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 moreA company that had raised money through a public share issue was statutorily required to keep the share application money in a separate bank account until shares were allotted, and it earned interest on that account. The Income Tax Department wanted to tax this interest as "income from other sources," while the company argued it should instead be set off against (i.e., reduce) the expenses of raising the share capital. After going through the Assessing Officer, appellate tax authorities, and the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, which ultimately sided with the company, the Gujarat High Court upheld that view, prompting the Department's appeal to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court held that interest earned on money that a company is statutorily obligated to park in a separate account (rather than freely use) is not ordinary taxable income, but is "inextricably linked" to the cost of raising share capital and can be set off against public-issue expenses. Relying on its own earlier rulings in Bokaro Steel Ltd. and Karnal Co-operative Sugar Mills Ltd., the Court restated the governing principle: if surplus money is deposited merely to earn interest, that interest is taxable as income; but if the deposit is incidental to a statutory requirement (not made for the purpose of earning income), the resulting interest is not separately taxable and may be adjusted against related expenditure. Applying this, since the share application money had to be kept in escrow pending allotment, the interest on it was incidental, not independent income, so the High Court was right to allow the set-off. The Department's appeals were dismissed.
Interest earned on money that a company or person is legally required to park aside (not money deposited by choice purely to earn returns) is generally treated as incidental to the underlying transaction's costs, not as separately taxable "other income": a useful distinction for anyone dealing with escrow-type deposits and tax treatment.
