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.
A construction company had a contract with Northern Coalfields Limited for building quarters at the "Bina Project" and sought arbitration only for a dispute relating to that specific project. However, the arbitrator went beyond this scope and passed an award covering disputes relating to other, unrelated projects ("Amlohri" and "Jhingurda") and even involving the contractor's sister concerns, which were never part of the agreement referred to arbitration. The High Court quashed the arbitrator's entire award for exceeding jurisdiction, and the contractor appealed to the Supreme Court seeking at least the Bina Project portion of the award to be upheld.
The Supreme Court agreed that the arbitrator had clearly exceeded his jurisdiction by deciding claims relating to contracts and parties beyond the Bina Project agreement that was actually referred to him, and upheld the quashing of the award to that extent. However, the Court held that the High Court erred in striking down the award in its entirety, including the portion genuinely relating to the Bina Project, which was within the arbitrator's jurisdiction. It therefore modified the High Court's order, confirming the arbitrator's award of Rs. 5,99,158 for the Bina Project claim while upholding the quashing of everything else, and directed that any excess amount already deposited by the respondent beyond this figure be refunded.
An arbitrator's authority is strictly limited to the dispute actually referred for arbitration; an award exceeding that scope will be set aside only to the extent of the excess, while the part of the award genuinely within the arbitrator's mandate can still be upheld.
