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 accused, close relatives and neighbours of an 18-year-old girl in a Haryana village, with whom their families had multiple ongoing disputes, repeatedly taunted her by calling her their "wife," "aunt," or "younger brother's wife," humiliating her over a broken engagement. After a final incident on 5 May 1996 where the taunting escalated, the girl told her mother she could no longer bear it, and the next morning she was found dead by hanging. The accused were tried and convicted for abetment of her suicide, and the High Court upheld the conviction while reducing the sentence; they then appealed to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court held that the sustained, deliberate taunting was not mere "eve-teasing" or insult but a continuous course of humiliation intended to push the girl to the brink of helplessness, which squarely amounted to instigation/abetment of suicide under Section 306 IPC, and upheld the conviction of the main accused (appellants No. 1 and 3). However, it found that appellant No. 2 (accused No. 3, Manoj Kumar) was only about 16 years old on the date of the offence, based on his matriculation certificate, and was therefore entitled to the benefit of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000. The Court partly allowed the appeal, setting aside the conviction and terminating proceedings against this juvenile appellant, while dismissing the appeal and upholding the sentence for the remaining appellants.
Persistent, humiliating taunting that is calculated to destroy a person's self-esteem and drive them to despair can amount to criminal abetment of suicide, even without a single dramatic act; separately, an accused can claim the protection of juvenile status based on documentary proof of age even at a late stage of appeal, if proven.
