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 moreA 2006 amendment to the Rajasthan Value Added Tax Act expanded the entry for "Gypsum" (taxed at 4%) to "gypsum in all its forms." The tax department treated "gypsum board" (a construction drywall product made from gypsum sandwiched between paper sheets) as a commercially distinct product falling outside this entry, taxable instead at the higher residuary rate of 12.5%, and raised a differential tax demand with penalty and interest against the dealer, Lohiya Agencies. The Rajasthan High Court ruled in the dealer's favour, holding gypsum board fell within the expanded entry, and the tax department appealed to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court agreed with the High Court. Examining the manufacturing process, it found gypsum board is produced from gypsum through dehydration/calcination and the addition of paper and other additives, without any fundamental chemical change to the gypsum itself. Relying on precedent distinguishing "all forms" (covering different physical forms of the same substance) from "all kinds" (covering different items of the same kind), the Court held that gypsum board remains "gypsum in all its forms." It also noted that the Rajasthan legislature only created a distinct, specific tax entry for "gypsum board" in 2014, which confirmed that no such carve-out existed for the assessment years in question. The appeals were dismissed.
When a tax statute uses a broadening phrase like "X in all its forms," courts will interpret it to cover manufactured or processed variants of that substance as long as its essential chemical character is unchanged: relevant to anyone disputing how a product is classified for tax purposes.
