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.
Reliance Communication (RCL) and an affiliate had won telecom spectrum licenses in government auctions but later defaulted on deferred payment instalments due to financial distress. The Union of India encashed their bank guarantees to recover the dues but ended up collecting more (about Rs. 908.91 crore) than what was actually owed at the time (about Rs. 774.25 crore). RCL furnished fresh bank guarantees to cover the correct, current dues and asked for the roughly Rs. 134.66 crore excess to be refunded; the Union refused, citing other alleged defaults, so RCL approached the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT), which ordered a partial refund of about Rs. 104.34 crore. The Union appealed to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court held that once RCL had furnished fresh bank guarantees fully covering its admitted dues, the Union had no legal basis to retain the excess amount recovered from encashing the earlier guarantees, as doing so would unjustly enrich the government at RCL's expense. The Court found the Union's arguments about unrelated later defaults, and about the propriety of raising the issue in execution proceedings, to be without substance, noting TDSAT had already been conservative in awarding less than the full amount claimed. The appeal was dismissed and the refund direction upheld.
A creditor, even a government body, cannot hold onto money recovered in excess of what is legally due; once the correct dues are otherwise secured, any excess must be returned rather than retained on the pretext of unrelated or future claims.
