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, along with two co-accused, was convicted of murdering Nagender Yadav on the intervening night of 15-16 May 2012 in Delhi. The prosecution's case rested mainly on the deceased's dying declaration, made separately to his wife and his brother while he was being rushed to hospital with a gunshot wound, naming the appellant as the shooter and the other two as present with him. Both the Trial Court and the Delhi High Court convicted all three accused, and this appeal challenged the reliability of that dying declaration and inconclusive ballistic evidence.
The Supreme Court found the testimony of the deceased's wife and brother about the dying declaration to be natural, consistent, and unshaken despite cross-examination, and held that the accused, who were known to the deceased's family and identified with help of nearby street light, could reasonably have been recognised despite the darkness. It held that the forensic report's inability to conclusively match the recovered bullet to the recovered pistol did not matter once the dying declaration itself was found credible, since that lacuna is "insignificant" against reliable eyewitness evidence of what the dying man said. The Court dismissed the appeals, upholding the convictions and life sentences, and gave the appellants one month to surrender.
A credible and consistent dying declaration can be enough on its own to sustain a murder conviction. Courts look at the overall reliability of such testimony rather than requiring every piece of forensic evidence to independently confirm it.
