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.
N Murugesan was appointed Director-General of the Central Power Research Institute (CPRI) for an initial five-year tenure, with eligibility for re-appointment up to his superannuation. Nearly five years into his tenure, and only when it was ending, he claimed for the first time that his appointment should be treated as a regular, permanent post rather than a fixed tenure. After an adverse performance review, the government decided not to extend him and advertised the post afresh; he challenged the relieving order and the fresh recruitment in the High Court. The High Court's Division Bench granted him compensation (though not reinstatement), and both sides appealed to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court held that the CPRI recruitment rules did not bar a tenure-based direct recruitment, and the appointment letter itself made clear re-appointment depended on suitability, which the employer had assessed and found unfavourable through a proper process. Crucially, the Court held that Murugesan's conduct, accepting the tenure appointment for years without objection and raising the "I'm a regular employee" claim only as his term was ending, amounted to acquiescence and unexplained delay, which disentitled him to discretionary relief under Article 226, reinforced by the principle that a person cannot "approbate and reprobate" (accept the benefits of an arrangement for years and then reject its terms). The Court allowed the government's appeal, set aside the High Court's order, and dismissed Murugesan's appeals.
If you accept the terms of a fixed-tenure job and perform under those terms for years, you cannot wait until your term is about to end to suddenly claim you were really a permanent employee: courts treat such delayed objections as acquiescence that forfeits the right to relief.
