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 case concerned a conflict between two legal regimes governing land acquisition in Arunachal Pradesh: the pre-independence Balipara/Tirap/Sadiya Frontier Tract Jhum Land Regulation, 1947, under which certain "Jhum" (shifting cultivation) lands were acquired, and the modern national land acquisition framework (the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 and its successor, the 2013 Act) which provides for solatium and interest on compensation. The Gauhati High Court (Itanagar Bench) had ruled that landowners under the older 1947 Regulations were also entitled to the additional compensation benefits available under the 2013 Act.
The Supreme Court agreed that affected landowners are entitled to solatium and interest as provided under the 2013 Act, and directed the State to release any unpaid arrears within three months, while preserving the State's right to later recover those amounts from the ultimate project beneficiaries. However, the Court clarified this benefit operates prospectively as a matter of legislative policy. It cannot be used to reopen acquisitions where compensation has already been finally determined, accepted, and disbursed. For acquisitions still pending before authorities or courts, compensation must now be recomputed to include solatium and interest. The appeals were allowed in part, modifying the High Court's judgment to that extent.
Even where land was acquired under old, region-specific regulations, courts can extend modern fairness safeguards like solatium and interest to pending compensation matters, but settled, fully-paid acquisitions retain finality and cannot be reopened.
