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 moreAfter the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014 split the State into Andhra Pradesh and the new State of Telangana, judicial officers who had served the combined cadre needed to be allocated to one State or the other, and fresh recruitment to the post of Civil Judge (Junior Division) had to proceed amid this transition. The Telangana Judges Association challenged the recruitment process and the allocation guidelines framed by the High Court, arguing they unfairly disadvantaged Telangana-origin officers who were historically under-represented in the combined cadre. A connected set of civil appeals by the State of Telangana challenged an earlier High Court order quashing certain recruitment rules.
The Supreme Court examined the successive drafts of the High Court's allocation guidelines and found that, despite some wording changes, their core principle, allocating officers by seniority with preference to the district they had originally opted for, remained consistent and was not arbitrary. On the evidence placed before it, including a detailed chart, the Court found that every judicial officer belonging to the Telangana region who had opted for Telangana had in fact been allocated there, so no error in implementation was shown. The Court therefore approved the High Court's modified guidelines and directed the authorities to finalise all officers' allocation options and complete the process within two months. The connected civil appeals were dismissed as having become infructuous since the challenged 2014/2015 recruitment rules had since been replaced by new 2017 Rules and the quashing relief was no longer pressed.
When a government reorganises a state and its services, the courts will generally defer to administrative allocation guidelines so long as they are applied consistently and factually produce a fair outcome for the affected employees, rather than striking them down merely because the wording was refined over successive drafts.
