Criminal Law - Maintainability of FIR under PNDT Act – Petition under Section 482 CrPC challenging FIR – FIR registered for offences under PNDT Act, 1994 – Held, FIR is maintainable for offences under the Act – For taking cognizance, report under Section 173 CrPC must be accompanied by a complaint from the appropriate authority as per Section 28 of the Act – Petition ...
Bail Under UAPA – Section 43D(5) – Stringency and Prolonged Incarceration – Appellant denied bail under Section 439 CrPC – Held, UAPA’s Section 43D(5) conditions less stringent than NDPS Act – Appellant in custody for nearly 8 years – Trial progress slow with only 6 of 109 witnesses examined – Prolonged incarceration considered significant – Ba...
Suspension of Sentence – Pendency of Appeal – Sections 354, 363 IPC and Section 8 of POCSO Act – Appellant convicted for kidnapping and outraging the modesty of a 9-year-old – Trial Court awarded concurrent sentences under IPC and POCSO Act – High Court denied suspension of sentence – Supreme Court allowed appeal noting maximum sentence of three years and delay ...
Criminal Law – Sentencing – Appeal against the High Court's reduction of the sentence of Banwari Lal, convicted under Section 307 IPC, from three years' rigorous imprisonment to the period already undergone (44 days) – High Court's order reducing sentence held unsustainable due to lack of consideration of the gravity of the offense and the nature of injuries – S...
Criminal Law - Principles for Parole and Furlough – Grant of Furlough During Elections – Petitioner challenges the order granting furlough to Gurmit Ram Rahim Singh, accused of rape and murder, especially during the Assembly Elections in Punjab – Court holds that furlough is intended to break the monotony of imprisonment and can be granted without specific reasons, but should con...
Criminal Procedure – Interlocutory Order – Travel Abroad – Sections 482, 397(2) Cr.P.C. – Petition for setting aside order declining permission to travel abroad – Order qualifies as interlocutory, barring revision under Section 397(2) – Petition under Section 482 maintainable – Petitioner a permanent resident of Australia, previously granted permission to ...
Preventive Detention – Standard for Public Order – Detention order under Section 3(2) of the Telangana Prevention of Dangerous Activities Act, 1986 challenged – Supreme Court held that a mere apprehension of a breach of law and order is insufficient to meet the standard of adversely affecting the "maintenance of public order" – Detention order based on stale mater...
Probation – Sections 3 and 4 of the Probation of Offenders Act empower courts to release offenders on probation of good conduct in specific cases and circumstances. Similarly, Sections 360 and 361 of the Cr.P.C. also empower courts to release offenders on probation of good conduct. Considering the sentence imposed by the lower courts on the appellants for the offence under Section 379 read w...
Security Cheque – Rejection of Plaint – Plaintiff sought a declaration that the cheque issued was only for security and not for consideration, aiming to prevent proceedings under the Negotiable Instruments Act – Supreme Court held that such a declaration cannot be granted as it would contravene the provisions of the N.I. Act, particularly Section 118(a), which presumes that every...
Dying Declaration – Reliance on Evidence – Supreme Court held that the non-recovery of the weapon used in the crime does not invalidate reliance on a dying declaration – Conviction based on dying declaration upheld where it was recorded by a credible authority and established the respondent's participation in the unlawful assembly [Paras 6-7, 9].
Defective Framin...