Criminal Law – Murder - Appeal against conviction - Extra-Judicial Confession – Admissibility under Section 8 of Evidence Act – Confession Voluntarily Made – Conviction Upheld – Appellant confessed to killing his wife before village chowkidar and other witnesses, then surrendered at the police station with blood-stained Gandasa and a country-made pistol – Such c...
Bail – Anticipatory Bail in Economic Offences – Orders Set Aside – SFIO challenged anticipatory bail granted to several accused by the High Court despite earlier non-bailable warrants and proclamation orders issued by the Special Court – Held: High Court erred in granting anticipatory bail ignoring mandatory provisions under Section 212(6) of the Companies Act and repeated ...
Criminal Law - Murder – Eyewitness Testimony – Conviction Upheld – Presence Proved – Appellant assaulted his brother with a trident and bamboo lathi, packed the body in a gunny bag, and disposed of it in a jungle – Held: Evidence of P.W.13 and P.W.16, corroborated by recovery of the body and medical testimony, proved the crime beyond doubt [Paras 6, 8-10].
Dying De...
Unlawful Activities – Bail under UAPA – Long Incarceration – Bail Granted - Appellant, accused of involvement in ISIS-related recruitment and conspiracy, was in custody since 02.08.2023 – Charge not yet framed and further investigation ongoing – Court considered prolonged incarceration, bleak chances of trial commencement, and parity with similarly placed co-accused w...
Criminal Law - Murder – Appeal against conviction - Circumstantial Evidence – Double Homicide of Couple – Acquittal Granted - Accused convicted of killing a man (Sharafat) and a woman (Soni) due to alleged illicit relationship – High Court found prosecution failed to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt – Alleged eyewitnesses turned hostile; motive insufficient –...
Criminal Law – Appeal against Quashing of FIR Preliminary Enquiry – Not Mandatory Before Registering FIR – Source Report Sufficient – The High Court quashed the FIR for lack of preliminary enquiry – Held: Under Section 17 of the PC Act, preliminary enquiry is not mandatory where detailed source information is already available and considered by a Superintendent of Pol...
Criminal Law - Appeal Against Conviction - Section 306 IPC - Abetment of Suicide – Essential Ingredients Not Proved – Conviction Set Aside - Appellant convicted for abetting wife’s suicide based on evidence of old disputes, extra-marital allegations, and complaints – Supreme Court held prosecution failed to prove instigation, conspiracy, or intentional aid under Section 107...
Criminal Law – Quashing - Copyright Infringement – Section 63 of Copyright Act – Mens Rea Essential – Proceedings Quashed - Accused were directors of a publishing company that printed a book allegedly plagiarizing respondent's blog – Held: To constitute offence under Section 63, publication must be done “knowingly” – No material in complaint indi...
Criminal Law - Dowry Death – Acquittal Upheld – Failure to Prove Demand or Cruelty – Appeal Dismissed – The appellant challenged acquittal in a case involving death of his daughter allegedly due to dowry-related cruelty – Trial court found no evidence of dowry demand or proof of homicidal or suicidal death – Prosecution witnesses failed to support allegations du...
Criminal Law – Appeal against conviction - Sections 363, 366A, and 376(2)(f) of IPC - Testimony of Child Victim – Credibility and Sufficiency – Conviction Upheld – Victim aged 4 at the time of incident and 8 during testimony – Despite lapse of four years, her account was clear, consistent and identified the accused without hesitation – Her version corroborated b...