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.
With the COVID-19 pandemic forcing social distancing, the Supreme Court took suo motu (on its own motion) cognisance of the need to ensure courts across India could keep functioning without requiring lawyers, litigants and staff to be physically present in packed courtrooms. The Court invoked its own and various High Courts' existing practice of shifting to video-conferencing for hearings and considered whether formal, binding guidelines were needed to standardise and protect this transition nationally.
Exercising its power under Article 142 of the Constitution to do "complete justice," the Court declared that all measures already taken (and to be taken) by it and the High Courts to reduce physical presence in court premises would be deemed lawful, and authorised the Supreme Court and every High Court to adopt video-conferencing technologies as each found suitable to their own circumstances, with District Courts following the mode prescribed by their High Court. It directed concerned courts to maintain a complaint helpline for audio/video quality issues to be raised only during or immediately after a hearing, to make video-conferencing facilities available (including through an amicus curiae where needed) to litigants who lack access to the technology themselves, and clarified that video conferencing would primarily be used for arguments: evidence could not be recorded by video conferencing without both parties' mutual consent, and courtroom presiding officers retained discretion to restrict courtroom entry or adjourn proceedings if social distancing could not be maintained.
During a public health emergency, the right of access to justice does not pause: courts can lawfully shift core functions like hearings to video conferencing under their own authority, but certain safeguards remain non-negotiable, such as requiring both sides' consent before evidence can be recorded remotely, and ensuring litigants without technology access are not shut out.
