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 prosecution alleged that the wife of the deceased was having an illicit relationship with the first accused, and that she and two others conspired to murder her husband, who was found dead by the roadside in 2003. The trial court convicted all three accused of murder and criminal conspiracy, but the High Court, on appeal, acquitted the second and third accused (the respondents in this case) while upholding the conviction of the first accused. The State of Karnataka challenged this partial acquittal before the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court examined the evidence against the two acquitted respondents, which rested mainly on extra-judicial confessions to prosecution witnesses and circumstantial material such as photographs suggesting an illicit relationship. The Court found that one key witness had turned hostile and resiled from his statement, that an extra-judicial confession is inherently weak evidence requiring independent corroboration which was lacking here, and that the photographic evidence at most showed a relationship but not a conspiracy to murder. Finding no "compelling reason" or "substantial infirmity" to disturb the High Court's reasoned acquittal, the Supreme Court dismissed the State's appeals and upheld the acquittal of both respondents.
An extra-judicial confession is treated as weak evidence in Indian criminal law and cannot by itself sustain a conviction unless corroborated by independent, reliable evidence, and an appellate court will not disturb a reasoned acquittal in the absence of a compelling reason or substantial infirmity in that finding.
