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 young married woman died of burn injuries about three and a half years into her marriage. Her father alleged that her in-laws had repeatedly demanded dowry (cash, gold, a refrigerator), had thrown her out at one point, and that she was killed and set on fire after demands continued. A trial court convicted the mother-in-law and husband's family under Sections 498A and 304B of the IPC, but the Punjab and Haryana High Court acquitted them on appeal, and the State of Haryana then appealed to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court agreed with the High Court that the prosecution's evidence was too weak to sustain the conviction. The key eyewitness to the alleged dowry demands and death, the victim's younger sister, who reportedly had direct knowledge, was never actually produced in court, making the father's account largely hearsay. There was no eyewitness to the death itself, and the Court found no proximate link established between any dowry demand and the circumstances of death, which Section 304B requires the prosecution to prove. Since the prosecution could not discharge this specific burden of proving cruelty or harassment "soon before death" connected to a dowry demand, the Court held the High Court's acquittal did not need to be disturbed and dismissed the State's appeal.
A dowry-death conviction requires the prosecution to concretely prove a close link in time between a dowry demand and the death: general allegations and hearsay from family members, without producing the actual witnesses with first-hand knowledge, will not meet that legal threshold.
