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 teacher had worked briefly (about two months and nineteen days) in a private aided school in Kerala in 1997-98. When a new teaching post fell vacant in 2010, she claimed a preferential right to that appointment under Rule 51A of the Kerala Education Rules, based on the rules as they stood at the time of her earlier short stint. The school instead appointed someone else; after departmental and High Court litigation (culminating in a Full Bench ruling favouring the teacher based on conflicting earlier Division Bench decisions), the school management appealed to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court applied its earlier ruling in State of Kerala v. Sneha Cheriyan, holding that a 2005 amendment to Rule 7A(3) required a full academic year of prior engagement for a teacher to qualify for Rule 51A's preferential reappointment right, and that this amended rule, not the one in force during her brief 1997-98 stint, governed her 2010 claim. Relying on Constitution Bench principles on vested rights, the Court found she never pursued or crystallized any claim for nearly twelve years, so no vested right under the old rule survived to override the later amendment. The Kerala High Court Full Bench's contrary ruling was set aside, the appeals were allowed, and the originally appointed teacher's 2010 appointment was restored.
A right under an old version of a service rule only becomes a protected "vested right" if it is actually asserted and pursued at the time it arises; sitting on an eligibility for over a decade without raising a claim means a later rule amendment can validly extinguish that potential claim.
