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 moreUnder a 1985 lease deed, Tata Iron and Steel Co. Ltd. (TISCO) held land in Jamshedpur from the Bihar government, with different rent and interest clauses for industrial land (Clause xii) versus commercially used land such as bazaars and fisheries (Clause xv). In 1994, the government demanded about Rs. 5.97 crores in interest from TISCO by reading "per annum" interest calculation (which appeared only in Clause xv) into Clause xii as well. TISCO challenged this demand, and the High Court ruled in its favour, holding the demand was not a valid "public demand" recoverable through certificate proceedings. The State appealed to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court agreed with the High Court that Clause (xii) and Clause (xv) covered different kinds of land with deliberately different interest terms, and the omission of "per annum" from Clause (xii) was intentional, so the State could not read that term into it to demand extra interest. However, the Court disagreed with the High Court's separate finding that the demand was not a "public demand" under the Bihar and Orissa Public Demands Recovery Act, holding that interest on rent for land does fall within that Act's Schedule. The appeal was ultimately dismissed, upholding the High Court's conclusion that TISCO did not owe the disputed interest amount, and directing that Rs. 1 crore deposited by TISCO be returned to it.
Courts interpret commercial contracts by giving effect to the parties' actual wording: if a term like "per annum" is used in one clause of an agreement but deliberately left out of another, a party cannot later insist the missing term be read in just because it would be more favourable to them.
