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.
A cheque-dishonour complaint under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act was filed against the appellant in 2016, over two dishonoured cheques totalling Rs. 35 lakh. In 2018, after the complaint was already pending, Parliament inserted a new Section 143A into the Act, allowing trial courts to order an accused to pay up to 20% of the cheque amount as "interim compensation" to the complainant even before guilt is proven, recoverable like arrears of land revenue. Relying on this new provision, the trial court ordered the appellant to pay 20% (later reduced to 15% by the Madras High Court) as interim compensation, even though the alleged offence had occurred years before Section 143A existed.
The Supreme Court held that Section 143A creates a genuinely new liability and a new, coercive recovery mechanism against an accused who has not yet been found guilty, unlike post-conviction fine/compensation provisions (Sections 421 and 357 CrPC) which only operate after guilt is established. Applying settled principles on retrospective legislation (a law that creates new disabilities or obligations is presumed prospective unless Parliament says otherwise), and distinguishing its own earlier ruling that the related Section 148 (interim compensation pending appeal, post-conviction) applies retrospectively, the Court held Section 143A could not be invoked for offences committed before the provision was inserted on 1 September 2018. Since the alleged cheque dishonour here predated the provision, the orders of both the trial court and the High Court directing interim compensation were set aside, and the appellant's deposited money was ordered returned with interest.
A new law that creates a fresh financial liability or exposes a person to coercive recovery before any finding of guilt generally cannot be applied to conduct that occurred before that law existed: courts presume such provisions operate only going forward unless Parliament clearly says otherwise.
