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.
The appellants were former employees of the Overseas Communications Service (a government department) who were transferred en masse when it was converted into the government company VSNL in 1986. A 1989 Government Office Memorandum gave such transferred employees a choice between retaining government pensionary benefits (if they had at least 10 years of qualifying service) or accepting a lump-sum Provident-Fund-linked payment under the PSU's rules. The appellants, who had less than 10 years of qualifying government service, had earlier unsuccessfully challenged the denial of pension before the Bombay High Court, and renewed essentially the same claim in this appeal after their special leave petition against the High Court's order had been dismissed.
The Supreme Court held that since the appellants had already litigated the same relief before the Bombay High Court on merits, and their challenge to that decision had been dismissed, their present claim was barred by the principle of res judicata (a matter already finally decided between the same parties cannot be re-litigated). On the merits, the Court also held that because the appellants had less than 10 years of qualifying government service, they fell under Clause (c) of the Office Memorandum and were entitled only to a Provident-Fund-equivalent lump sum with 6% simple interest, not a government pension. The appeal was accordingly dismissed and the High Court's judgment was affirmed.
Once a claim has been fully litigated and lost before a court, the same claim generally cannot be brought again by filing a fresh case (the rule of res judicata); and eligibility for a pension scheme depends strictly on meeting its stated conditions, such as a minimum qualifying service period.
