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.
Transfer Petition (Criminal) · 2026 INSC 1060
Where a marriage has irretrievably broken down and the parties reach a genuine, voluntary settlement, including on alimony, the Supreme Court can use its Article 142 powers to grant a mutual-consent divorce and close out all related litigation in one stroke, without requiring the usual statutory waiting period.
Writ Petition (Civil) · 2026 INSC 1061
In long-running, complex litigation involving apportioned government liabilities across states, the Supreme Court can use a mechanism like a retired-judge committee plus periodic compliance affidavits to bring genuine finality, including firm timelines, transparency obligations, and interest for delayed payment, rather than leaving matters open-ended.
Civil Appeal · 2026 INSC 1062
In an "as is where is" liquidation auction, a bidder who voluntarily accepts the auction terms cannot later resile from a forfeiture clause by citing regulatory caps or after-the-fact excuses for non-payment: courts will enforce the auction notice's own conditions.
Writ Petition (Criminal) · 2026:DHC:8338-DB
Once someone is released from custody because the police failed to properly communicate the grounds of arrest, the police cannot simply re-arrest them by adding new charges: a specific, court-supervised procedure with senior-officer accountability must be followed, or the re-arrest itself becomes illegal.
Bail Application · 2026:DHC:8308
In economic-offence cases, bail can still be granted where the method used to quantify the alleged financial evasion is not adequately justified, and where the apprehension of re-offending is speculative rather than evidence-based.
Writ Petition (Criminal) · 2026:DHC:8323
A parole claim must be backed by a genuine, verifiable application to the competent jail authority: courts will scrutinise irregularities like an incomplete address, an unexplained thumb mark, or reliance on a mere friend's affidavit rather than close family.
Bail Application · 2026:DHC:8337
Courts can grant short, strictly time-bound interim bail purely on humanitarian/compassionate grounds (such as caring for a seriously ill family member), even while a case remains pending trial and an earlier bail plea has failed.
Bail Application · 2026:DHC:8312
Courts will not repeatedly re-examine a bail plea already rejected on merits unless the applicant can point to a genuine change in circumstances since the earlier order.
First Appeal from Order · 2026:DHC:8334
Under the no-fault compensation scheme for railway accidents, a valid ticket-holder injured while attempting to board a train, even carelessly, is generally entitled to compensation unless the railway can show a deliberate, conscious exposure to danger, not mere negligence.
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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 original plaintiff (since deceased, represented by his legal heirs) entered into an agreement to sell with the respondent in 1990 for a vacant site, paying earnest money with the balance due and sale deed to be registered within four months. The sale fell through amid disputes over an approach road to the property and the plaintiff's failure to obtain permission required under the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act. The respondent rescinded the agreement and forfeited the earnest money, and the plaintiff filed a suit for specific performance only after a delay of nearly three years. The trial court decreed in the plaintiff's favour, but the Karnataka High Court reversed this and dismissed the suit, leading to the present appeal.
The Supreme Court held that specific performance is a discretionary, equitable relief which requires the plaintiff to show continuous "readiness and willingness" to perform his own obligations under the contract, and also to approach the court without undue delay. Relying on a line of its own precedents, the Court reiterated that filing a suit within the three-year limitation period is not enough by itself. Courts will scrutinize whether the plaintiff acted promptly and diligently, since unexplained delay can defeat the equitable relief even if the suit is technically within time. On the facts, the Court found the plaintiff had failed to tender the balance sale consideration on time, failed to obtain the required statutory permission, and only filed suit after a delay of two years and nine months from the respondent's refusal: conduct inconsistent with continuous readiness and willingness. Accordingly, the Court upheld the High Court's dismissal of the specific performance claim and dismissed the appeal.
In property disputes seeking specific performance of a sale agreement, merely filing suit within the three-year limitation period is not sufficient: a buyer must also act promptly and demonstrably remain ready and willing to fulfil their own contractual obligations (such as paying the balance amount and securing any required permissions) to be entitled to this discretionary relief.
