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.
The Delhi Development Authority had taken possession of certain acquired land on 02.09.2006. The original landowner, Krishan Lal Arora, filed a writ petition arguing that because compensation had not been paid to him, the acquisition should be deemed to have lapsed under Section 24(2) of the 2013 Land Acquisition Act. The Delhi High Court agreed and declared the acquisition lapsed solely on the ground of non-payment of compensation, even though possession had admittedly already been taken. DDA appealed to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court allowed DDA's appeal, holding that the High Court's view was directly contrary to the binding five-judge Constitution Bench ruling in Indore Development Authority vs. Manoharlal (2020) 8 SCC 129. That ruling clarified that the word "or" in Section 24(2) (between "possession" and "compensation") must be read as "nor"/"and", meaning a deemed lapse occurs only if BOTH possession has not been taken AND compensation has not been paid for five years or more. Since it was undisputed that possession of the land had already been taken in 2006, non-payment of compensation alone could not trigger a lapse of the acquisition. The Court quashed the High Court's order and dismissed the original writ petition.
Under the 2013 land acquisition law, an acquisition does not lapse merely because compensation remains unpaid. It lapses only if the government has failed to both take possession of the land and pay compensation for five years or more; once possession has been taken, the landowner's remedy is to claim compensation (with interest), not to have the acquisition itself invalidated.
