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 deceased, Mohan Singh, was allegedly attacked and killed by a group of accused persons in his village in Mathura district, U.P., in 1982, with several assailants holding him down while others struck him, including an allegation that his head was severed. The Trial Court convicted the accused, but the Allahabad High Court acquitted them of murder. The complainant/appellant challenged the acquittal before the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court examined the respondents' arguments attacking the eyewitnesses as interested or non-independent, questioning the site plan's consistency with crop height, and challenging the plausibility of certain eyewitness details, and rejected each of them with reference to its own precedents (including on the general public's reluctance to volunteer as witnesses, and on site plans not being grounds to disbelieve credible eyewitnesses). It held that the High Court's view was not a plausible one and that the Trial Court had correctly analysed the evidence. The Court allowed the appeal, set aside the High Court's acquittal, and restored the Trial Court's conviction and sentence, directing the respondents to surrender within a week or be taken back into custody.
An acquittal can be reversed on appeal where the appellate court's reasoning for disbelieving credible eyewitnesses is not a plausible view of the evidence: ordinary explanations like witnesses' reluctance to get involved, or minor inconsistencies in site plans, are not by themselves sufficient grounds to discard otherwise credible testimony.
