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, a skilled mason, suffered a compound leg fracture and a hand fracture in 2002 when a rashly driven bus collided with the auto-rickshaw he was travelling in, leaving him hospitalised for six days and requiring surgery. A doctor certified 35% disability, but the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal reduced this to 25% (reasoning it applied only to the leg) and undervalued his income at Rs. 3,000/month instead of the claimed Rs. 6,000/month, awarding a total of Rs. 1,62,000. The High Court raised the award somewhat on appeal, but the appellant sought further enhancement before the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court held that a tribunal cannot second-guess an expert doctor's disability assessment without valid reasoning, and since the treating doctor had specifically testified that the appellant could not sit, walk properly, lift weights, or continue his trade as a mason, the full 35% disability (not the Tribunal's reduced 25%) had to be accepted. Relying on precedent (Ramachandrappa v. Royal Sundaram) on wage trends for manual labourers, the Court also accepted the appellant's claimed monthly income of Rs. 6,000 as reasonable for a skilled mason. It recalculated compensation under each head (permanent disability, medical expenses, pain and suffering, loss of income, and other heads) arriving at a substantially enhanced total of Rs. 7,19,480, to be paid within two months after adjusting for amounts already disbursed, with interest running from the date the claim was filed.
In accident compensation cases, tribunals and courts must generally defer to a treating doctor's documented disability assessment unless there is a sound, specific reason to depart from it: an unreasoned downward revision of medical evidence, or an artificially low estimate of a claimant's real income, can and will be corrected on appeal.
