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.
In 2008, Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS) advertised a vacancy for "Junior Lab Technician," and its Selection Committee decided to award marks based 85% on qualifying-exam scores, 10% on work experience (favouring government-hospital experience), and 5% on interview performance. The appellant, who had more work experience including in a government hospital, was selected over a rival candidate (the third respondent) who had scored higher marks in the qualifying exam but had less relevant experience. The rival candidate's writ petition succeeded before a Division Bench of the Karnataka High Court, which quashed the appellant's appointment as arbitrary, holding that experience-based marks had been added only after the job was advertised and that the selection process favoured "insiders."
The Supreme Court allowed the appellant's appeal and set aside the High Court's judgment, holding that the third respondent had only challenged the appellant's individual selection (not the entire merit list) and his sole ground was that he had scored higher marks in the qualifying exam, so the High Court exceeded the scope of the challenge by scrutinising the entire selection list and the Selection Committee's overall marking scheme for alleged arbitrariness. The Court held that an expert Selection Committee is entitled to evolve reasonable criteria (like weighting government-hospital experience) for choosing among candidates who meet the minimum advertised qualifications, that no bias or mala fide intent was shown, and that courts should not sit in appeal over a selection committee's reasoned, non-arbitrary exercise of discretion.
A court reviewing a public employment selection should stay within the boundaries of what the challenger actually pleaded: if someone challenges only their own non-selection on a narrow ground, courts should not use that as a vehicle to strike down the entire selection process or a reasonable, bona fide selection criterion devised by an expert body.
