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 moreKalappa M. Sankad, an LIC Development Officer since 1988, had his service terminated by LIC in 2013. After his departmental appeal failed, a High Court Single Judge quashed the termination and ordered his reinstatement, and a Division Bench upheld that order on LIC's intra-court appeal. LIC then appealed to the Supreme Court, but Kalappa died while the appeal was pending, making his actual reinstatement impossible.
The Supreme Court agreed with both lower courts that the termination order was rightly set aside and found no good ground to interfere, but since reinstatement was no longer possible due to Kalappa's death, the only live issue was the quantum of back wages owed to his legal heirs. Noting that the case had arisen from a writ petition (not a labour tribunal) and so no evidence existed on whether Kalappa was gainfully employed elsewhere after termination, the Court itself worked out the back-wages calculation from the figures submitted by both sides, gross arrears of roughly Rs. 20.57 lakh, less permissible recoveries (provident fund, income tax, loan dues) of about Rs. 12.59 lakh, arriving at a net balance payable to the heirs. It rejected the heirs' claim for a higher amount based on notional promotions and pay revisions as legally unsustainable, and directed LIC to pay the net balance within three months, finally disposing of the appeal.
Even where reinstatement becomes impossible due to an employee's death during litigation, a wrongfully terminated employee's legal heirs remain entitled to the back wages that would have accrued, calculated on actual proven dues rather than speculative future promotions or pay rises.
