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 group of tenants occupying premises in Mumbai challenged Bombay High Court orders (in two 2014 writ petitions) concerning a redevelopment of their building under a development agreement given to a particular developer (respondent no. 5). While the case was pending in the Supreme Court for years, the situation on the ground changed: the building management terminated the developer's agreement in October 2018, MHADA also terminated it, and a new developer was appointed under a fresh agreement. The original developer, in turn, filed applications in the Supreme Court alleging perjury and challenging its termination.
Since the grievance the tenants originally had, against the earlier developer, no longer survived, the Court allowed the main group of petitioners to withdraw their SLP unconditionally, and dismissed it as against one petitioner who did not appear. For the second set of tenants, the Court noted that they did not know the terms of the new development agreement, so it directed the present management to furnish a copy of the fresh agreement to the tenants. Any tenant unhappy with those terms is free to challenge the agreement before an appropriate court or forum. The Court did not decide the ousted developer's perjury and termination complaints itself, but left it open for that developer to challenge the termination and the new agreement before the appropriate forum, where the perjury grounds may be considered on their merits. All pending applications were disposed of.
When the facts underlying a long-pending case change completely, the Supreme Court will not decide a dead dispute; it will instead protect each side's right to start fresh proceedings. Tenants in a redevelopment are entitled to see the development agreement that governs their homes, and can challenge its terms if they disagree.
