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.
The Chhattisgarh Rent Control Act, 2011 set up a Rent Controller and, above it, a Rent Control Tribunal, and Section 13(2) of that Act purported to give a direct right of appeal from the Tribunal's orders straight to the Supreme Court of India. The appellant, aggrieved by a Tribunal order, filed such an appeal under Section 13(2). When the appeal came up for admission, the Supreme Court itself raised the question of whether a state legislature even has the constitutional power to create a direct right of appeal to the Supreme Court, and issued notice to the Advocate General of Chhattisgarh and the Attorney General of India to address this.
The Supreme Court held that under Entry 77 of the Union List and Entry 65 of the State List (and Entry 46 of the Concurrent List) of the Seventh Schedule, only Parliament, not a state legislature, can legislate on the jurisdiction and powers of the Supreme Court. It therefore declared Section 13(2) of the Chhattisgarh Rent Control Act "totally illegal, ultra vires the Constitution and beyond the scope of the powers of the State Legislature," and struck it down. Relying on L. Chandrakumar vs. Union of India, the Court clarified that orders of tribunals set up under Article 323B remain subject to the High Court's supervisory jurisdiction under Article 227. It accordingly dismissed the appeal as not maintainable before the Supreme Court, while expressly leaving the appellant free to approach the High Court under Article 227 instead.
A state law cannot create a direct right of appeal to the Supreme Court, only Parliament can legislate on the Supreme Court's jurisdiction; litigants facing an unfavourable tribunal order under a state tribunal law should look to the High Court's supervisory powers rather than assume a state statute's "appeal to Supreme Court" clause is valid.
