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.
After insolvency proceedings began against National Plywood Industries Ltd. and a Resolution Professional (the appellant) was appointed, the company's former management allegedly transferred Rs. 32.50 lakhs out of the corporate debtor's account to JSVM Plywood Industries (an operational creditor) in violation of the moratorium that freezes a company's assets during insolvency resolution. The Resolution Professional got an FIR registered over this transaction, following which the bank froze JSVM's account. JSVM challenged the FIR under Section 482 of the CrPC before the Guwahati High Court, which used its inherent powers to let JSVM operate its frozen bank account, subject to conditions, without requiring the disputed money to first be returned to the corporate debtor.
The Supreme Court held that the High Court, in granting interim relief under Section 482 CrPC, had overlooked the limits on its own inherent powers and had effectively allowed a breach of the statutory moratorium under Sections 14 and 17 of the IBC, which exists specifically to preserve a corporate debtor's assets intact during resolution. Inherent power to secure "the ends of justice" cannot be used to sanction undermining a clear statutory mandate. The Court modified the High Court's order to allow JSVM to operate its account only after first remitting the Rs. 32.50 lakhs back into the corporate debtor's account, while clarifying that this did not decide the merits of the pending FIR/Section 482 petition or JSVM's right to separately pursue its own claim to that money through proper insolvency channels.
Once a company enters formal insolvency resolution, the moratorium freezing its assets is a strict statutory protection that courts, even using their inherent "ends of justice" powers, cannot casually bypass; anyone who received disputed funds from a company under moratorium may be required to return them first before being allowed to use them, leaving their underlying claim to be resolved separately through the proper process.
