Criminal Law – Sanction for Prosecution – Section 197 CrPC – PC Act Ss. 13(1)(c), 13(2) – IPC Ss. 409, 468, 471 – Allegation that petitioner misused official position as Secretary, TN Legislative Assembly, and claimed travel allowance for private visit – Petitioner obtained Speaker’s permission and undertook travel; no records of meeting with Secretary Gen...
Criminal Law – Rape and Murder of Minor – Conviction Set Aside – Appellant was convicted and sentenced to death for kidnapping, raping, and murdering a 7-year-old girl – Trial court’s conviction confirmed by the High Court – Supreme Court set aside conviction due to glaring lapses in investigation, procedural violations, and unreliability of circumstantial evide...
Remission Policy – Right to be considered – State of Haryana’s 2002 circular imposing stricter conditions for release of certain categories of life convicts challenged – Held: A convict has no fundamental right to remission but has a legal right to be considered for remission in terms of applicable rules/policies – Such right flows from Prisons Act, statutory rules an...
Bribery by Public Servant – Acceptance of Illegal Gratification – Conviction sustained – Section 161 IPC and Section 5(1)(d) r/w Section 5(2) PC Act – Appellant, a clerk, was caught accepting Rs. 200 in trap operation conducted by Lokayukt – Defence claimed he was only a conduit for a superior officer – Held: Once acceptance is proved, presumption under Section ...
Murder – Eyewitness Testimony – Credibility of Sole Witness – Conviction Upheld – Sarabjit Singh, grandson of one of the deceased, was the sole eyewitness – Though some discrepancies existed in his statement regarding dying declarations, Supreme Court held his testimony regarding witnessing the attack and presence of accused was credible and reliable – Minor con...
Conviction – Suspension of Conviction under Section 389(1) CrPC – Conviction Stayed – Appellant, a sitting MP, was convicted under Section 304 Part II IPC and sentenced to 3 years RI – To uphold moral standards, he resigned but sought to contest re-election – Held: Appellate Court has power under Section 389(1) CrPC to suspend not just sentence but also order of convi...
TADA Offence – Sanction under Section 20A(2) – Cognizance without Sanction Invalid – Conviction Set Aside – FIR originally registered under Explosives Act, 1884 – Supplementary charge-sheet filed invoking TADA without prior sanction from Inspector General or Commissioner of Police as required under Section 20A(2) of TADA – Held: Designated Court had no jurisdict...
Criminal Law – Abetment of Suicide – Sections 306 and 107 IPC – Mens rea Essential – Mere harassment or taunting insufficient – Suicide by wife allegedly due to continuous harassment and dowry demands – No suicide note – No specific instigation or intentional aid proved – Held: Mere discord or cruelty in matrimonial home does not automatically amount...
Criminal Procedure – Second Complaint – Dismissal of Earlier Complaint for Default – Whether Barred – Petitioner challenged maintainability of a second complaint under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, after the first was dismissed for non-filing of process fee – Contended that the learned Additional Sessions Judge was incompetent to take cognizance again under ...
Criminal Procedure – Further Investigation – Custodial Remand – Bail – Once cognizance taken and accused released on bail, police custody cannot be granted even if new investigating agency constituted – Section 167(2) CrPC inapplicable post-cognizance – Further investigation permissible under Section 173(8) but without custody unless bail cancelled – High ...