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 2012 Special Leave Petition had already been disposed of by the Supreme Court, referring the underlying dispute to arbitration as per an MoU between the parties, and directing status quo until the Arbitral Tribunal took up the matter. The arbitration proceeded; despite being served notice, the applicant did not appear, and the Tribunal passed a status quo order in 2015 to which the applicant's counsel (who was present) raised no objection. Years later, the applicant filed fresh Miscellaneous Applications in the already-disposed-of SLP, seeking to vacate that status quo order and undo rights of the original SLP petitioner in the disputed project: effectively trying to bypass the ongoing arbitration.
The Supreme Court held that the reliefs sought were issues already pending before the Arbitral Tribunal, and since no arbitral award had yet been passed, courts should not interfere in arbitral proceedings at this stage, consistent with the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 and settled case law. The Court specifically disapproved of the practice of filing fresh applications in an already-disposed-of SLP as a way to sidestep the arbitration process, saying such practice should be discouraged and not entertained. The applications and pending interlocutory applications were dismissed, with parties directed to raise all issues on merits before the Arbitral Tribunal and to place a copy of the order before it to resume the arbitration, while maintaining the tribunal's 2015 status quo order.
Once a dispute has been referred to arbitration, parties cannot use miscellaneous applications in a closed Supreme Court case as a shortcut to reopen or interfere with the arbitration before an award is passed: such issues must be raised before the Arbitral Tribunal itself.
