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 buyer (plaintiff) and the seller (defendant) entered into an agreement to sell a property in Coimbatore for Rs. 16.20 lakhs, with the seller required to evict sitting tenants before executing the sale deed. When the seller failed to evict the tenants, the buyer sued for specific performance. The Trial Court found the buyer was "ready" but not genuinely "willing" to complete the purchase (since he had never agreed to buy the property with tenants still in it) and dismissed the suit for specific performance, ordering only a refund of the advance with interest. On first appeal, the Madras High Court reversed this and decreed specific performance, relying on a fresh affidavit the buyer filed for the first time before the High Court claiming he was now willing to take the property even with tenants.
The Supreme Court found the High Court's judgment legally unsustainable because it had not framed "points for determination" or re-appreciated the trial evidence as required under Order XLI Rule 31 of the CPC for a first appeal, and had disposed of the matter in a "casual and perfunctory manner." More importantly, the High Court had allowed the buyer to effectively change his case through a fresh affidavit, directly contradicting his original pleadings, without a proper application to amend the plaint, which the Supreme Court held was legally impermissible. Examining the evidence itself rather than remanding the case, the Supreme Court restored the Trial Court's judgment refusing specific performance, while directing the seller to refund the advance payment with 18% interest within eight weeks.
In a suit for specific performance of a property sale agreement, a buyer must prove both "readiness" and "willingness" to perform the deal exactly as pleaded in the original claim: a party cannot change the fundamental terms of their case through a new affidavit filed late in appeal without formally amending their pleadings.
