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 married couple's divorce proceeding resulted in the Family Court granting the wife a lumpsum permanent alimony of Rs. 6 crore for herself and Rs. 5 crore for their minor daughter, with part of the daughter's share to be locked in a fixed deposit. Both parties appealed this order to the Bombay High Court, and while those appeals remained pending, the husband was directed to deposit 75% of the alimony amount with the court as a condition for staying execution of the money decree. The wife then sought permission to withdraw the deposited sums, and after the High Court only partially allowed this (directing most of the money into further fixed deposits) and dismissed her review petition, she approached the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court noted that the wife's and daughter's actual monthly support had shrunk to only about Rs. 29,000 for the child despite the grant of permanent alimony, and that the main appeals on the merits were still pending before the High Court. Declining to go into the merits of whether alimony was warranted at all (calling that a question for the pending High Court appeals), the Court confined itself strictly to whether the conditions imposed on withdrawal of the deposited funds were reasonable. Balancing the wife and child's immediate needs against the husband's interest in not being unjustly deprived of his funds during the appeal, the Court modified the High Court's order to permit the wife to withdraw Rs. 2 crore as an interim measure during the pendency of the intra-court appeal. It requested the High Court to dispose of the pending appeals expeditiously and clarified it had expressed no view on the merits, which the High Court should decide uninfluenced by this order.
Even while a main dispute (here, the full alimony appeal) remains pending elsewhere, a party is not left without any remedy for funds already deposited in court: the Supreme Court can grant practical interim relief, such as permitting partial withdrawal, to balance both sides' hardship without pre-judging the underlying merits.
