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.
14543 more judgements for members
You're seeing the newest cases. Log in — it's free — to keep scrolling, search by name or judge, and filter by court or legal area.
Log in to see moreDuring communal rioting in Kanpur in 2001, an Additional District Magistrate escorting police to the scene was shot dead. Four men were tried and convicted by the trial court for murder and rioting, but the Allahabad High Court later acquitted all of them, finding serious flaws in the investigation and identification evidence. The State of Uttar Pradesh appealed to the Supreme Court against the acquittal.
The Supreme Court upheld the High Court's acquittal, agreeing that the prosecution's case was riddled with investigative lapses. It found the Test Identification Parade unreliable (conducted after an unexplained 55-day delay, with allegations that witnesses had been shown the accused beforehand), contradictions between the post-mortem report and forensic ballistics report, inconsistent accounts of which pistol and bore size was recovered, conflicting locations for the crime scene, and failure to examine a key injured eyewitness. The Court reiterated that in an appeal against acquittal it will only interfere where there is perversity of fact or law, and that suspicion, however strong, cannot substitute for proof beyond reasonable doubt. Finding the benefit of the doubt rightly given to the accused, the Court dismissed the State's appeals.
An acquittal carries a strong presumption of innocence that an appellate court will not disturb merely because the crime was serious; the prosecution must prove its case with internally consistent evidence, and unexplained gaps or contradictions in identification and forensic evidence will be read in the accused's favour.
