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 Employees' State Insurance Corporation ("ESI Corporation") demanded contribution and interest from the employer for the period from 1975 to 1988 under the Employees' State Insurance Act, 1948. The employer argued its liability was only "crystallised" in 2006, when a High Court judgment first confirmed its branch office was covered by the Act, so it should not have to pay interest for the earlier period. The employer's challenges were rejected by the Employees' Insurance Court and then by the Gujarat High Court (both a Single Judge and a Division Bench in a Letters Patent Appeal), leading to this appeal before the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal, holding that the employer's liability to pay contribution from 1975 onward had already attained finality and could not be reopened. It found the interest demand was validly made under the applicable Regulations and statutory provisions (6% up to October 1989, 12% thereafter), which the employer had never actually challenged as invalid. Relying on an earlier precedent (Goetze (India) Ltd.), the Court held there is no power to waive statutory interest under the Act, and this was not an exceptional case warranting use of the Supreme Court's special powers under Article 142 to grant a waiver, since the employer had not shown it provided employees superior medical benefits as in the precedent it relied on.
An employer cannot avoid statutory interest on delayed social-security contributions simply because a court later clarified or confirmed the underlying liability, once the liability itself becomes final, interest follows automatically unless the specific provision authorizing it is successfully challenged.
