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.
Buyers had booked apartments in a Gurgaon housing project ("The ESFERA") developed by Imperia Structures, paying substantial amounts under builder-buyer agreements that promised possession within three years (extendable). When possession was significantly delayed, the buyers filed consumer complaints before the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) seeking refund of their money with interest, instead of waiting indefinitely for possession. The NCDRC ruled in the buyers' favour, and the builder appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing among other things that with the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act (RERA) now in force, the consumer forum should not have entertained the complaints.
The Supreme Court held that remedies under the Consumer Protection Act and under RERA are concurrent, not mutually exclusive: RERA does not oust the jurisdiction of consumer fora, and Section 79 of RERA (which bars civil courts) does not extend to consumer commissions, which are not civil courts. It held that an allottee who is denied timely possession is entitled to seek a refund with interest under general principles, and that filing before the consumer forum rather than RERA was legitimate. On facts, since the project was significantly delayed beyond the promised and even extended timelines, the builder's justifications were rejected and the buyers' entitlement to refund with interest was upheld. The appeals were dismissed, with an additional cost of Rs. 50,000 per case imposed on the builder.
Homebuyers facing unreasonably delayed possession are not confined to RERA alone: they can still approach consumer protection forums for a refund with interest, since the existence of RERA does not take away consumer-law remedies for builder delay or default.
