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 assessment proceedings for Assessment Year 2007-2008, a dispute arose over whether the respondent bank was entitled to a tax deduction under Section 35-D of the Income Tax Act as an "industrial undertaking." After conflicting rulings by the Assessing Officer, the Commissioner, and the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, the Revenue's appeal to the Bombay High Court under Section 260-A was dismissed without the High Court ever framing or deciding the actual substantial question of law involved.
The Supreme Court allowed the Revenue's appeal and set aside the High Court's order, but did not decide the underlying tax question itself. It held that the High Court had erred procedurally by dismissing the appeal without first framing a substantial question of law as mandatorily required under Section 260-A, and without deciding the core issue of Section 35-D's applicability to the bank. Noting that a related appeal on the same Section 35-D issue was already pending before the High Court at the respondent's instance, the Supreme Court remanded the matter to the High Court to decide both appeals together on merits, after properly framing the substantial questions of law, expressly refraining from expressing any opinion on the merits itself.
An appellate court hearing a tax appeal under Section 260-A must formally frame the substantial question(s) of law before deciding the case; skipping this step can result in the appeal being sent all the way back for a fresh decision, even after years of litigation.
