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, a Punjab & Sind Bank employee, was served a charge sheet in September 2011 alleging irregularities in loan disbursement, and he retired on the very same day. The disciplinary proceedings continued after his retirement, and one charge was held partly proved, resulting in a penalty of permanent reduction by three stages in his pay scale. A single judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court set aside the penalty on the ground that post-retirement, only penalties under the Bank's Pension Regulations could be imposed, but a Division Bench reversed this and dismissed his writ petition, holding the Service Regulations permitted continuance of disciplinary proceedings after superannuation.
The Supreme Court surveyed its own precedents, including Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd. v. Rabindranath Choubey and SBI v. Ram Lal Bhaskar, and held that where service regulations permit continuance of disciplinary proceedings initiated before superannuation, they can be carried to a logical conclusion even after retirement. The Court distinguished between a penalty of dismissal (which forfeits pension entirely, raising no implementation difficulty) and a penalty of reduced pay scale (which merely affects computation of pension). Since pension is ordinarily computed on the salary last drawn, the Court found the three-stage pay reduction imposed on the appellant was implementable even after retirement. It upheld the Division Bench's decision and dismissed the appeal, with no order as to costs.
If a government or public-sector employee is charge-sheeted before retirement, the disciplinary proceedings can validly continue and conclude even after superannuation, provided the applicable service rules permit this, and any resulting penalty affecting pay/pension can still be implemented by adjusting the pension calculation.
