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 moreThe appellant, an Assistant Manager in UCO Bank's Securities Department during the 1991-92 period, was convicted by the Special Court trying the infamous securities scam for criminal breach of trust, forgery, and corruption offences, for his role in a conspiracy with stockbroker Harshad Mehta. The case concerned the manipulation of the Bank's Subsidiary General Ledger (SGL) accounts held with the RBI: Government securities worth Rs. 20 crores that should have gone back into the Bank's own account were instead wrongly credited to the brokers' account, which Harshad Mehta then exploited to sell securities that did not belong to him, causing loss to UCO Bank. The appellant argued this was an innocent clerical error, not a deliberate act.
The Supreme Court examined the detailed documentary trail, Telex messages instructing the Bank's own account be credited, the appellant's own handwritten entry directing the funds instead to the brokers' account, and a series of "cover-up" transactions made only after Head Office began asking questions, and held this could not plausibly be an innocent mistake. The Court found the appellant, with full knowledge of SGL banking procedure, deliberately diverted the securities to benefit Harshad Mehta and then took active steps to conceal the diversion once scrutiny began. It held the prosecution had proved the conspiracy and the substantive offences beyond reasonable doubt, found no error in the Special Court's conviction, and dismissed the appeal, recalling the suspension of sentence that had been in place during the appeal and directing the appellant be taken into custody to serve his sentence.
In financial fraud cases, a documented pattern of actions, deliberately misdirected transactions followed by concealment steps once questions are raised, will defeat a defence of "clerical error," because courts look at the whole sequence of conduct, not an isolated act in isolation.
