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.
Facing a sharp COVID-19-driven revenue decline, the Andhra Pradesh government issued orders in March-April 2020 deferring salaries, wages, honoraria and pensions of government employees and pensioners by varying percentages (10% to 100% depending on category), with limited relief carved out for frontline workers. A former District and Sessions Judge filed a public interest writ petition in the Andhra Pradesh High Court, which held the deferment orders unlawful, since salary and pension are legal and constitutional entitlements (Articles 21 and 300A) that cannot be withheld except as specifically permitted by pension rules, and directed payment of the dues with 12% annual interest. The State, having already paid the principal arrears in two court-directed tranches, appealed to the Supreme Court only on the question of the interest rate.
The Supreme Court agreed that salaries and pensions were rightful entitlements that the State was bound to pay, and did not disturb the High Court's direction to pay the deferred amounts. However, it held that a 12% interest rate was excessive given prevailing bank interest rates and that interest should compensate for delay rather than penalize the government for a bona fide COVID-era administrative decision. It accordingly reduced the interest rate to 6% per annum, payable within thirty days, confined to the specific employee/pensioner categories identified in the original government order.
Even a government acting in good faith during a genuine financial emergency cannot withhold employees' and pensioners' salaries without legal authority, but courts will calibrate the interest payable for such delay to reasonable, compensatory levels rather than punitive ones.
