Criminal Law – Abetment of Suicide – Quashing of FIR – Scope of Section 482 CrPC – Applicants sought quashing of FIR registered under Section 306 read with Section 34 IPC alleging that mere utterance of insulting words does not amount to “abetment” – Court examined statutory scheme under Sections 306, 107 and 108 IPC and settled principles governing &ldquo...
Railways Act – Offence under Section 143(1)(b) – Illegal Sale of Railway Tickets – Conviction Upheld – Petitioner apprehended by RPF while in possession of two Tatkal tickets not in his name – Unable to offer explanation for possession – Witness testimony of RPF officials and PRS clerk corroborated seizure and conduct – Trial and appellate court upheld con...
Criminal Law – Dowry Death – Acquittal Reversed – Reinstatement of Conviction – Young bride burned to death within a year of marriage due to repeated dowry demands for TV, motorcycle, and ₹15,000 – Trial Court convicted husband (Ajmal) and mother-in-law (Jamila) under Sections 304-B, 498-A IPC and Sections 3/4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act – High Court acquitte...
Criminal Law – Bail – Cancellation – Anticipatory bail granted by Sessions Judge and confirmed by ACJM in serious offence of abduction and murder – Opposite party, a WBCS officer, allegedly masterminded the act using official vehicle and position – High Court held that anticipatory bail was granted without considering gravity of offence and role of accused – Bai...
Criminal Law – Murder – Circumstantial Evidence – Acquittal – Accused convicted for murdering his wife with the help of others and mutilating the body to destroy evidence – Trial Court relied on last seen theory, motive of extramarital affair, and recovery of knife – High Court held that prosecution failed to establish a complete chain of circumstantial evidence...
Criminal Law – Juvenility – First-time claim before Supreme Court – Appellant No. 2, Ganesh Yadav, underwent ossification test which estimated his age as 19 years at the time of offence – Relying on precedent in Jaya Mala v. Home Secretary, court allowed a margin of error of 2 years – Held: Ganesh Yadav was 17 years old at the time of the offence and entitled to benef...
Criminal Law – Criminal Revision – Abatement – Substitution – On death of informant who had filed a criminal revision against partial discharge of accused, High Court held revision abated and denied substitution of the informant’s son – Held: No provision in Cr.P.C. for abatement of criminal revisions unlike appeals – Once revision is entertained, court ma...
Criminal Law – Murder of Police Officers – Extremist Ambush – Conviction – Appellants part of Maoist group that ambushed and killed six police personnel including SP, Pakur – Testimony of injured eye-witnesses PW-30 (bodyguard) and PW-31 (driver) found credible and corroborated by prompt FIR and medical evidence – Held: Injured eye-witnesses identified appellant...
Criminal Law – Murder – Common Intention – Evidence of Eye-witnesses – Conviction Upheld – Appellants convicted under Sections 302/34, 324/34, and 325/34 IPC for murdering a 13-year-old boy and grievously injuring his father and other family members – Trial Court convicted 3 out of 8 accused – High Court found that all three convicted accused acted with co...
Criminal Law – Murder – Reversal of Acquittal – High Court reversed acquittal of five accused (A-1 to A-4 and A-10) and sentenced them to life imprisonment under Section 302 read with Section 34 IPC – Conviction based on consistent eyewitness testimony, corroborated by medical and forensic evidence, and supported by circumstantial links such as weapon recovery and sniffer d...