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 Municipal Corporation clerk in Amravati, Maharashtra died in 1997 leaving two wives and children from both marriages. The appellant, his daughter from the first wife, had applied for compassionate appointment as a minor and again after attaining majority, but the post went instead to the son from the second wife in 2012 after a state policy on married daughters changed in 2013. The Bombay High Court (Nagpur Bench) dismissed her writ petition and review application, holding she was ineligible because she was already married before the policy change, so she appealed to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court held that several key questions, the effect of the 1994 government resolution restricting compassionate appointment to unmarried daughters, the significance of the appellant's original 1997-98 applications made before her marriage, the eligibility of the rival claimant, and the effect of the 2013 policy change allowing married daughters, required detailed factual examination that the High Court had not undertaken. Rather than decide these questions itself, the Court set aside both High Court orders, allowed the appeals, and remitted the entire matter back to the High Court for fresh consideration with an opportunity for all parties to be heard.
Compassionate appointment claims can turn on exactly when an application was first made and what policy was in force at that time: a claimant should preserve dated proof of early applications, since a later policy change can reopen eligibility questions that courts will insist are properly examined on facts, not decided summarily.
