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.
The State (originally Madhya Pradesh, later Chhattisgarh after reorganisation) had a long-running agreement with a private company for supply of Sal seeds (a forest produce). After the State terminated the agreement in 1998, the company invoked arbitration claiming a refund of amounts allegedly overpaid, including "supervision charges" the State had levied over the years. An arbitrator awarded a large sum in the company's favour, rejecting the State's claim to retain supervision charges. The District Court and then the High Court largely upheld the award (only reducing the interest rate), prompting the State to appeal to the Supreme Court specifically on the supervision-charges issue.
The Supreme Court held that the arbitrator had ignored the clear terms of the agreement (which expressly included "handling and supervision charges" as part of the price) and a government circular fixing such charges at 10%, despite the company never having objected to paying these charges for years. The Court held this amounted to "patent illegality", a recognised ground for setting aside a domestic arbitral award when the arbitrator's decision goes against the plain terms of the contract, and that this ground survives even if not expressly raised at every earlier stage, since courts can invoke it on their own under Section 34(2-A) of the Arbitration Act. The Court set aside the part of the award directing refund of supervision charges, while leaving the rest of the award (and High Court judgment) intact. The appeal was partly allowed.
An arbitrator must decide disputes in line with the actual terms of the contract between the parties; ignoring a clear, long-accepted contractual term (like an agreed charge both sides followed for years without objection) can get an award partly struck down in court even though arbitration awards are normally given great deference.
