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 appellant was convicted in two separate NDPS cases: one in Amritsar for recovery of 4 kg of heroin (12 years' imprisonment) and a later one in Delhi for recovery of 750 grams of heroin, where he received an enhanced sentence of 15 years because of his earlier conviction. The Delhi trial court did not say whether this second sentence should run concurrently with or after the first one. He challenged this before the Delhi High Court, asking that both sentences run concurrently given his age, time already served, and good conduct in jail, but the High Court dismissed his appeal and confirmed the conviction and sentence.
The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal, holding that sentences from separate transactions investigated under different FIRs and decided in separate judgments do not automatically run concurrently. Under Section 427 CrPC, courts have discretion to direct concurrent sentences, but that discretion must be exercised judiciously and was not exercised here since no such direction was made at the time of sentencing. The Court emphasized that NDPS offences are especially serious given their harmful effect on society, so no leniency was warranted, and upheld the consecutive running of the two sentences.
When a person is convicted in separate criminal cases arising from different incidents, their sentences normally run one after another (consecutively), not simultaneously: concurrent running requires a specific judicial direction, which courts are reluctant to give for serious offences like drug trafficking.
