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 plaintiff had won a partition decree giving him 3/5th share of a property, with the defendants getting 2/5th, based on a sketch map he had filed. Because the trial court forgot to formally mark that sketch map as an exhibit, the decree became difficult to execute, so the defendants later asked the trial court to make the map officially part of the decree. The trial court agreed, but the Calcutta High Court set that correction aside on revision, prompting the defendants' heirs to appeal to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court held that the plaintiff himself had filed the sketch map and asked that partition be done according to it, so he could not later claim it was not his map. Since a partition decree cannot practically be executed without a sketch showing which portion goes to whom, the trial court was right to treat the map as part of the decree to cure its own oversight. The Court ruled that no party should suffer because of an error committed by the court itself, allowed the appeal, set aside the High Court's order, and restored the trial court's order making the map part of the decree.
If a court's own clerical omission (like failing to formally exhibit a document) creates confusion later, the court can and should correct its own error rather than let a party lose the benefit of a decree already granted in their favour.
