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 moreAn accused in a long-pending Sessions trial in Gujarat applied under Section 408 CrPC to transfer his case to a different judge, alleging he had overheard a conversation between the informant and his son suggesting the trial outcome and conviction were pre-decided. The Principal Sessions Judge rejected the transfer application, but the Gujarat High Court, exercising its supervisory jurisdiction, quashed that rejection and ordered the case transferred to another Additional Sessions Judge.
The Supreme Court agreed with the High Court that a Section 408 CrPC transfer application is maintainable even after a trial has commenced, but disagreed with the actual transfer. Reviewing precedent, the Court held that an apprehension of bias must be reasonable and objectively grounded, not based on imagined conversations or hypersensitivity, and that a trial judge responding firmly to unsubstantiated allegations does not itself show bias. Finding the apprehension here "absolutely mercurial" and unsupported, the Court set aside the transfer order while upholding the High Court's finding on maintainability, and directed the original trial judge to proceed and dispose of the case within six months.
A request to transfer a criminal trial away from a particular judge must rest on a reasonable, objectively demonstrable apprehension of bias: mere suspicion, rumour, or an overheard remark is not enough, and courts will not let litigants engineer "judge shopping" through vague allegations.
