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 appellant's predecessor had entered into agreements in 1980 to purchase land, paying a small earnest amount, but the sellers later sold the same land to other parties. The trial court believed the buyer's documents showing that the time for completing the sale had been validly extended and decreed specific performance in the buyer's favour. On appeal, the Madras High Court disbelieved those time-extension documents and held that the buyer had not shown he was "ready and willing" to complete the purchase, a mandatory requirement for specific performance, and reversed the decree.
The Supreme Court examined the High Court's findings of fact on the disputed extension documents and found no error in its conclusion that the buyer's time-extension evidence could not be believed. Since that theory collapsed, the claim of continuous "readiness and willingness" to pay the balance price also failed, which is an essential condition for a court to order specific performance of a contract for sale. However, recognising that the buyer's predecessor had genuinely parted with Rs. 5,000 as earnest money back in 1980, the Court directed the respondents to pay Rs. 5 lakhs as compensation in lieu of returning that earnest money, and otherwise dismissed the appeals.
To win a court order forcing the other side to complete a property sale (specific performance), a buyer must prove not just that a valid agreement existed, but that they were continuously ready and willing to pay the balance price, losing on that single factual point can be fatal to the whole claim, even if some compensation may still be awarded for money already paid.
