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 man working in Mozambique died of encephalitis malaria after being bitten by a mosquito; his family sought to claim the outstanding home loan amount under a "Home Loan Suraksha Bima" insurance policy that covered death due to accident. The insurer refused the claim, arguing that death from a disease like malaria was not an "accident." The District Forum, State Consumer Commission, and National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) all ruled in the family's favour, treating the mosquito bite as an unforeseen, accidental event, and the insurer appealed to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court undertook a detailed review of Indian and international case law distinguishing "accidents" from "diseases," concluding that an event occurring in the ordinary and foreseeable course of nature, even if the exact timing is a matter of chance, is not an accident. Since Mozambique has an extremely high incidence of malaria (around one in three people affected, per WHO data), the Court held that contracting malaria there through a mosquito bite was a foreseeable, natural-course occurrence, not an unexpected "accident" as required by the policy, and that the NCDRC's interpretation was therefore incorrect. However, since the Court was informed the insurer had already paid out the claim during the litigation, it directed under Article 142 that no recovery of the paid amount be made from the family, even while setting aside the NCDRC's order and allowing the appeal on the legal question.
For insurance purposes, a death caused by a disease that is common and foreseeable in the place where it occurs (like malaria in a high-prevalence region) is generally not treated as an "accident," even though the exact moment of infection is a matter of chance: policyholders should check whether their accident cover is broad enough to include disease-related risks if that protection is wanted.
