Criminal Law - Dowry Harassment – Conviction under Sections 306 and 498A IPC – Evidence Found Unreliable – Acquittal Ordered – Appellants were convicted of abetting suicide and subjecting deceased to cruelty over dowry and property demands – Prosecution relied primarily on testimonies of mother, brother and relatives of the deceased – Held: Evidence was either i...
Criminal Law – Appeal Against Acquittal – Multiple Murders – Family Dispute Over Property – Reversal of Conviction by High Court – Upheld – Allegation that respondents killed five relatives including mother, grandmother, sister and niece over inheritance issue – Trial court convicted three respondents and sentenced them to death based on testimony of two e...
Criminal Law - Dowry Death – Reversal of Acquittal Set Aside – Entire prosecution case based on circumstantial evidence in alleged murder of wife by husband and mother-in-law – High Court reversed acquittal based on inference that accused throttled the deceased and set her on fire to destroy evidence – Held: Circumstantial chain incomplete – Key links such as escape r...
Criminal Law – Quashing of Complaint – Section 197 CrPC – Protection to Public Servants – Sanction Mandatory – Acts Related to Discharge of Official Duty – Held: When public servants are accused of committing acts in purported discharge of their official duties, prosecution cannot be initiated without prior sanction under Section 197 – The search, seizure ...
Criminal Law - Appeal allowed – Conviction under Sections 302, 364, 323/34 IPC set aside – Courts below erred in relying on purported dying declaration which was unproved, unreliable and contradicted by medical evidence – Prosecution failed to establish kidnapping, murder or assault – Benefit of doubt extended to appellants – Accused Hamir Singh directed to be release...
Criminal Lawl – Conviction under Sections 302/34 IPC – Article 136 of the Constitution – Appellants convicted for murder based on eye-witness testimony of PWs 2 and 3 – Plea of faulty investigation and reliance on inimical witnesses raised – Held: Defective investigation does not by itself vitiate trial if prosecution evidence is credible – Conviction upheld [Pa...
Criminal Law – TADA Conviction Upheld – Acquittal of Co-accused Maintained – The Court upheld the conviction of Esher Singh under Section 4 of TADA for advocating the Khalistan movement and inciting communal hatred – Confessional statement of deceased co-accused A-5 held inadmissible – Appeals by State and victim’s son against acquittal of other accused for cons...
Criminal Law - Conviction without specific charge – Sections 222 & 464 CrPC – Conflict resolved – Accused charged under Section 302 IPC; High Court found 302 not made out but declined to convict under Section 306 for want of charge relying on Sangaraboina Sreenu – Held: Section 464 CrPC permits conviction for an uncharged offence if no “failure of justice”; ...
Criminal Law – Murder – Section 302 IPC read with Section 34 – Conviction Affirmed – Deceased stabbed four times by A-1 while A-2 and A-3 (appellants) held his hands; trial court and High Court relied on related eyewitnesses (PWs 1–3) and sustained conviction – Held: Concurrent findings call for no interference; appeals dismissed [Paras 1-3, 6, 17-18].
Eyewit...
NDPS Act – Acquittal Set Aside – Conviction Restored – Accused found transporting 73 bags of poppy husk (each 18 kg) in a tanker intercepted on highway by patrolling police – Trial court convicted under Section 15 of NDPS Act – High Court acquitted citing non-compliance with Sections 42 and 50 of NDPS Act – Held: High Court erred – Search was of a vehicle ...