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 moreAn FIR alleged that a man's bank account had been fraudulently opened and money withdrawn by forging his signature; this became relevant to whether certain liquor-licence holders had "good moral character." A writ petition asked the Allahabad High Court to direct authorities to act on the allegations. Instead of confining itself to that specific grievance, the High Court used the case to examine the general state of criminal investigation in Uttar Pradesh and issued sweeping directions to the state's top police and home department officials, covering matters like separating investigation from general policing, creating new specialised cadres, and mandating affidavits on police staffing statewide.
The Supreme Court held that the High Court had gone far beyond the dispute actually before it, straying into matters of policy and legislation that are the Legislature's domain, not the judiciary's. Citing a long line of precedent on judicial restraint and the separation of powers, the Court held that directions issued by a court must flow from the specific facts and law of the case before it, not from a judge's generalised concern about law and order. The appeal was allowed, the High Court's order was set aside, and the High Court was asked to fix a fresh date and dispose of the original writ petition strictly on its own merits.
Courts can only decide the specific dispute actually brought before them; even well-intentioned concerns about broader governance problems cannot be turned into binding directions on a state government when they go beyond the scope of the case and the Legislature's constitutional domain.
