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.
Criminal Appeal · 2026 INSC 1073
In circumstantial-evidence cases, forensic and DNA evidence must actually corroborate the alleged crime: a conviction cannot survive where the most crucial scientific evidence, on its own terms, points away from rather than toward the prosecution's theory.
Criminal Appeal · 2026 INSC 1074
A conviction based purely on circumstantial evidence requires every link in the chain, timeline, witness credibility, forensic matches, and motive, to be proven beyond reasonable doubt; gaps or suppressed evidence at any link entitle the accused to the benefit of the doubt, even in a serious case like a double murder.
Criminal Miscellaneous Case · 2026:DHC:8505
Courts will not quash a criminal case merely because the accused has a plausible alibi-type defence; unless that defence is conclusive and undisputed, the matter must be tested through the ordinary trial process.
Criminal Miscellaneous Case · 2026:DHC:8547
A private compromise between victim and accused cannot by itself secure quashing of a case involving serious, heinous allegations like attempted murder with a weapon: such matters must proceed to trial regardless of settlement.
First Appeal from Order · 2026:DHC:8563
Railway Claims Tribunals cannot reject a bona fide passenger's death claim based on speculative inferences when there is no direct evidence of an alternative cause of death; the compensation scheme under the Railways Act is to be interpreted generously in favour of victims' families.
Criminal Miscellaneous Case · 2026:DHC:8559
In matrimonial offences, courts can and do quash criminal proceedings once a genuine compromise is verified directly with the complainant, sparing both parties a prolonged and pointless trial.
Bail Application · 2026:DHC:8541
A co-accused's bail does not automatically extend to another accused where their actual roles in the offence differ materially; delay caused by one's own defence counsel cannot later be used as a ground for bail.
Execution Petition · 2026:DHC:8567
An arbitral award must be adequately stamped before a court can enforce it; courts give only a limited window to cure such defects, after which the award becomes legally unusable until the deficiency is fixed.
Arbitration Petition · 2026:DHC:8555
A genuine settlement reached through mediation renders a pending arbitration-related court petition moot, allowing parties to close out litigation quickly once they resolve their dispute privately.
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The appellant, along with her mother and two brothers, had sought maintenance from her father under Section 125 Cr.P.C. back in 2002, when she was still a minor. The Magistrate and, on revision, the Sessions Judge granted her maintenance only until she turned major (26.04.2005), since she was not shown to suffer any physical or mental disability that would extend the right beyond majority. The High Court dismissed her plea under Section 482 Cr.P.C. to continue maintenance until her marriage, and she appealed to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court held that Section 125 Cr.P.C. only allows a child's maintenance claim to continue past majority if the child suffers a physical or mental abnormality making her unable to maintain herself, which was not the case here. However, the Court clarified that an unmarried Hindu daughter has a separate, independent right under Section 20(3) of the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956 to claim maintenance from her father until she marries, provided she proves she cannot maintain herself. That right cannot be enforced through a Section 125 Cr.P.C. application before a Magistrate: it requires a civil suit (or a composite claim where a Family Court has jurisdiction over both). Since the appellant's original claim was filed and decided under Section 125 Cr.P.C. alone, the Magistrate had correctly confined relief to the point of majority; the appeal was accordingly dismissed, but with liberty to pursue a fresh claim under Section 20 of the 1956 Act if she chose to.
An unmarried Hindu daughter's right to maintenance from her father does not end at adulthood, but if a magistrate's court under Section 125 Cr.P.C. can only take her up to majority, she must separately approach a civil court under Section 20 of the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act to claim support until marriage.
