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 husband and wife had settled their maintenance dispute before the Family Court in Faridabad, with the husband agreeing to pay Rs. 25,000 per month to his wife and children. After paying only a fraction of what was due, the wife sought to enforce the order, but her execution petition was rejected on a technicality. She then asked the Family Court to recall its own settlement order and revive her original maintenance application, which the Family Court allowed. The husband challenged this revival all the way to the Supreme Court, arguing that a court is barred from altering its own final orders.
The Supreme Court held that the general bar in Section 362 Cr.P.C. against a criminal court altering or reviewing its own judgment does not apply to maintenance proceedings under Section 125 Cr.P.C. The Court reasoned that Sections 125(5) and 127 of the Cr.P.C. themselves expressly allow a Magistrate to cancel or vary maintenance orders as circumstances change, so such proceedings are a recognised exception to Section 362. Since the husband had failed to honour the settlement by not paying the arrears within the agreed time, the Family Court was entitled to set aside its earlier order and revive the wife's maintenance claim. The appeal was dismissed.
A maintenance order based on a settlement is not set in stone: if the paying spouse defaults on the agreed terms, the family court can reopen and revive the original maintenance claim, because maintenance law is designed to protect the dependent spouse and children, not to let technical finality rules defeat that protection.
