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.
Four NEET-PG 2020 candidates who did not secure their preferred Degree/Diploma seats complained that the Diplomate of National Board (DNB) seats were allotted through a separate, later counselling process, so candidates who accepted an MD/MS/Diploma seat lost any chance of later competing for DNB seats, and vice versa. They asked the Court to direct a single combined counselling process for both streams.
The Court noted that by the time the matter was heard, the main round of All India Quota counselling for 2020 was already largely complete, with thousands of candidates having joined allotted colleges, so unwinding the process would cause chaos. It also recorded that both the Medical Council of India and the National Board of Examinations had themselves accepted, "in principle," that a combined online counselling for MD/MS, Diploma and DNB seats would be fairer and should be introduced going forward. Balancing these factors, the Court declined to grant any relief for the ongoing 2020 admission cycle but expressed hope that the authorities would implement a common counselling process from the next academic session (NEET-PG 2021) onward, and disposed of the petition on that basis.
Courts are often reluctant to disturb an administrative process (like exam counselling) that is already at an advanced stage, even when the underlying structural complaint has real merit: relief in such cases is more likely to be prospective reform for future cycles than a reopening of the current one.
