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.
Jai Balaji Industries, an iron and steel manufacturer, held two arbitral awards against Orissa Minerals Development Company for unpaid dues under supply contracts. The company's challenges to those awards were dismissed by courts for default but were later restored on the company's application, with advance notice to Jai Balaji. Before that restoration took final effect, Jai Balaji sent demand notices and then moved the NCLT for insolvency proceedings against the company; the NCLT admitted the case, but the NCLAT reversed this, holding a genuine pre-existing dispute existed.
The Supreme Court upheld the NCLAT, holding that the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code is not a substitute for money-recovery proceedings and exists only to be used where no real dispute over the debt exists. Since the corporate debtor had moved to restore its appeal (challenging the underlying arbitral awards) with advance notice well before Jai Balaji issued its demand notices, and that restoration was in fact granted before the insolvency application was even filed, a pre-existing dispute was clearly in place. The Court held this rendered the insolvency application liable to be rejected, and dismissed Jai Balaji's appeals.
Insolvency proceedings cannot be used as a shortcut to recover disputed money; if the underlying debt is genuinely contested, including through a revived court challenge, the creditor must pursue ordinary civil or arbitration remedies instead of triggering insolvency against the debtor company.
