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.
M/s Selva Foods imported raw spices like methi and mustard seeds from outside Karnataka, cleaned and processed them, and then sold the processed goods within the market area regulated by the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC), Yashwanthapura. The APMC found that Selva Foods had not paid the market fee on these sales and cancelled its licence; Selva Foods challenged this, and the High Court ruled in its favour, holding that no market fee was payable since the goods were "imported" and merely processed before sale.
The Supreme Court disagreed with the High Court and allowed the APMC's appeal. Interpreting Section 65 of the Karnataka Agricultural Produce Marketing Act, the Court held that while agricultural produce brought into a market purely for processing (without selling it there) is exempt from market fee, that exemption does not apply once the processed produce is actually sold within the market area. Since Selva Foods did sell its processed spices within the APMC's market area, it was liable to pay the market fee, and the order confirming non-liability was set aside.
Businesses that import raw agricultural produce, process it, and then sell the processed goods within a regulated market area cannot claim exemption from market fees merely because the goods were originally "imported": the fee exemption only protects processing that does not end in a local sale.
