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.
Adani Power (Mundra) Limited had a long-term power supply agreement with Haryana's electricity distribution utilities. A dispute arose over whether a 2013 circular from Coal India Limited, permitting power generators to transfer coal between their own plants ("Inter Plant Transfer" or IPT), counted as a "Change in Law" event under their power purchase agreement, which would entitle Adani Power to extra compensation. The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) and the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL) had both ruled that this coal-transfer circular was not a "Change in Law," and Haryana's utilities appealed that finding to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court held that APTEL was wrong: since Coal India Limited is a government instrumentality, its circular allowing inter-plant coal transfer does qualify as "Change in Law" under the wide definition of "Law" in the agreement. The Court noted that permitting such transfers changes transportation costs (since coal moved to a different, possibly closer or farther plant costs more or less to transport), and any savings in transport cost must be passed on to the distribution companies and ultimately to consumers. Because working out the exact financial adjustment requires technical expertise the Court doesn't have, it sent the matter back to CERC to recalculate the actual compensation, directing CERC to involve the other two affected distribution companies (in Maharashtra and Rajasthan) and finish the recalculation within six months.
Government instrumentalities' internal circulars and administrative decisions can qualify as "Change in Law" under long-term commercial contracts if they materially affect performance costs, and any resulting savings or costs must ultimately be shared fairly down the supply chain to protect end consumers.
