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.
When a borrower is declared a "wilful defaulter" by a bank under RBI circulars, a status that triggers serious consequences like being barred from institutional finance for five years and losing eligibility to be an insolvency resolution applicant, the question arose whether the borrower has a right to be represented by a lawyer before the bank's in-house committees that decide this. The Delhi High Court had held that these in-house committees were "tribunals" and so a lawyer had a right to appear under the Advocates Act. Banks (including SBI) appealed this to the Supreme Court, while some borrowers supported the High Court's view.
The Supreme Court held that the bank's in-house committees (the "First Committee" and "Review Committee") are not vested with the judicial power of the State and therefore are not "tribunals", so there is no statutory right under the Advocates Act for a lawyer to represent the borrower before them. The Court also held that an oral hearing is not mandatory at every stage. However, recognising that a wilful-defaulter tag seriously impacts a business's fundamental right to carry on trade (Article 19(1)(g)), the Court read procedural safeguards into the process: the First Committee's order must be given to the borrower, who then gets 15 days to make a written representation to the Review Committee, which must pass a reasoned order.
Even where a person has no absolute right to a lawyer or an oral hearing before an internal administrative committee, courts will still insist on basic fairness, being told the reasons, and getting a real chance to respond in writing, whenever the decision has serious, life-altering consequences.
