Criminal Law – Right of Private Defence – Applicability and Excess – The accused-respondents were initially acquitted by the trial court for charges under Sections 302, 307, 324, 323, IPC, among others. The High Court analyzed the right of private defence under Sections 96 to 106 of the IPC, emphasizing that while individuals are entitled to defend themselves, the force used must...
Criminal Law – Murder Conviction – Eyewitness Testimony – Appellant convicted for murder under Section 302 IPC – Informant, Sonmuni Baskey, provided direct eyewitness testimony – Conviction upheld despite the lack of motive and the non-submission of the weapon to forensic analysis – Court found no discrepancy in the identification of the accused despite poor lig...
Criminal Law – Exemption from Appearance – Petition under Section 482 Cr.P.C. against the rejection of an application under Section 317 Cr.P.C. for exemption from personal appearance – Petitioner unable to appear in court due to attending uncle's funeral – Trial court rejected exemption due to lack of immediate proof of death – High Court sets aside trial court...
Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 – Conviction and Sentence – Appeal – Non-compliance with Section 52A – Conviction and sentence of the appellant set aside due to non-compliance with mandatory provisions of Section 52A of the NDPS Act, which requires the preparation of an inventory, and drawing of samples in the presence of a Magistrate – Held that ...
Passport Law – Renewal of Passport – Special Criminal Application seeking renewal of passport – Applicant’s passport renewal denied by passport authority due to pending criminal case and untraceable court records – Court held that the pendency of a criminal complaint which culminated into a criminal case does not justify refusal of passport renewal under Section 6(2)(...
Criminal Law – Quashing of FIR and Charge-Sheet – Revisional application under Sections 482 and 401 Cr.P.C. – Petitioner’s marriage dissolved by mutual consent under Section 13B of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 – Continuation of criminal proceedings under Sections 498A/406 IPC deemed abuse of process – High Court’s inherent powers invoked to prevent miscarr...
Criminal Law – Dying Declaration – Appellants convicted based on dying declarations of deceased – Two dying declarations recorded, first by police in presence of doctor, second under Section 164 Cr.P.C. by Judicial Magistrate – Court scrutinized consistency and voluntariness of statements – Found statements reliable and made in fit state of mind – Deceased consi...
Criminal Law – Quashing of FIR and Charge-Sheet – Criminal Petition under Section 482 Cr.P.C. – FIR for molestation and threats – FIR No.0048 dated 25.06.2022 registered under Sections 452, 354 IPC, Sections 8 and 12 of POCSO Act, 2012, later including Sections 354-A and 195-A IPC – Petitioner alleged to have threatened the victim’s uncle to force compromise &nd...
Will – Proof and Validity – The petitioner sought to have his name mutated in the revenue records based on a Will executed by Phagulal Patel in favor of Dharmendra Sonkar. The Court emphasized that for a Will to be acted upon, it must be duly proved in accordance with the law. The petitioner failed to provide evidence proving the genuineness and validity of the Will. The Court highligh...
Criminal Law – Conviction under NDPS Act – Appeal against trial court's judgment convicting appellant for possession of 7 kg of 'charas' later identified as 'opium' – Alleged procedural lapses in compliance with mandatory provisions of Sections 50 and 52A NDPS Act – Safe custody of seized contraband not established – Discrepancies in forensic exami...