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.
A bus conductor employed by Rajasthan State Road Transport Corporation was dismissed in 2001 after a departmental inquiry found him guilty of collecting fares from 10 passengers without issuing tickets. The Corporation sought approval of the dismissal under Section 33(2)(b) of the Industrial Disputes Act; the Industrial Tribunal, after allowing the Corporation to lead fresh evidence, approved the termination in 2015. About 19 years after the dismissal, the workman (who had since died) raised a fresh industrial dispute under Section 10 of the Act challenging the same termination, and the Labour Court set aside the termination, awarding 50% back wages to his widow. The High Court (Single Judge and Division Bench) upheld the Labour Court's decision.
The Supreme Court held that once the Industrial Tribunal, in proceedings under Section 33(2)(b), had permitted the employer to lead evidence and prove the misconduct, and had thereafter approved the order of termination after appreciating that evidence, those findings attained finality and were binding between the parties. The Labour Court could not, in a fresh reference under Section 10 nearly two decades later, take a contrary view and re-examine the validity of the same termination. The Court distinguished the case of John D'Souza (relied on by the respondent) on facts, since here the Tribunal had specifically permitted and considered evidence on the merits of the charge, unlike a purely summary approval. The High Court's judgments confirming the Labour Court's award were set aside, and the Corporation's appeal was allowed with no order as to costs.
When a departmental termination has already been approved by the Industrial Tribunal under Section 33(2)(b) after the employer was permitted to lead evidence and prove misconduct on merits, that finding becomes binding, and the same dispute generally cannot be reopened years later through a fresh reference under Section 10 of the Industrial Disputes Act.
