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 moreHCL Technologies, a software export company, claimed a tax deduction under Section 10A of the Income Tax Act for profits from exporting computer software. The dispute was over how to calculate this deduction: should expenses like freight, telecommunication charges, insurance, and costs of providing technical services abroad be excluded only from "export turnover" (the numerator of the deduction formula), or also from "total turnover" (the denominator)? The tax department wanted these expenses excluded only from export turnover, which would reduce the company's deduction; the Delhi High Court had ruled in the company's favour, holding the expenses should be excluded from both. This judgment disposed of this case together with roughly 90 other connected appeals raising the identical legal question.
The Supreme Court held that since Section 10A does not define "total turnover," and borrowing the definition from the unrelated provisions of Sections 80HHC/80HHE would create an absurd and unworkable result, any expense excluded from the "export turnover" numerator must also be excluded from the "total turnover" denominator, because export turnover is itself a component of total turnover. Applying this reasoning, and citing the principle that a literal interpretation producing an unjust or illogical result should be avoided in favour of one that gives effect to the legislature's real intention, the Court held that freight, insurance, telecommunication costs, and overseas technical-service expenses must be excluded from both figures. The appeals filed by the tax department were dismissed, along with all the connected appeals raising the same point.
When a tax statute's formula has two linked parts (like a numerator and denominator), courts will interpret undefined terms in a way that keeps the formula logically consistent, rather than adopting a literal reading that produces an absurd or unfair result.
