Criminal Law – Murder – Acquittal – Interference by Appellate Court – Appellant along with four co-accused charged under Section 302 read with Section 34 IPC for murder – Trial Court acquitted all accused holding prosecution failed to prove case beyond reasonable doubt – State appealed – High Court maintained acquittal of four accused but reversed acquitta...
Criminal Law – Murder – Political Rivalry – Conviction under Section 302 IPC – Members of rival political factions attacked the deceased with axes and sickles, causing fatal injuries – Multiple assailants involved in coordinated group assault – Medical evidence confirmed that injuries inflicted were sufficient to cause death – Trial court and High Court fo...
Criminal Law – Murder - Circumstantial Evidence – Last Seen Together – Appellant alleged to have taken deceased from his home along with co-accused and later found near scene of murder – Prosecution relied on last-seen theory based on testimonies of PW1 (mother) and PW2 (sister-in-law) – Supreme Court found material contradictions in their statements, particularly reg...
Criminal Law – Murder – Circumstantial Evidence – Acquittal Confirmed – Accused No. 1 alleged to have conspired with co-accused to murder in-laws – Conviction by Trial Court reversed by High Court – Supreme Court held extra-judicial confession made to PW6 (son-in-law of deceased) unreliable, especially when relations were strained and there was no prior communic...
Criminal Law – Rape and Murder of Minor – Conviction Set Aside – Appellant was convicted and sentenced to death for kidnapping, raping, and murdering a 7-year-old girl – Trial court’s conviction confirmed by the High Court – Supreme Court set aside conviction due to glaring lapses in investigation, procedural violations, and unreliability of circumstantial evide...
Criminal Procedure – Recall and Review – High Court’s Jurisdiction – No Power to Review Order Under Section 482 CrPC / Section 528 BNSS – High Court allowed transfer of investigation to CBI after recalling its earlier reasoned order that only directed fair investigation by police – Supreme Court held: Recalling earlier order amounted to review, which is impermis...
NDPS Act – Section 42 – Mandatory or Directory – Compliance Requirement – Constitutional Bench Clarification – Conflict between Abdul Rashid Ibrahim Mansuri and Sajan Abraham resolved – Held: Total non-compliance with Section 42 impermissible – Delayed compliance with satisfactory explanation permissible – Compliance with Section 42(1) and 42(2) shou...
Criminal Procedure Code – Section 482 – Inherent Powers – Quashing of FIR – Territorial Jurisdiction – Abuse of Process – Marriage between parties solemnized in India but matrimonial life and alleged offences occurred in Canada—FIR lodged in India by complainant’s father, a Canadian resident and retired police officer, alleging dowry misappropriation...
Criminal Law – Murder – Appeal Against Acquittal – Standard of Review – Trial court acquitted appellants accused of stabbing deceased following a dispute over money—High Court reversed acquittal and convicted under Sections 302/34 IPC and 4/25 Arms Act—Supreme Court held that the trial court’s view was plausible based on inconsistencies in eyewitness testi...
Electricity Act – Theft of Energy – Presumption under Section 39 – Use of Artificial Means Not Established – Reversal of Acquittal Unwarranted – Accused, a company director, was convicted by High Court under Sections 39 and 44 of the Indian Electricity Act on the basis of alleged tampering with the meter box and abnormal electricity consumption – Supre...