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.
Civil Appeal · 2026 INSC 1066
Courts will not infer a concluded oral contract for the sale of immovable property just because the other side's witnesses seemed evasive: the party seeking specific performance must independently and affirmatively prove every essential term was genuinely agreed.
Criminal Appeal · 2026 INSC 1065
Even in serious, high-value corruption cases, prolonged pre-trial detention cannot be used as a substitute for punishment when the trial is unlikely to conclude soon and the evidence is already secured: bail remains the touchstone principle under Article 21's personal liberty protection.
Criminal Appeal · 2026 INSC 1067
Preventive detention cannot be used as a backdoor way to keep someone in custody once the ordinary criminal process, including bail, has already run its course on the same facts; the detaining authority must show a genuine, independent risk of future harm, not just recycle the criminal case file.
Civil Appeal · 2026 INSC 1068
In land acquisition disputes, courts will readily restore a uniform, fair market rate across similarly-situated parcels, but ancillary compensation heads (like moveable equipment such as tubewells) still require the claimant to prove their case with admissible evidence, not private reports whose authors were never examined in court.
First Appeal from Order · 2026:DHC:8447
If you are injured while genuinely trying to board or exit a train, you are very likely covered under railway "untoward incident" compensation law, even if you technically hadn't fully boarded yet: courts read this protection broadly in favour of passengers, and contemporaneous official records (station logs, police diary entries) carry more weight than a statement taken from you much later.
Writ Petition (Criminal) · 2026:DHC:8404
Courts will not entertain vague, unsubstantiated allegations of judicial bias, and a request to combine cases becomes moot once the other related proceedings have already concluded: genuine grievances about trial delay or procedure must be backed by specific, demonstrable facts, not just repeated litigation.
Bail Application · 2026:DHC:8403
Anticipatory bail can be granted even in matrimonial cases involving serious sexual-offence allegations where there is unexplained delay in reporting, no evidence substantiating the need for custodial interrogation, and the investigating agency's own conduct (e.g., undocumented "verbal" notices) fails to justify arrest, though this is assessed only for bail purposes, not as a finding on guilt.
Regular First Appeal · 2026:DHC:8407
In family property disputes, signing a Relinquishment Deed acknowledging receipt of consideration, and then waiting years without challenging it or pursuing your claimed share, will make it very difficult to later prove you were never actually paid; courts expect contemporaneous action (a legal notice, a suit) and corroborating evidence, not delayed assertions alone.
Regular First Appeal · 2026:DHC:8401
A tenant who claims to have paid a large sum toward an informal "mortgage" or side arrangement must be able to prove it with solid evidence (receipts, corroborating witnesses): bare assertions, especially when contradicted by one's own family members under cross-examination, will not defeat a landlord's claim for rent and possession.
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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.
The petitioner, a registered micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME), defaulted on a loan from NKGSB Co-operative Bank, and its account was classified as a non-performing asset. The bank issued a demand notice under Section 13(2) of the SARFAESI Act and, after the petitioner failed to repay, moved to take possession of secured assets through a court-appointed commissioner under Section 14. Only at that late enforcement stage did the petitioner approach the Supreme Court under Article 32, arguing that the bank had failed to first identify "incipient stress" in its account as required by a 2015 Government of India framework for reviving distressed MSMEs before classifying it as an NPA.
The Court acknowledged, based on its own recent precedent (Pro-Knits), that the MSME revival framework is binding on lending banks. However, it held that MSMEs are equally obliged to be vigilant and to invoke the framework's protections promptly, with proper supporting documents, rather than waiting until enforcement proceedings are already underway. Since the petitioner never claimed the framework's benefit at any earlier stage (not when the NPA classification happened, not when the demand notice issued) and raised it only after a Magistrate's enforcement order was already being executed, the Court found its bona fides "suspect" and held no case for interference under Article 32 was made out. The writ petition was dismissed, though the petitioner remained free to pursue its statutory remedy under Section 17 of the SARFAESI Act.
An MSME wanting the protection of the government's revival and rehabilitation framework must invoke it early and diligently with the bank. It cannot be raised for the first time as a last-minute shield once loan recovery enforcement is already in motion.
