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.
In 1974, the plaintiffs entered into an agreement to purchase a Jor Bagh, New Delhi property for Rs. 1,85,000, with the sale deed to be executed by 31 March 1975 after the seller obtained certain government permissions. The plaintiffs paid Rs. 70,000 towards the price and claimed to have been put in partial possession, but the sale deed was never executed, and in 1987, twelve years later, they sued for specific performance after the seller's family refused to go through with the sale. Both the trial court and the Delhi High Court dismissed the suit, holding it was filed beyond the three-year limitation period and that the plaintiffs had failed to prove they were ready and willing to perform their part of the bargain.
The Supreme Court agreed with the lower courts that the suit was time-barred: the limitation period ran from the date fixed for performance (31 March 1975), and the plaintiffs' twelve-year silence amounted to an abandonment of the agreement, so a decree of specific performance could not be granted. However, taking a practical view, the Court held that since the plaintiffs had actually handed over Rs. 70,000 back in 1975 and property prices in Delhi had risen enormously since then, simply refunding that amount with interest (as the High Court had ordered) would be grossly inadequate. The Court therefore increased the compensation payable to the plaintiffs from a refund with 24% interest to a lump sum of Rs. 2 crore, modifying the judgment to that extent while dismissing the appeal in all other respects.
Even when a suit for specific performance fails because it was filed too late, courts can still use their equitable powers to ensure a fair monetary outcome reflecting real-world factors like decades of property appreciation, rather than leaving a party with only a token refund of money paid long ago.
