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.
This appeal (Civil Appeal No.5687 of 2019) was filed by Rajesh Fate against the State of Maharashtra and others, and was heard and decided on the same day as a connected cross-appeal, Civil Appeal No.5444 of 2019 (Vishal Ashok Thorat & Ors. vs Rajesh Shrirambapu Fate & Ors.), which arose from the same underlying dispute between the same set of contesting parties. The full facts and detailed reasoning for the dispute are recorded in that companion judgment rather than repeated in this order.
The two-judge Bench, in a short operative order, held that "for the reasons given by us in our judgment of the date in Civil Appeal No.5444 of 2019, Vishal Ashok Thorat and ors. vs. Rajesh Shrirambapu Fate & Ors.," this appeal stands dismissed. The appeal was finally disposed of by reference to that connected lead judgment, delivered by the same Bench the same day.
When the Supreme Court decides a bunch of cross-appeals arising from one dispute, it often writes one detailed judgment in the lead matter and disposes of the connected appeal(s) by a short order adopting the same reasoning: readers researching such a case should also check the companion appeal number cited in the order for the full reasoning.
