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 appellant, a US Green Card holder facing a 2014 FIR alleging forgery of a power of attorney, was arrested in 2020 and later granted temporary bail by the Bombay High Court on condition he surrender his passport/Green Card and not leave Thane's jurisdiction. He sought the High Court's permission to travel to the US for eight weeks to fulfil US immigration requirements for keeping his Green Card valid, but the High Court refused, reasoning he had no real connection to India. He appealed to the Supreme Court, which had already nudged the High Court to decide the matter promptly.
The Supreme Court held that the High Court's finding, that the appellant had no contact with India, was factually wrong, since he had travelled between India and the US sixteen times in five years and had extensive ongoing litigation and property interests in India. It reiterated that bail conditions must be proportionate to securing the accused's presence and a fair trial, not punitive or arbitrary, citing its own precedents on the limits of conditions imposed under Sections 437/438 CrPC. Since merely facing an FIR should not automatically block international travel, especially where serious consequences (losing permanent US residency) would follow, the Court set aside the High Court's refusal. It permitted the eight-week US trip subject to an undertaking to return, attend all hearings, and reapply for permission for any future travel.
Bail conditions restricting an accused's fundamental right to travel must be reasonable and proportionate to the actual risk of flight: they cannot be used as an automatic or disproportionate curb on personal liberty just because a criminal case is pending.
