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.
NAFED, a canalising agency for groundnut exports on behalf of the Government of India, contracted with the Swiss firm Alimenta S.A. in 1979-80 to export 5,000 metric tonnes of groundnut. Only 1,900 tonnes could be shipped due to crop damage, and the balance was carried forward by addenda to the following season. The Government of India then refused permission to export the carried-forward quantity, and NAFED informed Alimenta it could not supply the balance. Alimenta treated this as a default and obtained a foreign arbitral award (upheld on appeal in London) holding NAFED liable for damages, which NAFED resisted enforcing in Indian courts on the ground that complying with the award would be impossible and against public policy.
The Supreme Court held that the foreign award was unenforceable in India. It found that under Clause 14 of the FOSFA agreement, a government export prohibition rendered the contract void/unenforceable, and NAFED, a canalising agency, could not lawfully have shipped the goods without government permission, which was refused. Enforcing an award that effectively required an Indian public-sector canalising agency to violate the nation's export-control regime and quota policy would be contrary to the fundamental policy and public policy of India under Section 7 of the Foreign Awards (Recognition and Enforcement) Act, 1961. The Court also disapproved of the arbitrator personally appearing at the appellate stage to defend his own award, calling it inconsistent with ethical standards, though it did not rest its decision on that point. The appeal was allowed and the High Court's judgment enforcing the award was set aside.
A foreign arbitral award will not be enforced in India if compliance would require violating binding government export/quota restrictions: courts can refuse enforcement on public-policy grounds in such circumstances, but this is a narrow, fact-specific exception rather than a general escape route from arbitral awards.
