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.
Dr. Amar Nath Jha was selected by the Governing Body of Swami Shraddhanand College to be appointed Vice-Principal, but the University of Delhi refused to approve the appointment, citing lack of prior approval as required under the University's Ordinances and issues with how the College was managing its acting Principal post. Dr. Jha challenged the refusal before the Delhi High Court, and both the Single Judge and the Division Bench ruled in his favour, directing the University to grant approval. The College and University appealed to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court dismissed the appeals. It held that although the Ordinance technically required prior University approval before appointing a Vice-Principal, the University's own past practice, recorded in a tabular chart before the High Court, showed approval had routinely been granted after the fact (post facto) in similar past appointments. Since Dr. Jha was not shown to be otherwise ineligible, the Court found the University's refusal to be unjustified and not made in good faith, appearing instead to be an attempt to block him from later acting as Principal (since the Principal's post was vacant). The Court held this concern was premature, any such issue would only arise if the College itself failed to fill the regular Principal's post, and upheld the High Court's direction to approve his appointment, while allowing some time for the Principal's post to be filled.
An institution cannot deny an employee a benefit or appointment by invoking a procedural formality (like "no prior approval") when its own established practice shows that requirement has routinely been relaxed for others, especially where the employee is otherwise qualified and the delay is not of their own making.
