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.
Smriti and Perry Kansagra, an estranged couple, had been locked in a long custody battle over their son Aditya. In October 2020 the Supreme Court's majority judgment (in Civil Appeal No. 3559 of 2020) had granted custody to Perry, a Kenya/UK-based NRI, partly on the strength of solemn undertakings he gave the Court to protect Aditya's and Smriti's rights. Smriti later moved this miscellaneous application alleging Perry had obtained a Kenyan passport for Aditya and taken him away to Kenya by misrepresenting facts and breaching those undertakings, effectively perpetrating a fraud on the Court.
The Court found that Perry had indeed committed a fraud on the Court and violated his undertakings in securing and acting upon the custody order. It recalled its own judgment dated 28.10.2020 and order dated 08.12.2020, dismissed the original Guardianship Petition and all resultant proceedings (including the High Court appeal), and declared the custody granted to Perry illegal and void ab initio. It issued a show-cause notice for contempt against Perry, directed the CBI to register criminal proceedings against him and help secure Aditya's custody for Smriti, directed the Ministry of External Affairs and the Indian Embassy in Kenya to assist Smriti, and ordered partial release of court-deposited funds to her for legal expenses.
A judgment obtained through fraud or broken undertakings to the Court, even one that appears final, can be recalled by the same court; undertakings given to a court are treated as solemn and binding, and courts retain inherent power to correct orders tainted by fraudulent conduct.
