either. The State of Bihar appealed this to the Supreme Court, along with a connected case involving similarly-abated proceedings against Uma Devi and Amresh Kunal after the death of another delinquent officer, Naresh Paswan.
The Supreme Court allowed both appeals and set aside the High Court's orders, restoring the appeals to the High Court for decision on merits. It held that abatement of a criminal appeal on an accused's death is legally distinct from acquittal. It simply reflects that no further criminal proceeding can continue against a dead person, and is not a comment on the merits of the underlying case. Since the wife/other relatives were separately proceeded against and given notice as persons holding allegedly illegally-acquired property (not merely as legal representatives of the deceased), the confiscation case against them survives independently under the Bihar Special Courts Act, which only allows return of confiscated property upon modification/annulment by the High Court or acquittal by the Special Court: no other route, including the delinquent officer's death, was provided for.
The death of the main accused in a corruption case does not automatically wipe out confiscation or asset-forfeiture proceedings against family members or associates who were separately noticed and proceeded against for holding the allegedly ill-gotten property: abatement and acquittal are legally different outcomes with different consequences.
