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.
Home buyers in a Gurgaon housing project sued after the developer abandoned the project, and the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) ordered a refund with interest in their favour. When the developer failed to pay, the buyers initiated execution proceedings, including seeking personal appearance and potential detention of the developer's director, but the developer meanwhile went into insolvency resolution, and a consortium of home buyers themselves became the resolution applicant with a plan pending approval before the insolvency Adjudicating Authority (NCLT).
The Supreme Court directed the NCLT to decide the pending application for approval of the Resolution Plan expeditiously, preferably within six weeks. It declined, at this pre-approval stage, to order attachment of the promoters' personal properties as sought by the home buyers. The Court clarified, relying on its earlier ruling in P. Mohanraj v. Shah Bros. Ispat, that the insolvency moratorium under Section 14 of the IBC protects only the corporate debtor itself and does not bar the home buyers from pursuing the promoters personally to enforce settlements reached before the Court. The petitions and connected appeals were disposed of on these terms, with liberty to pursue further remedies after the NCLT's decision.
When a company goes through insolvency proceedings, the statutory moratorium shields only the company itself from lawsuits: it does not protect the company's individual promoters or directors from being personally pursued for dues or settlement obligations.
