Bail – NDPS Act – Possession of Intermediate Quantity – Long Incarceration Without Trial – Bail Granted – The petitioner was arrested for offences under Sections 21 and 29 of the NDPS Act, alleging recovery of 16.01 grams of heroin – He has remained in custody since 31.07.2023 – Co-accused released on bail – Trial not commenced; no witness examined d...
Criminal Law – Sections 323, 325, 341 IPC – Conviction Upheld – Sentence Reduced - Petitioners were convicted for causing hurt and wrongful restraint – Sentenced to 2 years’ rigorous imprisonment with fines – Revision petitions filed after dismissal of appeals – Held: Findings of conviction not perverse – However, considering that petitioners underwe...
Criminal Law – Sections 363, 366, 342 of the IPC and Section 6 of the POCSO Act Aggravated Penetrative Sexual Assault – Sentence Reduction – Appellants convicted under Section 6 of the POCSO Act for committing aggravated penetrative sexual assault – Trial Court sentenced them to life imprisonment for the remainder of their natural life – High Court affirmed conviction...
Criminal Law - Bail – Section 302, 323, 427, 34, 120B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) - Grant of Bail in Heinous Crime – Parameters of Judicial Discretion – Bail Cancelled – The Supreme Court set aside the High Court’s order granting bail to the accused in a case involving murder charges under Section 302 IPC – The Court found that the High Court had failed to ad...
FIR Quashing – False Promise of Marriage – No Prima Facie Case – FIR Quashed - Successive FIRs by complainant alleged sexual exploitation under promise of marriage – Court found allegations inconsistent and exaggerated – Prior FIR omitted earlier alleged incidents – Held: FIR was a gross abuse of process and continuation of prosecution would be travesty of justi...
Criminal Law – Murder - Sections 302, 404 IPC – Appeal Against Conviction - Circumstantial Evidence – Five Golden Principles – Sharad Birdhichand Sarda principles reiterated – Guilt must be fully established by conclusive circumstances – Chain of evidence must exclude every other hypothesis except guilt of the accused [Paras 6.1-6.2].
Murder Trial &...
Criminal Writ - Transfer of Investigation – Request to Hand Over to CBI – No Prima Facie Case – Petition Dismissed – The petitioner, accused under Sections 419, 420 IPC and Section 66D IT Act, sought transfer of investigation to CBI, alleging malafide intent by police due to prior disputes involving her husband – Held: Merely being an accused does not confer right to ...
Criminal Law - Right to Privacy – Right to Be Forgotten – Digital Erasure Post Acquittal – Petitioner, a corporate professional, had been falsely implicated in a cyber crime FIR which was subsequently quashed – Despite exoneration and discharge of sureties, his name continued to reflect on court portals, affecting employment opportunities – Held: Once proceedings are ...
Criminal Writ – PIL – Allegation of Fraudulent Cost Escalation – Prima Facie Rejected – Petitioner, a former MLA and PAC Chairman, alleged wrongful revision of estimates in PRRLIS causing Rs. 2,426.07 crores loss to public exchequer – Supreme Court upheld the High Court’s dismissal of the writ petition – Held: Allegations required factual adjudication not ...
Criminal Law – Murder - Circumstantial Evidence – Standards for Conviction – Chain of Circumstances Incomplete – Conviction Set Aside - In a case resting on circumstantial evidence, the prosecution must establish all circumstances conclusively and exclude any hypothesis consistent with the innocence of the accused – The prosecution failed to establish the identity of ...