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.
14543 more judgements for members
You're seeing the newest cases. Log in — it's free — to keep scrolling, search by name or judge, and filter by court or legal area.
Log in to see moreRBANMS Educational Institution, a 150-year-old charitable trust that has held and used a large Bangalore property since 1905 (originally leased, then formally conveyed in 1929), faced a suit from the respondents seeking a permanent injunction to stop the trust from creating third-party interests over the land. The respondents' claim rested entirely on an unregistered 2018 agreement to sell executed with third parties (not the trust) who were never even made parties to the suit, and for which Rs. 75 lakh advance was claimed to have been paid entirely in cash. The trust sought rejection of the plaint at the threshold, but both the trial court and the Karnataka High Court refused, holding the matter needed a full trial.
The Supreme Court held the plaint should have been rejected outright, since an agreement to sell does not, by itself, create any interest in immovable property under Section 54 of the Transfer of Property Act: a settled principle. The respondents had no privity of contract with the trust, had not sued their own vendors, had not sought a declaration of title, and were not even in possession, making a bare suit for injunction against a party in continuous possession since 1905 legally unsustainable. The Court also flagged the suspicious circumstances (unimpleaded vendors, undocumented cash payment, a pattern of similar suits) as signs of a "champertous" and vexatious claim, and issued directions requiring courts and registration authorities to report large cash property transactions to Income Tax authorities under Section 269ST.
A mere agreement to sell does not transfer any ownership interest in property: a buyer under such an agreement generally cannot sue a third party in possession without first pursuing their actual seller, and courts have a duty to reject clearly fictitious or legally barred lawsuits early rather than let them drag out through a full trial.
