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.
During a religious procession, the appellant and associates stabbed the complainant's uncle in the stomach following an earlier quarrel over an allegedly unlawful construction. The appellant was convicted under Section 307 IPC (attempt to murder) and sentenced to 10 years' rigorous imprisonment, a conviction the Bombay High Court (Nagpur Bench) upheld. Before the Supreme Court, the appellant did not challenge the conviction itself but sought a reduction of sentence, supported by a joint affidavit from his wife and the injured victim stating that the families had since reconciled, were living peacefully in the same village, and that the victim had forgiven him.
The Court held that while attempt to murder under Section 307 IPC is not an offence that can be formally compounded (settled) under Section 320 Cr.P.C., it carries no mandatory minimum sentence, so courts retain discretion to take a genuine, voluntary compromise between the parties into account when deciding the quantum of punishment, following its earlier ruling in Murali v. State. Finding the settlement here to be genuine, voluntary and not the product of coercion, and noting the appellant had already served roughly half his sentence, the Court upheld the conviction under Section 307 IPC but reduced the sentence from 10 years to 5 years' rigorous imprisonment, partly allowing the appeal.
Even in serious, non-compoundable offences like attempt to murder, a genuine and voluntary reconciliation between victim and accused can persuade a court to reduce the sentence, though it will not by itself erase the conviction.
