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 Kerala Public Service Commission (KPSC) advertised posts of clerk/cashier in cooperative banks, requiring graduate-level qualifications for "in-service" candidates (existing society employees) seeking direct recruitment, under rules that tied the qualification requirement to the post's starting pay. A group of non-graduate, in-service candidates argued they only needed to have passed SSLC (school-leaving certificate) under a different set of government-issued service regulations specific to cooperative banks. A Full Bench of the Kerala High Court agreed with the candidates, and KPSC appealed to the Supreme Court along with several related appeals.
The Supreme Court largely upheld the High Court's view in favour of the non-graduate candidates (dismissing KPSC's appeals), while separately rejecting two other appeals filed by candidates whose own claims were barred by unreasonable delay in approaching court. The Court reasoned that special government regulations issued specifically for cooperative banks, which prescribed SSLC plus experience as sufficient for in-service candidates, prevailed over the more general qualification rule tied to pay scale, and that a government's long-standing administrative practice following these special regulations could not be ignored.
When two sets of rules from the same authority appear to conflict, a specific rule made for a particular category (here, cooperative bank employees) will usually prevail over a general rule; but a person who believes a recruitment condition is unlawful must challenge it promptly, since long delay in approaching court can defeat an otherwise valid claim.
