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 corporate debtor, United Seamless Tubular Pvt. Ltd., went through insolvency proceedings owing about Rs. 1,897 crore. Maharashtra Seamless Limited (MSL) won the bid to take over the company with a resolution plan involving an upfront payment of Rs. 477 crore, approved by 87.10% of financial creditors, even though the company's assets were separately valued (for liquidation purposes) at about Rs. 597 crore. The bankruptcy tribunal (NCLT) approved the plan, but the appellate tribunal (NCLAT) directed MSL to raise its payment to match the liquidation value, prompting MSL and a lead creditor bank to appeal; MSL also separately sought to withdraw from the deal and reclaim its deposited money.
The Supreme Court held there is no statutory requirement that a resolution plan's payment amount must match the company's liquidation value, once a plan is approved by the required majority of the Committee of Creditors and satisfies Section 30(2) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, courts must defer to the creditors' commercial wisdom rather than reassess figures. It further held that a successful resolution applicant cannot unilaterally withdraw from an approved plan, since the exit route under Section 12-A applies only to the original insolvency applicant, not to a resolution applicant who has won the bid. The Court restored the NCLT's original approval of MSL's plan, directed a modest additional payment to operational creditors, and ordered the company's assets be physically handed over to MSL within four weeks.
Once a company's creditors approve a rescue plan that meets the legal requirements, courts will not second-guess the agreed price on equitable grounds, and a winning bidder cannot simply walk away from its approved bid after the fact.
