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.
In 1981, the original owners of a Bangalore property agreed to sell it to the respondent-plaintiffs for Rs. 29,000, with Rs. 12,000 paid as advance and the balance due within three months (extendable due to a government restriction on registering similar plots). When the plaintiffs did not pay the balance or get the sale deed executed for over a year and a half, the sellers declared the advance forfeited and the agreement cancelled, and in 1983 sold portions of the property to other buyers, including the appellant. The plaintiffs then sued for specific performance; the trial court and the Karnataka High Court both ruled in their favour and ordered the sale deed executed in their name, leading the subsequent purchaser (appellant) to appeal to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court held that specific performance is a discretionary relief, and a plaintiff seeking it must plead and prove (with specific facts, not vague averments) that they were continuously "ready and willing" to perform their own obligations under the contract. It found the plaintiffs had never specifically pleaded or proved details of the alleged government registration ban, never tendered the balance payment or a draft sale deed, and remained silent for nearly two years after the sellers' final notice of cancellation before filing suit: conduct inconsistent with genuine readiness and willingness. Concluding the lower courts erred in decreeing specific performance, the Supreme Court allowed the appeal and dismissed the suit, but to balance equities after 43 years, directed the appellant to pay the original plaintiffs Rs. 24 lakhs (refunding advance with appreciation) plus Rs. 6 lakhs in litigation costs.
In a suit for specific performance of a property sale agreement, courts will refuse to enforce the contract if the buyer cannot show through specific, timely conduct, not just vague statements, that they remained ready and willing to pay and complete the purchase; silence and delay can be fatal to the claim even where the seller may also be at fault.
