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 moreIn 2001, the District Collector, Medak allotted about 3 acres of government land to the respondent charitable trust on payment of market value, subject to conditions that it be used only for the allotted (charitable) purpose, that construction be completed within two years, and that trees be planted. Years later, a trustee executed a General Power of Attorney without disclosing these conditions, and the land was carved into a residential colony ("Eden Orchard") with plots sold to third parties. When the State sought to resume the land for violating the conditions, the Trust argued this was an outright sale (not a conditional allotment), and both the Single Judge and the Division Bench of the Telangana High Court agreed, holding any restriction void under Section 10 of the Transfer of Property Act.
The Supreme Court held that the transaction was a conditional statutory allotment under the Telangana Alienation of State Lands and Land Revenue Rules, 1975 and related government orders - not an unconditional sale - so Section 10 of the Transfer of Property Act (which voids absolute restraints on alienation in ordinary private transfers) did not apply. The Trust's own correspondence and pleadings had earlier admitted the land was allotted and used for a charitable purpose subject to conditions, contradicting its later claim of an unconditional sale. Finding that the Trust knowingly violated the allotment conditions by carving out and selling residential plots, the Court held this amounted to a fraud on the statute, set aside the High Court's judgments, and allowed the State's appeal.
When land is allotted by the government to a trust or institution under a statutory scheme with conditions attached, the allottee cannot later claim it was an unconditional sale to escape those conditions - and diverting such land to a purpose it was never allotted for can be treated as a fraud on the statute, justifying resumption of the land.
