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 moreSwaraj Abhiyan, an organisation litigating a series of PILs on the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), raised three implementation concerns in this round: delay in paying wages and compensation to rural workers, reduction in guaranteed "person days" of work through a Centre-State "agreed to labour budget," and the absence of social audits. The Court heard the petitioner's counsel and the Attorney General over several hearings and examined multiple government affidavits on actual fund releases and payment delays.
The Court rejected the challenge to the "agreed to labour budget" process itself, finding it backed by statutory rules (the National Employment Guarantee Fund Rules, 2006) and not an arbitrary cap, especially since many States had actually been allowed to exceed it. On the more serious issue of delayed wages, however, the Court held the law clearly entitles workers to payment within a fortnight of completing work, with automatic compensation for delay, and it rejected the Centre's position that its responsibility ended once it approved the payment order: bureaucratic bottlenecks were "simply not acceptable" as an excuse. It directed the Ministry of Rural Development to prepare and implement an urgent, time-bound programme to ensure timely payment of wages and compensation, and closed out all issues in this phase of the litigation.
Rural workers under MGNREGA have a clear legal right to be paid within 15 days of doing the work, with automatic compensation for any delay: neither the Central nor State Government can shift the blame to the other to avoid paying on time.
