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.
A coke-manufacturing company in Assam had, since 1989, been allocated a fixed monthly quantity of low-ash coal from a Coal India subsidiary at a government-regulated preferential ("linked") price. In 1996, the coal-pricing regime was partly deregulated through a new "Liberalised Sales Scheme" (LSS), and the coal company began charging the appellant the higher LSS market-linked price instead. The appellant argued that an internal committee resolution had specifically labelled it a "linked" consumer, so it should have continued paying the older, lower preferential price.
The Supreme Court held that being designated a "linked unit" in the committee's resolution was meant only to guarantee the appellant a steady monthly coal supply: the same resolution separately specified that the price to be charged would be "as prevalent at any point of time," meaning it could change. Since the Central Government had validly exempted coal companies from the older price-control rules from January 1996 onward, the coal company was legally entitled to charge the newer, higher LSS price. The Court agreed with the High Court's view and dismissed the appeal.
Being labelled a "linked" or preferential consumer for supply purposes doesn't automatically guarantee a fixed preferential price forever: the exact wording of the governing resolution or regulation controls, and a supply guarantee is not the same as a price guarantee.
