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.
South Eastern Coalfields issued a Letter of Intent to the respondent for mining-support equipment hire work, requiring the respondent to deposit a performance security and sign an "Integrity Pact" within 28 days before the contract could be finalised. The respondent mobilized equipment and began work, but later suffered equipment breakdown, never furnished the performance security or signed the Integrity Pact, and the appellant ultimately terminated the award and sought to recover the extra cost of hiring a replacement contractor at a higher price. The High Court held there was no concluded contract, so the appellant could only forfeit the bid security and could not recover the cost differential.
The Supreme Court held that, under the clear terms of the tender notice, furnishing the performance security and signing the Integrity Pact were conditions precedent to formation of a binding contract, not conditions that could be fulfilled afterward ("conditions subsequent"); since the respondent never completed these mandatory steps, no concluded contract came into existence despite work having started on site. The Court distinguished the precedents cited by the appellant, where the tender documents had expressly treated the security deposit as something to be completed later without undoing the contract. Because there was no binding contract, the appellant's only remedy was forfeiture of the bid security (as the High Court had held), and the appeal seeking to recover the cost differential of hiring a replacement contractor was dismissed.
Whether a formality (such as a security deposit or signed pact) is a precondition to a binding contract, or merely a later step that doesn't affect an already-formed contract, depends entirely on the specific wording of the tender/offer documents, starting work before completing such formalities does not by itself create a binding contract if the documents make those formalities a precondition.
