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.
Jindal Steel and Power Ltd. (JSPL) had purchased already-mined, processed, and royalty-paid iron ore stock lying at a dispatch point within a mining lease area belonging to Sarda Mines Pvt. Ltd. (SMPL) in Odisha. When SMPL's environmental clearance lapsed, the State of Odisha refused to grant JSPL a transit permit to move the ore to its own plants, even though JSPL argued it had already legally paid for and processed the material. JSPL won before the Odisha High Court, which held that "transportation" of already-mined ore was distinct from "mining operations" and was not barred by the Supreme Court's earlier interim restrictions on SMPL. The State appealed to the Supreme Court.
During the Supreme Court hearing, developments overtook the original dispute: SMPL had separately been directed in related proceedings (the Common Cause case) to pay environmental dues before resuming mining, and SMPL undertook to comply. With both sides narrowing the dispute to this practical question, the Court disposed of the appeal and all pending applications by directing that SMPL must pay its assessed dues by 29 February 2020, after which JSPL would be permitted to lift and transport the already-mined, royalty-paid ore to its plants, with sale proceeds to be routed through a bank-supervised trust account. The Court did not need to resolve the broader legal questions about the scope of "mining operations" since the parties agreed to proceed on this practical basis.
Courts can and do resolve long-running commercial/regulatory disputes through practical, consent-based directions when intervening events (like a related court order) narrow what actually needs to be decided, rather than always ruling on every legal argument originally raised.
