LiveLaw Supreme Court Half-Yearly Digest: January - June 2026 [Part 2]

Construction of Documents — Literal Rule vs. Purposive Construction — Supreme Court emphasized that a contract must first be constructed in its plain, ordinary, and literal meaning - If the words are clear, the intention of the parties must be derived directly from the text. Reliance on the ex-post facto conduct of parties (such as the lessor continuing to occupy a portion not demised) is unnecessary and improper when the literal expression is unambiguous – Appeal allowed. [Relied on Associated Hotels of India Ltd. v. R.N. Kapoor, AIR 1959 SC 1262; Paras 15-21] General Secretary, Vivekananda Kendra v. Pradeep Kumar Agarwalla, 2026 LiveLaw (SC) 204 : 2026 INSC 199 Constructive Res Judicata – Governing Principles - Constructive Res Judicata (Explanation IV to Section 11 CPC) applies not only to issues actually raised and decided but also to all grounds which might and ought to have been raised in the earlier proceedings. Parties cannot escape the bar by pleading negligence, inadvertence, or accident. The doctrine is a deeming fiction founded on public policy to prevent multiplicity of proceedings and to ensure that a litigant is not vexed twice over for the same kind of litigation. It applies equally to civil suits…