Reading and reviewing a judgment

Begin with the judgment text

Open the available judgment in NyayStack and confirm that the text is complete enough for the task. Compare displayed text with the source document, especially where the judgment is scanned or its formatting is irregular.

Separate the parts of the decision

Record material facts, issues, each side's submissions, the applicable law, precedent discussion, the court's reasoning and the result separately. Submissions are not findings. A summary or translation is a navigation aid and should be checked against the original passage.

Check citation and treatment

Confirm the case identity and citation against a reliable source. A case's existence and its treatment of a particular proposition are separate questions. Check later decisions and the relevant court hierarchy before describing an authority as binding, followed, distinguished or overruled.

Preserve uncertainty

If text, metadata, paragraph references or later treatment are unavailable, record that limitation. Do not complete a missing citation or infer a holding from a headline. NyayStack analysis is a working aid and is not a certified translation or legal opinion.