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.
A landlord and tenant were locked in litigation over leased land in Mumbai: the tenant sued for specific performance of a clause allowing them to purchase the land, while the landlord filed a counter-claim seeking the tenant's eviction and unpaid rent. The trial court (Bombay High Court, original side) ruled partly for each side, but the Division Bench on appeal held that the landlord's counter-claim for eviction and rent could not be entertained by that court at all, because such disputes are reserved exclusively for the Court of Small Causes, Bombay under Section 41 of the Presidency Small Cause Courts Act, 1882. The landlord's heirs appealed that jurisdictional ruling to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court held that the question was already settled by its earlier ruling in Mansukhlal Dhanraj Jain v. Eknath Vithal Ogale, which established that any suit relating to recovery of possession or rent between a landlord and tenant (or licensor and licensee) in Greater Bombay falls within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Small Cause Court, regardless of which other court the matter happens to be raised in. Since the landlord's counter-claim was, in substance, exactly this kind of possession/rent dispute, the regular civil court had no power to decide it. The Supreme Court therefore agreed with the High Court and dismissed the appeal, while expressly leaving all the underlying factual disputes (such as exact lease area) to be argued afresh before the competent Small Cause Court.
In Mumbai, disputes between a landlord and tenant over possession of property or recovery of rent must go to the specialized Court of Small Causes: this exclusive jurisdiction cannot be bypassed simply by raising the issue as a counter-claim in an ordinary civil suit.
