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.
A marble trader was assessed for 1998-99 and the Income Tax Officer added Rs. 2,26,000 to his income as unexplained "cash credits" under Section 68, after treating certain purchases from unregistered dealers as bogus. This addition was upheld by the CIT(Appeals), the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, and the Rajasthan High Court. However, in later penalty proceedings for the same assessment year, the assessee produced affidavits and recorded statements of 12 of the 13 unregistered dealers, who confirmed the credit purchases, and the appellate authority accepted this explanation, cancelled the penalty, and the related criminal prosecution was also dropped.
The Supreme Court held that the factual basis for the original addition had been dispelled by the later evidence accepted in the penalty proceedings, which the Department itself had allowed to become final (including refunding the penalty amount with interest). Since the identity and credentials of the unregistered dealers were no longer in doubt, and there was no denial of the actual purchase and resale of marble, the addition of Rs. 2,26,000 as unexplained cash credit could not be sustained. The Court allowed the appeal and set aside only that addition, leaving the rest of the assessment order undisturbed.
A tax addition based on an assessee's failure to prove a transaction at one stage can later be undone if credible evidence accepted in connected proceedings (like penalty proceedings) establishes the genuineness of that very transaction: tax authorities and courts must look at the full, final factual picture rather than treating an early adverse finding as permanently conclusive.
