Criminal Law - Appeal Allowed – Conviction under Section 302 IPC and Sections 25, 27 Arms Act set aside – Courts below erred in relying on doubtful recovery evidence – Prosecution failed to establish chain of custody of cartridges, bullets and pistol – Recovery from open space near place of occurrence not credible – Several discrepancies in investigation corroded pros...
Criminal Law – Murder/Attempt to Murder – Appeals Partly Allowed – Incident of 31.07.1977 over “Khajiha” land; deceased Pratap Singh suffered a single sharp-edged head blow (kanta) allegedly by Raja Ram; appellant Dashrath fired twice but missed; other injuries to both sides – Trial Court convicted Raja Ram under Section 302 IPC and Dashrath under Section 302/34...
Criminal Law - Dowry Death – Section 304B IPC – Section 113B Evidence Act – Conviction Affirmed – Deceased married about 2½ years before death – harassment and demand for dowry (including TV) proved – she left matrimonial home, returned after panchayat settlement two months prior to death – death by burns on 13.10.1988 not under normal circumstances...
Criminal Law – Registration of Counter FIR – Appellant’s complaint arising from the same incident as that of respondent’s FIR was not entertained by police – Appellant invoked Section 156(3) CrPC – Magistrate directed registration and investigation – Sessions Court and High Court set aside Magistrate’s order citing T.T. Antony v. State of Kerala and ...
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 ...
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 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 – Murder & Attempt to Murder – Sections 302/149 & 307/149 IPC – Common Object – Convictions Affirmed in Part – Multiple accused tried for triple homicide following a village dispute; trial court convicted; High Court partly acquitted and treated one accused as juvenile; Supreme Court upheld convictions of five appellants and acquitted Raj Pal for ...
Regular Bail – Sexual Offences – Allegations Under IPC Sections 376, 377, 384, etc. – Bail Granted - The appellant was accused of serious offences including rape, blackmail, and assault by a woman nearly twice his age – The FIR was followed by a charge sheet including multiple IPC provisions – The High Court had rejected regular bail – Supreme Court noted interi...
Criminal Law – NDPS Act – Ganja Seizure – Enhancement of Sentence – Respondent found in alleged possession of 1.7 kg of Ganja – Seizure included seeds and leaves – FSL Report confirmed presence of flowering tops but also noted seeds and leaf matter – Held: Under Section 2(iii)(b) of NDPS Act, Ganja excludes seeds and leaves unless accompanied by flowering ...