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 moreThahira applied for the post of Social Education Organiser in Lakshadweep, holding a degree in Malayalam and Sociology (Double Main), and was ranked No. 1 ahead of a rival candidate, Kadeeja, who held a plain Sociology degree. After the objection deadline had passed, Kadeeja filed a late objection claiming Thahira's degree wasn't equivalent to a Sociology degree; this was initially rejected as time-barred, and Thahira was appointed. Years later, the Central Administrative Tribunal and the Kerala High Court both sided with Kadeeja and struck down Thahira's appointment, even though the University of Calicut later confirmed the two degrees were equivalent.
The Supreme Court held that both the Tribunal and the High Court erred by going beyond the actual objection Kadeeja had raised (degree equivalence) and instead second-guessing the Administration's marks/weightage methodology, which had never been challenged by her. The Court emphasized that selection authorities' technical judgments on weightage and marks should not be disturbed by courts absent clear illegality or perversity, and that strict adherence to objection deadlines is necessary to avoid endless uncertainty in selection processes. Since Kadeeja's objection was filed after the cutoff and the University later confirmed the equivalence of Thahira's degree, there was no valid basis to unseat her. The Tribunal's order and the High Court's judgment were both set aside and the petition allowed.
In public recruitment disputes, courts give deference to the selecting authority's own assessment criteria and will not reopen settled selections based on objections raised after the prescribed deadline, or on technical grounds the challenger never actually raised.
