Criminal Law – Murder – Political Rivalry – Conviction under Section 302 IPC – Members of rival political factions attacked the deceased with axes and sickles, causing fatal injuries – Multiple assailants involved in coordinated group assault – Medical evidence confirmed that injuries inflicted were sufficient to cause death – Trial court and High Court fo...
Criminal Law – Murder - Circumstantial Evidence – Last Seen Together – Appellant alleged to have taken deceased from his home along with co-accused and later found near scene of murder – Prosecution relied on last-seen theory based on testimonies of PW1 (mother) and PW2 (sister-in-law) – Supreme Court found material contradictions in their statements, particularly reg...
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...
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 ...
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 Law – Communal Violence – Reinvestigation – SIT – Witness Protection – Victims’ Rights – Fair Trial – Appointment of Public Prosecutors – Judicial Oversight – Directions Issued – Supreme Court directed constitution of a five-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by former CBI Director R.K. Raghavan to undertake fur...
Criminal Law – Murder – Appeal Against Acquittal – Standard of Review – Trial court acquitted appellants accused of stabbing deceased following a dispute over money—High Court reversed acquittal and convicted under Sections 302/34 IPC and 4/25 Arms Act—Supreme Court held that the trial court’s view was plausible based on inconsistencies in eyewitness testi...
Criminal Procedure Code – Section 482 – Inherent Powers – Quashing of FIR – Territorial Jurisdiction – Abuse of Process – Marriage between parties solemnized in India but matrimonial life and alleged offences occurred in Canada—FIR lodged in India by complainant’s father, a Canadian resident and retired police officer, alleging dowry misappropriation...
Quashing of Summoning Order – Delay in Complaint – Vague Allegations – Criminal Proceedings Quashed – Supreme Court quashed proceedings initiated under a private complaint after finding four-year delay in lodging FIR for alleged 2010 incident – Allegations of rape and caste abuse were held to be vague, inconsistent, and unsupported by material evidence – Summoni...
Criminal Law – PMLA – Quashing at Pre-Trial Stage – Alternate Remedy – ECIR did not name appellants and CBI dropped them in supplementary report – ED complaint rests on alleged withdrawal of attached sums (post-PAO) linked to an identified quantum ₹33,80,87,617/- claimed as proceeds of crime – Held: With statutory appeals under Section 26 PMLA pending and PMLA...