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.
Parminder Kaur was convicted by a trial court and had that conviction upheld by the Punjab and Haryana High Court under Sections 366A (procuration of a minor girl) and 506 (criminal intimidation) IPC. The prosecution alleged she lured her minor neighbour into a room with a male tenant for money and gifts, and later threatened the girl's family after the matter came to light. Parminder Kaur denied the allegations, claiming she had no male tenant at all and that the case was fabricated in retaliation for a rape complaint she had separately filed against another man.
The Supreme Court found serious, unresolved contradictions in the prosecution's own witnesses, including conflicting accounts of how and where the complainant's statement was recorded, and implausible claims about how quickly her father could have reached the scene. The Court held that the trial court had failed to properly analyse the accused's statement under Section 313 CrPC, in which she had offered a plausible alternative explanation, and that once such a defence is raised, it is for the prosecution to disprove it, not for the court to dismiss it without scrutiny. Finding the prosecution had not proved guilt beyond reasonable doubt on either charge, the Court set aside the conviction and acquitted the appellant.
A criminal conviction cannot be sustained merely because a court finds the accused's story less convincing: the law requires that the accused's formal explanation be genuinely tested, and unresolved contradictions in the prosecution's own witnesses can be enough to tip the scales toward acquittal, even years after the original conviction.
