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 dispute over cattle entering a field and damaging crops escalated into a violent confrontation in which nine accused persons, armed with lathis, swords and a gun, attacked the complainant (PW-1) and his brother Rajesh, who died from a gunshot wound. The trial court convicted all nine accused of murder and related offences. On appeal, the High Court acquitted eight of the nine accused for lack of corroborated evidence linking them individually to the injuries, but held the gun-wielding accused (Respondent No. 1) guilty of the lesser offence of culpable homicide not amounting to murder under Section 304 (Part I) IPC, sentencing him to ten years' imprisonment. The State of Madhya Pradesh appealed to the Supreme Court against both the acquittals and the reduced charge.
The Supreme Court examined the medical evidence closely and found that the sole eyewitness's account of being attacked by all nine accused with different weapons was not corroborated by the medical evidence, which showed he had sustained injuries only from a blunt object, not from any sharp weapon or firearm, undermining the case against the eight acquitted accused. On the gunshot death, the Court noted that the entry wound was on the back of the deceased's thigh with blackening indicating a close-range shot, and reasoned that if the shooter had truly intended to kill, he would likely have aimed at the upper body rather than the thigh, supporting the High Court's finding of an intent to cause bodily harm likely to cause death, rather than an intent to murder. Finding no infirmity in the High Court's reasoning on either point, the Supreme Court dismissed the State's appeal and upheld the High Court's judgment in full.
In criminal trials, a conviction requires that eyewitness testimony be corroborated by medical evidence; where a witness's account of an attack by multiple assailants with different weapons does not match the actual pattern of injuries found, courts will not sustain convictions based on that uncorroborated testimony. Courts also scrutinize the nature and location of a gunshot wound to distinguish an intent to kill from an intent merely to cause serious injury, which affects whether a case is murder or the lesser offence of culpable homicide.
