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 appellants had lost a batch of writ petitions before Single Judges of the Rajasthan High Court (Jaipur and Jodhpur benches) and then filed intra-court ("Special Appeal") appeals before Division Benches, which affirmed the Single Judge orders and dismissed all the appeals across more than a dozen separate orders issued between September 2017 and January 2018. The appellants then approached the Supreme Court by special leave, arguing that the Division Bench orders dismissing their appeals were legally unsustainable. The specific question before the Supreme Court was simply whether those dismissal orders could stand.
The Supreme Court found that none of the Division Bench orders gave any reasons at all for dismissing the appeals: they did not even mention, let alone discuss, any of the submissions the appellants had raised. On that basis the Court held the impugned orders legally unsustainable, allowed the appeals, and set aside all the Division Bench orders. It expressly declined to examine the underlying merits itself, instead restoring each appeal to its original number before the High Court for fresh disposal on merits, uninfluenced by any of the Supreme Court's observations, and requested the High Court to decide them within six months.
An appellate court must actually engage with and give reasons addressing the arguments raised before it: a dismissal order that is silent on the submissions made will be set aside for want of reasoning, regardless of whether the ultimate outcome might otherwise have been correct.
