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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Legal Case Shots is a searchable database of Supreme Court of India judgments, each broken down into the case type, the court's key holding, and a practical lesson learnt, with the full judgment available as a PDF for citation or deeper reading.
The appellant, a trader dealing in pharmaceutical, herbal and PPE products, had arranged an international "merchanting trade transaction" to supply PPE equipment from a Chinese seller to a US buyer during the COVID-19 pandemic. His bank refused to process the required letter of credit because RBI's 2020 Merchanting Trade Transaction Guidelines barred such trades in restricted/prohibited goods like PPE. The Madhya Pradesh High Court upheld RBI's guideline, and the trader appealed to the Supreme Court arguing it violated his fundamental rights to carry on business.
The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal, upholding Clause 2(iii) of RBI's 2020 MTT Guidelines as a valid and proportionate restriction under the Foreign Exchange Management Act. Applying a four-part proportionality test (legitimate aim, suitability, necessity, and balancing), the Court held that restricting trade in PPE and pharmaceutical products during a public health emergency served the legitimate state interest of ensuring adequate domestic stock of essential medical supplies. The Court clarified that judicial review of executive measures does not go into "cold storage" during a pandemic, but on the facts the restriction was a reasonable and necessary measure rather than an excessive one, and did not violate Articles 14, 19(1)(g) or 21.
Even during a public-health emergency, the government's regulatory measures remain subject to judicial scrutiny for proportionality, but a restriction that is narrowly tailored to protect public health (such as curbing export-driven trade in essential medical goods) can validly limit an individual's right to conduct business.
