Criminal Law - Rape and Murder of Minor – Sections 302 and 376 of the IPC - Death Sentence Commuted to Life – Conviction Confirmed – Appellant was convicted for raping and murdering a 6-year-old girl and sentenced to death—Supreme Court upheld the conviction based on eyewitness testimony of child and adult witnesses and corroborative medical evidence—However, it held ...
Criminal Law - Dowry Death – Conviction Under Section 304B IPC Set Aside – Acquittal Ordered – Appeal Allowed – The appellant was convicted under Section 304B IPC for the death of his wife, who committed suicide within seven years of marriage – Supreme Court held that while the victim was mentally disturbed by the appellant’s immoral conduct, there was no credib...
Rape and Murder – Conviction Restored – Acquittal by High Court Set Aside – The respondent was convicted by the Sessions Court for raping and murdering a 3-year-old child but acquitted by the High Court – Supreme Court reversed the acquittal, holding the child witness testimonies reliable and corroborated by strong circumstantial evidence – Held: High Court erred in d...
Criminal Law - Murder – Conviction under Section 302 IPC – Eyewitness Evidence Reliable – Conviction Upheld – Appellant was convicted for strangulating a 19-year-old boy named Magan—Prosecution case rested on the eyewitness account of PW-1 Gauri (sister of the deceased) and PW-2 Jagla—Both testified seeing Lal Singh strangulate the deceased with a rope inside th...
Criminal Law - Rape and Murder of Minor – Conviction Set Aside – Acquittal Ordered – The appellant was convicted for rape and murder of a 5-year-old child and sentenced to death by the trial court—High Court upheld the conviction but commuted death sentence to life imprisonment—Supreme Court held that none of the circumstantial evidence established guilt beyond reason...
Criminal Law - Murder – Death Penalty Converted to Life – Circumstantial Evidence Corroborated by Confessional Statement – Accused Prakash Patil convicted for murdering six family members including his brother, mother, and nieces over a land dispute – Court relied on motive, recovery of blood-stained clothes and shoes, medical evidence of gun impact injury, and escape from ...
Criminal Law - Prevention of Corruption Act – Bar on Stay of Trial – Section 19(3)(c) – Appeal Dismissed – The appellant challenged an order refusing to stay trial under the Prevention of Corruption Act, invoking inherent powers under Section 482 CrPC – Held: Section 19(3)(c) clearly bars stay of proceedings under the Act “on any ground” – High Court...
Criminal Law - Dowry Harassment – Conviction Under 498A IPC Upheld – Other Charges Unfounded – Appeals Partly Allowed – The appellants were convicted by the trial court under Sections 116/306 and 498A IPC, which the High Court modified to 116/304B and enhanced the sentence – The Supreme Court held that conviction under 116/304B was unsustainable as no death occurred, ...
Criminal Law – Murder – IPC Sections 302, 307, 109 – Appeal Allowed – Conviction set aside – Appellant convicted for firing fatal shot at deceased, while co-accused acquitted by High Court – Ballistic expert’s report directly contradicted eye-witness version on weapons used – High Court disbelieved oral evidence for acquitted accused but accepted sam...
Criminal Law – Conviction under Section 302 IPC – Eyewitness Evidence Accepted – Minor Contradictions Not Material – Appeal Dismissed – The appellants were convicted for the murder of Ramdeo Singh based on multiple eyewitness testimonies establishing that the deceased was shot in public by co-accused at the instigation of appellant Sukhdev Yadav – The Court foun...