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.
Coal India Ltd. ran a 2007 e-Auction Scheme for coal distribution, which contained an arbitration clause (Clause 11.12) covering disputes "arising out of" or "in relation to" the Scheme. The appellant, a coal buyer, had a dispute with a Coal India subsidiary arising from sale orders issued under this Scheme and applied to the Jharkhand High Court under Section 11(6) of the Arbitration Act for appointment of an arbitrator. A Single Judge rejected the application, apparently holding that the arbitration clause in the Scheme did not extend to disputes under the individual sale orders. The buyer appealed to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court allowed the appeal and set aside the High Court's order, holding that Clause 11.12 of the 2007 Scheme stood validly incorporated into the sale orders issued under it, making this a "single contract case" where the arbitration clause in a standard-form document (the Scheme) extends to transactions referencing it. Relying on precedents interpreting phrases like "arising out of," "in relation to," and "in connection with" as being of the widest amplitude (Renusagar Power Co. v. General Electric; Doypack Systems v. Union of India), the Court held the clause covered the sale transaction dispute in question. At the parties' joint request, the Court itself appointed a named retired High Court judge as sole arbitrator to decide the dispute, with proceedings to be held in Kolkata.
An arbitration clause written into a master scheme or standard-form document can bind parties to arbitration even for disputes arising under separate transactional documents (like individual sale orders) that merely reference the scheme: courts read phrases like "arising out of" or "in relation to" broadly when deciding whether a dispute falls within an arbitration clause's scope.
