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 former member of the Patur Municipal Council in Maharashtra objected to the Council's signboard, which displayed the Council's name in Marathi with an Urdu translation below it: a practice in place since the Council's founding in 1956. The Municipal Council rejected her objection by resolution, and after a District Collector initially sided with her, the order was overturned on further appeal. She lost before the Bombay High Court twice (before and after Maharashtra passed a 2022 law making Marathi the official language of local bodies), and finally appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing Marathi alone could be used.
The Supreme Court held that the 2022 Maharashtra Local Authorities (Official Languages) Act requires Marathi to be used for official business but does not prohibit displaying an additional language alongside it, especially where a section of the local population understands that language. The Court undertook an extensive review of India's linguistic history and the constitutional treatment of Urdu (which sits alongside Marathi and Hindi in the Eighth Schedule), stressing that language is a tool of communication and culture, not religion, and that many Indian states already permit multiple official languages. Finding no legal violation, the Court dismissed the appeal and upheld the use of Urdu on the signboard alongside Marathi.
A law requiring an official language does not automatically forbid the additional, voluntary use of another language recognised by the Constitution for the practical purpose of communicating with the local community: inclusion of a second language is not, by itself, unlawful discrimination against the official one.
