Juvenile Justice - Determination of Age - Trial as Adult – The Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) ordered the petitioner, accused of rape and penetrative sexual assault, to be tried as an adult after a preliminary assessment of his mental and physical capacity. The petitioner challenged this order, contending that he was under 16 years of age at the time of the alleged offence. Held, a combined re...
Criminal breach of trust - Ingredients - Proof of entrustment - Acquittal of accused - Challenge against - In the present case, the prosecution alleged that the accused had misappropriated a quantity of paddy belonging to the Food Corporation of India (FCI) - The prosecution failed to prove the entrustment of the property or dominion over the property with the accused - The internal inquiry conduc...
Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 - Section 482 - Quashing of FIR - Offences under Sections 283 and 427 of IPC - FIR registered against the petitioners for operating a car workshop in a residential area - Petitioners sought quashing of the FIR and all proceedings arising from it - Counsel for petitioners argued that the FIR was registered due to multiple litigations with the landlord and that the offe...
Criminal Law - Appeal against Conviction and Acquittal - Sections 324, 307 IPC - Delay in FIR registration, absence of independent witnesses, and motive are critical factors - Inordinate and unexplained delay of five days in registering the FIR - Prosecution's failure to explain delay undermines credibility - Absence of independent witnesses despite the incident occurring in a populated area -...
Bail Conditions - Modification - Furnishing of Local Surety - Jurisdiction - Violation of Article 14 of the Constitution - The petitioner, a resident of Uttar Pradesh, seeks modification of the bail condition requiring a local surety with immovable property within the jurisdiction of the trial court in Chandigarh. The petitioner argues that his relatives have immovable property in SAS Nagar, Mohal...
Bail - Anticipatory Bail - Grant of - Conditions - FIR registered against the petitioner under Section 306 IPC - Petitioner apprehending arrest - Petitioner being a first-time offender with no criminal antecedents - Custodial investigation and pre-trial incarceration causing irreparable injustice – Prima facie analysis of the nature of allegations does not justify custodial or pre-trial inca...
Criminal Law - Forgery and Signature Comparison - Petition under Section 482 CrPC - Allegations of forgery in obtaining an electricity connection - Signatures of respondent already compared by handwriting expert and FSL official - Application to summon additional documents for comparison dismissed by Trial Court - Court slow to base opinion on mere comparison of disputed documents - Petition dismi...
Criminal Law - Quashing of Summoning Order - Petition under Sections 210 and 482 CrPC - Summoning order found to be flawed - Magistrate failed to apply mind to the facts of the case and the applicable law - Cancellation report not considered - Summoning order must reflect judicial application of mind - Impugned order set aside and case remitted to Magistrate for fresh consideration. [Paras 1-17]
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CRIMINAL LAW - Murder - Prosecution's case based on eyewitness testimony - Doubts and discrepancies in the prosecution's case - Failure to establish the accused's presence at the scene - Weaknesses in the motive aspect - Contradictions in the timing of events - Non-existent or doubtful documentary evidence - Lack of medical examination to corroborate arrest and injuries - Inadequate re...
Default Bail - Sect. 167(2) Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 - Sect. 18, 21C, 22C, 29, 36, and 36A(4) Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 - Filing of challan without Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) report - Whether incomplete challan - Grant of default bail - Petitioner apprehended with commercial quantity of medical intoxicants - Challan filed without FSL report within statu...