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.
A government-maintained ranked list of candidates for Medical Officer (Ayurveda) posts was due to expire in November 2017. Several candidates approached the Kerala Administrative Tribunal (KAT) claiming the Department of Indian System of Medicine had failed to report a number of vacancies that arose during the list's currency, including vacancies said to have opened up after certain promotions. The KAT ruled in the candidates' favour and directed the Department to report and fill the vacancies; the Kerala High Court upheld this, partly on the ground that the Department's challenge was filed too late.
The Supreme Court found that the Department's own tabular record showed every vacancy that arose during the list's validity had in fact been reported, except five seats reserved for persons with disabilities that could not be filled for want of eligible candidates. It held the High Court's dismissal on technical grounds of delay and "finality" was "cavalier," especially given the public importance of the recruitment dispute and a pending review before the KAT. On merits, the Court held that candidates on a ranked list only acquire a right to be considered against vacancies that actually arose and were reported, not against vacancies merely assumed to exist (such as those the Tribunal inferred from a promotion order that did not, on the facts, free up entry-level posts). The KAT's and High Court's orders were set aside and the Department's appeals were allowed.
Being on a government recruitment rank list does not create an automatic right to appointment against vacancies that are merely assumed to exist; the obligation to appoint arises only for vacancies that genuinely occurred and were reported, and courts should not reject a public authority's challenge on narrow technicalities like delay without examining the substance of a recruitment dispute.
