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 government employee (Kishor Parashar) died by suicide, and his wife complained to the police that he had been mentally tortured by his superior officers, including the appellant, who she alleged had stopped the deceased's salary for a month and threatened to stop his increment, due to excessive and oddly-timed work demands. An FIR under Sections 306 (abetment of suicide) and 506 read with 34 IPC was registered against the appellant and a co-worker. The High Court quashed the case against the co-worker but refused to quash it against the appellant, prompting this appeal.
The Supreme Court reviewed its own precedents distinguishing cases where quashing is warranted (no direct instigation, mere work-related friction) from cases where it is not (sustained, deliberate humiliation designed to drive someone to suicide). It found no suicide note existed, and the only material was the wife's assertions to police. The Court held that assigning work, and even an action like stopping a month's salary, is an ordinary incident of a superior-subordinate relationship and does not by itself show the guilty mind or criminal intent required for abetment of suicide; the allegations were "completely inadequate" to satisfy Section 306 IPC. It held the facts here stood on a footing even weaker than in a precedent where quashing had already been granted, and accordingly allowed the appeal and quashed the criminal case arising from the FIR against the appellant.
Ordinary workplace friction or managerial actions (like withholding a salary increment or requiring overtime) do not, by themselves, amount to "abetment of suicide": criminal liability under Section 306 IPC requires clear evidence of deliberate instigation or a conspiracy designed to drive the person to take their own life.
