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.
7878 more judgements for members
You're seeing the newest cases. Log in — it's free — to keep scrolling, search by name or judge, and filter by court or legal area.
Log in to see moreLegal Case Shots is built to help you quickly identify and understand relevant precedent. For citation in pleadings or filings, always verify against the full judgment PDF and current citation format (e.g., 2026 INSC ___).
The holding is what the court legally decided. The lesson learnt translates that into a practical takeaway: what a lawyer should factor into case strategy or client advice as a result of this precedent.
Both. Each case shows a distilled summary (case type, key holding, and lesson learnt) and links to the full judgment as a PDF for when you need the complete text for research or citation.
Yes. Use Advanced Filters to narrow results by decision date and by practice area, including Constitutional Law, Criminal Law, Service & Administrative Law, Family Law, Civil Property & Inheritance, and Labour & Industrial Law.
Yes. You can filter judgments by the judge or bench that decided the case, which is useful for tracking how a particular judge has reasoned on similar issues across multiple rulings.
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.
A borrower company defaulted on a loan secured against its factory property, and after the loan was declared a non-performing asset, the bank issued a demand notice under the SARFAESI Act. Over roughly two years, the borrower repeatedly wrote seeking more time and restructuring, causing the bank to repeatedly delay enforcement action, but ultimately failed to make good on its promises or submit required paperwork. The bank then auctioned the property, which was purchased by a third party who later resold it to the appellant company. The borrower challenged the entire enforcement process before the High Court, which quashed the sale on the ground that the bank had not responded in writing to the borrower's representations as required by Section 13(3A) of the SARFAESI Act.
The Supreme Court held that even though the bank technically had not issued a formal written reply to the borrower's representations, the bank had in substance considered and acted on them: repeatedly giving the borrower extra time and opportunities to regularize the loan before finally proceeding to auction. The Court applied the legal principles of waiver and estoppel, holding that the borrower's own conduct, including years of unfulfilled promises and never challenging the bank's actions until after the property had changed hands to third parties, barred it from now complaining about the lack of a formal reply. The Court also rejected the High Court's view that machinery on the property needed to be separately valued and auctioned, since the valuation report had assessed it item by item and the final auction price exceeded fair market value. The Supreme Court set aside the High Court's order and upheld the bank's auction sale.
A borrower who repeatedly seeks extensions and restructuring from a lender, and allows years to pass and third-party rights to be created before objecting to a technical procedural lapse, can lose the right to raise that objection later: courts call this "waiver by conduct."
