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 kerosene oil dealer/agent in Burdwan was found, on inspection, to have distributed oil in excess of his authorised quota. A local food-supplies officer issued a show-cause notice, but forwarded the matter to the State's Director of Consumer Goods, who issued a fresh show-cause notice and ultimately imposed a monetary penalty and cut the agent's monthly quota. The Calcutta High Court's Division Bench quashed the Director's order, holding that only the local District Magistrate (not the Director) had jurisdiction over a Burdwan-based agent, and that in any event the penalty order had not been validly communicated within the Control Order's 30-day limit. The State appealed to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court held that because the agent's licence itself had been granted by the Director (not the District Magistrate), it followed, reading the Control Order's provisions on licensing and cancellation harmoniously, that the Director alone had jurisdiction to initiate and decide the penalty proceedings, not the local officer. On the limitation point, the Court held that an order must be passed within 30 days of the show-cause notice to be valid, and its effective date (for calculating any appeal period) runs from when it is actually communicated to the affected party, but a validly passed order does not become a nullity merely because communication happened later, as the High Court had wrongly held. Finding the order had been passed in time, the Court allowed the appeal, set aside the High Court's judgment, and restored the Director's order, while giving the dealer fresh liberty to appeal to the State Government within a now-recommencing limitation period.
In regulatory schemes with layered authorities, the body that grants a licence is ordinarily also the one empowered to suspend or cancel it; and an administrative penalty order is valid once it is actually signed/passed within the statutory time limit: a delay in its delivery to the affected party does not automatically void it, though the clock for any appeal only starts once it is actually received.
