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.
Central Railside Warehouse Company Limited advertised a post of Company Secretary requiring five years' post-qualification experience "as" Company Secretary. The appellant applied, claiming seven years and three months of relevant experience, was appointed, but was later issued a show-cause notice and then terminated when it emerged that much of her claimed experience was actually as a "Management Trainee" or "Assistant Company Secretary," not as a Company Secretary proper. Her challenge to the termination was rejected by a Single Judge and then by a Division Bench of the Delhi High Court, leading to this appeal.
The Supreme Court held that the word "as" in "experience as Company Secretary" had to be read literally and strictly, meaning the candidate must actually have been appointed to, and functioned in, the position of Company Secretary, not merely performed some similar duties while holding a different designation. It distinguished an earlier precedent (Dr. Asim Kumar Bose) on facts, since that case involved a person who had actually held an ex-officio version of the very post in question, unlike the appellant, who had never been formally appointed as a Company Secretary during the disputed years. Finding that the appellant's genuine experience "as" Company Secretary fell short of the required five years, the Court upheld the termination and dismissed the appeal.
When a job advertisement specifies experience "as" a particular designated post, courts will interpret that literally: merely performing similar duties under a different job title (such as "Management Trainee") will not count toward meeting that eligibility requirement, so candidates should ensure their stated qualifications precisely match the advertised criteria before applying.
