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 moreDecades earlier, roughly five acres of land in Chennai had been compulsorily acquired for the Tamil Nadu Housing Board (TNHB), but a clerical error in an old court order understated the acquired acreage, creating confusion over ownership. The appellant, T. Udaykumar, purchased rights in part of the land from private sellers and later obtained a government "patta" (land title record) in his name, then built and sold 54 flats to third-party buyers on the disputed land, even though TNHB had never actually transferred title to him.
The Supreme Court agreed with the High Court that TNHB remained the true owner of the land (the discrepancy in acreage was simply a clerical mistake, confirmed by matching compensation figures) and upheld the cancellation of the pattas issued to the appellant and his predecessors. However, the Court found TNHB was itself partly to blame for allowing occupation and construction to proceed unchecked for years. To protect the innocent third-party buyers who had purchased flats in good faith, the Court allowed all 54 of them to keep their flats as absolute owners, treating the Rs. 5 crore the appellant had earlier deposited with the Court as sale consideration payable to TNHB for that land. Two flats allotted to buyers after the Court's own interim order had frozen further allotments were denied protection, and TNHB was permitted to sell any remaining unallotted flats or land.
Even where a property's underlying title is legally defective, courts can craft an equitable remedy to protect innocent long-term purchasers who bought and built in good faith, especially where the true owner's own inaction contributed to the problem, rather than leaving them to lose everything on a technical title defect.
