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.
Inox Wind, a wind turbine manufacturer, bought cables from Thermocables under purchase orders that referred to attached "Standard Terms and Conditions" containing an arbitration clause. After the supplied cables developed cracked outer sheaths, Inox Wind sought to invoke arbitration, but Thermocables did not respond, leading Inox Wind to approach the Allahabad High Court to appoint an arbitrator. The High Court refused, holding that merely referring to the standard terms in the purchase order was not enough to incorporate the arbitration clause, relying on an earlier Supreme Court ruling in M.R. Engineers v. Som Datt Builders.
The Supreme Court revisited its earlier M.R. Engineers ruling in light of later English case law (particularly the "single contract" versus "two contract" distinction), and held that where a single contract merely attaches its own standard terms and conditions (as opposed to incorporating an entirely separate contract between different parties), a general reference to those standard terms is enough to pull in an arbitration clause contained in them: a specific, separate mention of the arbitration clause is not required. Finding that Thermocables had accepted the purchase order's terms (barring the delivery period) and was aware the standard terms were attached, the Court held the arbitration clause was validly incorporated, allowed the appeal, set aside the High Court's refusal, and itself appointed a named arbitrator (Justice Sushil Harkauli) to resolve the dispute.
In ordinary commercial purchase orders, simply attaching your own standard terms and conditions (which include an arbitration clause) and referring to them generally in the main order is legally sufficient to bind both sides to arbitration: a business does not need to separately call out the arbitration clause by name for it to apply.
