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.
Kakinada Municipality ran a factory (Victoria Water Works) covered under the ESI Act, and contributions were paid until 1996. The ESI Corporation later issued demand orders for unpaid dues. Instead of challenging this only on facts, the Municipality approached the Employees' Insurance Court seeking a declaration that it was exempt from the Act because it provided its employees benefits superior to those under the Act. The Insurance Court rejected this, but the High Court, on appeal, ruled in the Municipality's favour.
The Supreme Court held that the power to exempt a factory or establishment from the ESI Act lies exclusively with the "appropriate Government" under Section 90, exercisable only after consultation with the ESI Corporation: it is not something an Insurance Court (a tribunal meant only to decide disputes over contributions and benefits under Section 75) can grant. The High Court had wrongly relied on an earlier Supreme Court order (Municipal Committee, Abohar) that contained no legal discussion and had no binding precedential value. Since the Municipality's claim for exemption could never have been properly granted by the Insurance Court, the High Court's judgment was set aside and the Insurance Court's rejection was restored.
Statutory bodies cannot bypass the specific legal procedure for an exemption (here, a Government notification after due consultation) by instead litigating the issue before a court or tribunal that was never given that power, though the Municipality remained free to separately apply for exemption through the correct government channel.
