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 appellants' predecessor had executed a document in 1953 described as a sale deed for Rs. 700, which contained a clause allowing him to get the land back ("reconveyance") if he repaid the amount within ten years. When he later sued for redemption treating the document as a mortgage, the trial court and first appellate court agreed it was a "mortgage by conditional sale," but the High Court reversed this in second appeal, holding it was an outright sale with a mere option to repurchase that had lapsed, and so the suit was not maintainable.
The Supreme Court undertook a detailed review of precedent on distinguishing a "mortgage by conditional sale" (Section 58(c), Transfer of Property Act) from a sale with an option to repurchase, holding that the exercise is fact-specific and depends on the deed's recitals, the parties' intention, and surrounding circumstances considered holistically. Key indicators favouring a mortgage here included: the document's own language of "repay" and "return"; the unusually long 10-year reconveyance period; the land's market value (Rs. 3,500) being far higher than the stated price (Rs. 700), suggesting the money was really a loan; and an existing debtor-creditor relationship between parties who had borrowed from each other before. The Court held the High Court failed to weigh these factors cumulatively, found the deed was in fact a mortgage by conditional sale, set aside the High Court's judgment, and allowed the appeal, restoring the redemption decree.
Whether a property document is truly a "sale" or secretly a "mortgage" is decided by looking at the real substance of the deal, the price compared to actual market value, the length of any repayment/reconveyance period, and whether the parties behaved like lender and borrower, not merely by the label the document gives itself.
