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 husband had obtained an ex parte divorce decree from the Family Court, Belgaum after the wife did not contest the proceedings on certain dates. The High Court of Karnataka set aside that decree, imposed costs of Rs. 25,000 on the husband, and directed that a criminal complaint be lodged against him for fraud/forgery, holding that he had misled the Family Court and improperly used the wife's signed blank vakalatnama. The husband appealed to the Supreme Court, contending the High Court had misread the record.
The Supreme Court examined the Family Court's order sheets in detail and found that, contrary to the High Court's assumption, the wife had in fact appeared through counsel on 17 September 2012, when her earlier ex parte order was set aside by consent after hearing both sides, and the matter was referred to conciliation. The High Court had overlooked this order while concluding the husband played fraud. The Court held that merely because both parties' case papers were printed from the same computer software, it could not be presumed the husband misused a blank vakalatnama signed by the wife: such a finding required evidence, not presumption and conjecture. Finding the High Court's fraud finding unsupported by the record, the Supreme Court set aside the High Court's judgment and allowed the appeal, with no order as to costs.
Serious findings like fraud on the court cannot be based on presumption or conjecture: they must be grounded in the actual record of proceedings, and appellate courts must carefully verify lower-court order sheets before overturning a decree on such grounds.
