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 appellant was convicted by the trial court and the Madras High Court for the murder of his grandmother, allegedly strangled over a money dispute, with the prosecution's case resting mainly on the testimony of her son-in-law and daughter (PW1 and PW5). The appellant argued the conviction rested on contradictory, unreliable testimony from witnesses who were not just related but had a pecuniary interest, a pending property-partition suit against him, in seeing him convicted, and that key corroborating witnesses had turned hostile.
The Supreme Court found serious infirmities in the prosecution's case: the two witnesses who allegedly saw the arrest and seizure of evidence turned hostile and denied the prosecution's version, independent neighbourhood witnesses also turned hostile, and the hospital's own Accident Register recorded a "history of fall" rather than strangulation. Applying the settled principle that evidence of related and interested witnesses must be scrutinised with extra care, the Court held that PW1 and PW5 were not just related but genuinely "interested" witnesses given the ongoing property dispute, and that the prosecution's story was riddled with unexplained contradictions about the arrest location, the complaint, and hospital procedure. Concluding that the prosecution had failed to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt and that both lower courts had misdirected themselves, the Court allowed the appeal, set aside the conviction, and ordered the appellant's immediate release.
A criminal conviction cannot stand on the testimony of witnesses who are both related to the deceased and have a personal financial stake (such as a pending property dispute) in the accused's conviction, especially where corroborating witnesses turn hostile and the medical/hospital record contradicts the prosecution's version of events.
