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 moreThe original complainant (Devender Anand) entered into an agreement to sell a Delhi property with two individuals for Rs. 54 lakhs and paid the full consideration. He later discovered the property was mortgaged to Andhra Bank, paid off that mortgage himself, and got the sale deed registered in his name. He then filed a criminal complaint alleging cheating under Section 420/34 IPC against the sellers for not disclosing the mortgage. After the police and an application under Section 156(3) Cr.P.C. did not result in registration of an FIR, he filed a writ petition in the Delhi High Court, which directed further action against the police officers and the original sellers and imposed costs on them; the Commissioner of Police and other police officers then appealed to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court held that once the complainant had paid off the mortgage and completed the sale, the dispute over the mortgage disclosure was essentially a civil dispute dressed up as a criminal complaint, and that the police officers' investigating officer had rightly concluded that no case for registering an FIR was made out. The Court found that the complainant had multiple civil remedies (he had already filed both a Section 156(3) application, which was rejected and not challenged, and a private complaint under Section 200 Cr.P.C.) and that resorting to a writ petition for criminal action on top of these was an abuse of the process of law. The Court held the High Court erred in issuing further directions and imposing costs on the police officers instead of simply closing the proceedings. It accordingly allowed the appeal, quashed the High Court's judgment and order, and also quashed the criminal proceedings pending before the Magistrate relating to the same transaction.
Criminal law cannot be used as a tool to settle what is fundamentally a civil or commercial dispute (like a property/mortgage disagreement): courts will quash criminal proceedings, even against police officers who declined to register an FIR, where the underlying grievance is civil in nature and the complainant already has civil remedies available.
