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.
MSEDCL had a 25-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Ratnagiri Gas and Power Private Limited (RGPPL), which runs a gas-based power station. When domestic gas supply fell sharply after 2011 due to a nationwide shortage, RGPPL arranged alternate Recycled Liquid Natural Gas (RLNG) supply through GAIL and declared its power capacity based on this fuel. MSEDCL refused to pay fixed "capacity charges" for this declared capacity, arguing RGPPL needed its prior approval under the PPA before switching fuel arrangements: approval RGPPL never obtained. The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) and the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL) both ruled against MSEDCL, leading to this appeal.
The Supreme Court held that the PPA's Clause 4.3 already listed both natural gas and RLNG as "primary fuel," and MSEDCL's prior consent was required only when RGPPL switched to liquid fuel (a different category), not when moving between two primary fuel types. It held that the separate approval requirement in Clause 5.9 (for the specific gas supply contract terms) does not import a consent condition into Clause 4.3's capacity-declaration mechanism, and that capacity/fixed charges are payable based on declared capacity regardless of whether MSEDCL actually scheduled and drew that power. Reading the PPA as a whole and in light of the commercial purpose of preserving the project's viability, the Court upheld CERC and APTEL's rulings and dismissed MSEDCL's appeal.
In interpreting a long-term commercial contract, courts will not read in an implied consent requirement that contradicts the contract's plain terms merely because it would benefit one party: clauses dealing with different subject matter (choice of primary fuel vs. contracting terms of a supply agreement) are given their separate, intended effect.
