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.
Employees of the Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited (KPTCL) completed one full year of service and thereby "earned" their annual increment on the last day before they retired, but under Regulation 40(1) of the Karnataka Electricity Board Employees Service Regulations, 1997, an increment only "accrues" (becomes payable) on the day following the day it is earned, which, for these employees, fell after their retirement. KPTCL refused to pay the increment on the ground that the employees were no longer in service on the day it technically accrued. The employees won before a Single Judge's rejection was reversed by the Karnataka High Court's Division Bench, prompting KPTCL to appeal to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court held that an increment is earned through a full year of satisfactory service and good conduct, and the "day following" language in Regulation 40(1) merely fixes when it becomes payable. It does not extinguish an already-earned entitlement. Denying the increment solely because the employee retired the very next day would be arbitrary and would violate Article 14, since the increment is not a discretionary reward but a right that crystallises on completing the qualifying year. The Court agreed with the view taken by the Delhi, Allahabad, Madras, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa High Courts (and disagreed with the contrary view of the Andhra Pradesh Full Bench, Kerala and Himachal Pradesh High Courts), and dismissed KPTCL's appeal, upholding the Karnataka High Court's direction to pay the increment, with no order as to costs.
An employee who has completed a full year of qualifying service with good conduct has earned that year's increment even if retirement falls exactly on the day it would technically become payable; a technical reading of a pay regulation cannot be used to deny a benefit already earned through actual service.
