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.
Two public-interest writ petitions were filed seeking a direction to the Central and State Governments to pay ex-gratia compensation of Rs. 4 lakh to the families of persons who died of Covid-19, relying on Section 12 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, since Covid-19 had been declared a "notified disaster." One petition also sought a direction that official death certificates clearly record Covid-19 as the cause of death, and the other sought social security/insurance cover for Covid-19 victims' families. The Union of India opposed a fixed compensation amount, citing fiscal constraints and competing demands on disaster-relief funds.
The Supreme Court held that while Section 12 of the DMA 2005 uses the mandatory word "shall," it only obliges the National Disaster Management Authority to recommend guidelines for minimum standards of relief including ex-gratia assistance: it does not empower courts to dictate a specific rupee amount, which is a policy choice for the National Authority/Central Government taking its overall financial priorities into account. The Court therefore directed the NDMA to frame guidelines for ex-gratia assistance for Covid-19 deaths within six weeks, rejecting the plea that financial constraints could be used as an excuse to avoid the statutory obligation entirely. It also directed the Central Government to issue simplified, uniform guidelines so death certificates accurately record "Death due to Covid-19," with a correction mechanism for families who disagree with the recorded cause of death, and asked the Union to consider the Fifteenth Finance Commission's insurance recommendations and cover left-out categories such as those handling the deceased.
Courts can compel the government to perform a statutory duty (here, framing compensation guidelines) but generally will not fix the compensation amount itself when the statute leaves that to executive discretion: citizens affected by a disaster have a right to a scheme, even if the exact sum is set by the government rather than the court.
