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 power-purchase agreement between a government power board and a private company for a mini hydro-electric project was terminated in 2001. Years of correspondence and failed arbitrator appointments followed, and the respondent eventually applied to the Madhya Pradesh High Court under Section 11(6) of the Arbitration Act for appointment of an arbitrator. The appellant objected that only the State Electricity Commission, not a court under the general Arbitration Act, had jurisdiction to appoint an arbitrator in a dispute between a licensee and a generating company, under Section 86(1)(f) of the Electricity Act, 2003. The High Court rejected this objection and appointed an arbitrator.
The Supreme Court, following its earlier decision in Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd. v. Essar Power Ltd., held that Section 86(1)(f) of the Electricity Act, 2003 is a special provision that overrides the general arbitrator-appointment power under Section 11 of the Arbitration Act, 1996, for disputes between licensees and generating companies. It rejected the argument that the appellant could not raise this jurisdictional objection at a later stage merely because it had not done so earlier or had earlier consented to arbitrator appointment, holding that a plea of inherent lack of jurisdiction can be raised at any stage and cannot be cured by the parties' consent. The High Court's order appointing an arbitrator was set aside, though the respondent was left free to pursue whatever legal remedies remained available.
When a special law gives a specific authority exclusive power to decide certain disputes, that power cannot be overridden by a general law, and an objection to the wrong forum's jurisdiction can be raised at any point in the proceedings, even if the parties had earlier gone along with it, because parties cannot create jurisdiction by agreement where none exists in law.
