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 State Road Transport Corporation had requisitioned a limited number of vacancies for the post of Blacksmith Grade II, and the Kerala Public Service Commission prepared a rank list from which some candidates were appointed. The respondents, who were empanelled lower down the rank list (at serial numbers 284 and 294, while appointments stopped at rank 278), were not appointed before the rank list expired. The Kerala High Court directed the Corporation to make appointments against 97 vacancies, including ones that arose later during the life of the rank list, prompting the Corporation to appeal.
The Supreme Court held that mere empanelment or the mere existence of vacancies does not create any indefeasible right to appointment, and an employer retains discretion not to fill all requisitioned vacancies provided its reasons are valid, genuine, and not arbitrary. The Court found the Corporation's stated reasons, a financial crunch and a skewed bus-to-passenger ratio (for which it had even set up a remedial committee), to be valid and genuine grounds for withholding further appointments. It further held that vacancies arising later due to retirements, etc., could not simply be clubbed with the original requisition and had to go through a fresh selection process. The High Court's mandamus was accordingly set aside and the Corporation's appeals were allowed.
Being placed on a selection panel or rank list does not guarantee a job: a government employer can lawfully decline to fill vacancies for genuine financial or operational reasons, and courts will not force an appointment merely because a name appears on an unexpired panel.
