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 moreSova Ispat Limited had been allotted the "Ardhagram Coal Block," but the Supreme Court's earlier 2014 judgments cancelled coal block allocations nationwide, prompting the government to promulgate an Ordinance providing for re-allocation of such mines by public auction. Sova Ispat challenged the Ordinance before the Calcutta High Court, arguing that it allowed compulsory acquisition of its existing end-user plant (partly located within the coal block) without compensation, in violation of Article 300A, and sought a stay of the auction. The High Court declined to stay the auction outright but passed an interim order stating any auction would "abide by the result of the writ application," which the Union of India then appealed to the Supreme Court as harmful to competitive bidding.
Before the Supreme Court, the Attorney General, appearing for the Union, gave an undertaking that the government did not intend to acquire the respondent's end-user plant and would exclude that portion of land from the auction and vesting process, thereby protecting the respondent's property interest. On the strength of this undertaking, the Court set aside the High Court's impugned interim order and allowed the appeal, while expressly leaving all other questions of law (including the constitutional challenge to the Ordinance itself) open for the parties to argue before the High Court in the still-pending writ petition.
A government undertaking given in open court can resolve an interim dispute (such as a stay of auction) even while the larger constitutional challenge remains pending elsewhere: the Supreme Court can finally dispose of the specific interim order appealed against without needing to decide the underlying constitutional question itself.
