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.
Transfer Petition (Criminal) · 2026 INSC 1060
Where a marriage has irretrievably broken down and the parties reach a genuine, voluntary settlement, including on alimony, the Supreme Court can use its Article 142 powers to grant a mutual-consent divorce and close out all related litigation in one stroke, without requiring the usual statutory waiting period.
Writ Petition (Civil) · 2026 INSC 1061
In long-running, complex litigation involving apportioned government liabilities across states, the Supreme Court can use a mechanism like a retired-judge committee plus periodic compliance affidavits to bring genuine finality, including firm timelines, transparency obligations, and interest for delayed payment, rather than leaving matters open-ended.
Civil Appeal · 2026 INSC 1062
In an "as is where is" liquidation auction, a bidder who voluntarily accepts the auction terms cannot later resile from a forfeiture clause by citing regulatory caps or after-the-fact excuses for non-payment: courts will enforce the auction notice's own conditions.
Writ Petition (Criminal) · 2026:DHC:8338-DB
Once someone is released from custody because the police failed to properly communicate the grounds of arrest, the police cannot simply re-arrest them by adding new charges: a specific, court-supervised procedure with senior-officer accountability must be followed, or the re-arrest itself becomes illegal.
Bail Application · 2026:DHC:8308
In economic-offence cases, bail can still be granted where the method used to quantify the alleged financial evasion is not adequately justified, and where the apprehension of re-offending is speculative rather than evidence-based.
Writ Petition (Criminal) · 2026:DHC:8323
A parole claim must be backed by a genuine, verifiable application to the competent jail authority: courts will scrutinise irregularities like an incomplete address, an unexplained thumb mark, or reliance on a mere friend's affidavit rather than close family.
Bail Application · 2026:DHC:8337
Courts can grant short, strictly time-bound interim bail purely on humanitarian/compassionate grounds (such as caring for a seriously ill family member), even while a case remains pending trial and an earlier bail plea has failed.
Bail Application · 2026:DHC:8312
Courts will not repeatedly re-examine a bail plea already rejected on merits unless the applicant can point to a genuine change in circumstances since the earlier order.
First Appeal from Order · 2026:DHC:8334
Under the no-fault compensation scheme for railway accidents, a valid ticket-holder injured while attempting to board a train, even carelessly, is generally entitled to compensation unless the railway can show a deliberate, conscious exposure to danger, not mere negligence.
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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.
Basanti Cotton Mills Private Limited was struck off the Register of Companies in 2006 under Section 560(5) of the Companies Act, 1956, at the instance of its original directors, after it had stopped filing returns since 2002-03. Nirendra Nath Kar, claiming to be a director appointed later, applied in 2010 to have the company's name restored, and a Single Judge of the Calcutta High Court allowed this. On appeal, the Division Bench reversed that order, holding that Kar's own documents (mainly DIN filings from 2008, well after the strike-off) did not establish he was ever validly appointed a director, so he had no standing ("locus") to seek restoration.
The Supreme Court examined the Registrar of Companies' own records, which showed only three original directors and no valid Form 32 (the statutory form confirming a new director's appointment) for Kar or the others he claimed were his co-directors. The Court noted the company's last balance sheet showed a paid-up capital of only Rs.7,000, making it a defunct company under the Act, and that 16 years had passed since the strike-off with no operations shown at any point. Finding no error in the High Court's fact-finding on Kar's lack of locus standi, the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal with no order as to costs.
A person who wants to challenge a company's removal from the register must first be able to prove, through the Registrar's own official records (not just self-filed digital identification forms), that they actually hold a valid, properly documented position such as director. Courts will not restore standing based on incomplete or unilateral filings made years after the disputed event.
