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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The petitioner was engaged on a contract basis as a Technical Assistant (ENT) at AIIMS in 1998, with his contract repeatedly renewed on a short-term basis until it finally ran from 1 January 2010 to 30 June 2010. When AIIMS declined to extend it further, he challenged the decision before the Central Administrative Tribunal and then the Delhi High Court, both of which rejected his claim relying on the Supreme Court's earlier ruling in Secretary, State of Karnataka v. Uma Devi that irregular contractual appointments create no right to regularisation. He then approached the Supreme Court in person.
The Supreme Court held that a contract employee has no legal right to have his contract renewed indefinitely, and agreed with the Tribunal and High Court that the petitioner could not invoke Uma Devi because his appointment was never made through a regular selection procedure. It rejected his argument that AIIMS's 2016 hiring of three new Technical Assistants (after a fresh walk-in interview) entitled him to reconsideration, holding that circumstances six years later could not retroactively revive his 2010 claim, and noting he could have applied afresh through the 2016 interview process but chose not to. Finding no arbitrariness in AIIMS's decision, the Court dismissed the petitions.
A contractual or ad hoc government employee whose appointment was never made through a proper competitive selection process cannot claim a right to renewal or regularisation merely because the employer later advertises or fills similar posts: each hiring round is independent, and a past non-renewal cannot be revisited based on later events.
