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.
Land in Delhi was acquired under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 for the Delhi Development Authority. Before the Delhi High Court, the Land Acquisition Collector stated on affidavit that possession of the land could not be taken because the High Court itself had granted a stay against dispossession, though the compensation had been sent to the Revenue Deposit. Dewan Chand Pruthi, the landowner, filed a writ petition claiming the acquisition had lapsed under Section 24(2) of the 2013 Act. The High Court, relying on Pune Municipal Corporation (2014), allowed the petition and declared the acquisition lapsed.
The Supreme Court allowed the DDA's appeal and quashed the High Court's order. It held that the Constitution Bench in Indore Development Authority vs Manoharlal (2020) had overruled Pune Municipal Corporation and had specifically laid down that where the acquiring body could not take possession because of a court stay, the period of the stay must be excluded when computing the five-year period for lapse. The Court added that, quite apart from that rule, a landowner who has himself obtained a stay against dispossession, which is the very reason possession could not be taken, cannot then argue that the acquisition lapsed because possession was not taken. Reproducing the Constitution Bench's full summary of the law on Section 24, the Court found the High Court's judgment unsustainable and set it aside, with no order as to costs.
A landowner cannot benefit from his own court stay: if you obtain an order stopping the government from taking possession of acquired land, you cannot later claim the acquisition lapsed because possession was never taken. Time spent under a court stay is excluded from the five-year lapse period under the 2013 Act.
