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.
14543 more judgements for members
You're seeing the newest cases. Log in — it's free — to keep scrolling, search by name or judge, and filter by court or legal area.
Log in to see moreThe appellant's application for a compassionate appointment had been rejected by the authorities and the rejection upheld by the Bombay High Court (Aurangabad Bench), mainly on the ground that the deceased employee's family had already managed to survive for over ten years without the job, so there was no "immediate necessity." The deceased's widow had actually been empaneled for compassionate appointment under the scheme but was denied the benefit only because she had crossed the applicable age limit.
The Supreme Court held that merely surviving for ten years, without considering whether the family did so through hardship such as begging or borrowing, could not by itself be a valid reason to deny compassionate appointment. Since the widow had already been found eligible except for her age, the Court directed that her daughter (the appellant) be considered for compassionate appointment instead, modifying the High Court's judgment accordingly and directing the respondents to act within one month. The Court expressly invoked its special Article 142 power to do "complete justice" in the peculiar facts of this case and clarified that the order should not be treated as a general precedent.
Compassionate appointment schemes exist to relieve genuine financial distress following a family's loss of its breadwinner, and the mere passage of time without the job cannot automatically defeat a claim: courts will look at how the family actually survived, not just how long.
