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 appellants ran a restaurant/sweets business ("Nathu's Sweets") under two 1990 licence agreements with the respondents to operate out of the respondents' premises on a commission basis. Disputes arose over electricity supply, the business shut for years, and the respondents eventually went to arbitration seeking commission dues and damages for the period the appellants kept possession without running the business. An Arbitrator awarded damages against the appellants in 1998, which the Delhi High Court's Single Judge and then Division Bench upheld (the Division Bench only reduced the post-award interest rate).
The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal, holding that the appellants, having themselves filed the statement of accounts used to calculate damages and having had tax already deducted on that basis, could not now claim the figures were mathematical errors. The Court agreed that a licensee who retains possession of premises remains liable for rent/damages even when the business is shut, following the Delhi High Court's earlier ruling in State Bank of Patiala v. Chandermohan. It also upheld the Arbitrator's method for calculating commission for the period the business operated after reopening in 1995. As a concession, the Court extended the same reduced 9% interest benefit (instead of 16%) that the High Court had given, provided the appellants paid the full decretal amount by 31 December 2020.
A party cannot disown figures and calculations it voluntarily submitted and relied upon in arbitration simply because the outcome is unfavourable; and a tenant/licensee who retains possession of premises generally stays liable for rent or damages even while the business itself is not operating.
