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.
The respondent, convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment on charges including rape under Sections 376(2)(c) and related IPC provisions, was granted furlough (temporary prison leave) by a Single Judge of the Gujarat High Court in June 2021. The State of Gujarat challenged this grant before the Supreme Court, citing the Jail Superintendent's negative opinion based on the respondent's in-custody conduct.
The Supreme Court noted that the Jail Superintendent had opposed furlough because the respondent had illegally kept a mobile phone in jail and attempted to contact the outside world, and because of a reasonable apprehension that his release could disturb public peace given his mass following, along with earlier attempts to threaten witnesses and bribe officials during trial. The Court held the High Court was wrong to override this reasoned opinion, distinguished an earlier furlough granted purely on the ground of his mother's ill health, and found no error in the authorities' refusal that would justify furlough under the applicable Rules. It allowed the State's appeal and set aside the High Court's order granting furlough.
Furlough or prison leave is not an automatic right for a convict: courts weigh the convict's actual conduct in custody and genuine public-safety or witness-security concerns, and even a convict with no history of escape can be denied leave on these grounds.
