Right to Fair Trial – Denial of Legal Assistance – Violation of Article 21 – Retrial Ordered – The appellant contended that he was deprived of the right to legal assistance during the trial as his counsel did not appear, and he was asked to cross-examine the witnesses himself, despite his lack of legal expertise. The Court found that the trial was not conducted fairly, as t...
Condonation of Delay – Criminal Appeal – Section 21 of NIA Act – Appellant sought condonation of a delay of 186 days in filing the appeal against the rejection of bail – The delay was attributed to the appellant's financial inability to engage counsel in time – Held: Relying on judicial precedents, the right to appeal is fundamental to personal liberty under Artic...
Vicarious Liability – Section 141 of the NI Act – Quashing of Proceedings – Petition Allowed – The petitioners, wives of the directors of M/s RBT Pvt. Ltd., were summoned for the dishonour of cheques issued by the company. They sought quashing of the complaint on the grounds that they were merely described as managers without any specific averments of their role in the busi...
Negligence – Bank Liability – Cheque Forgery – The first appellate court found the bank negligent for clearing cheques with forged signatures of the plaintiff's Managing Director without proper verification – The trial court dismissed the suit for insufficient evidence, but the appellate court reversed this, holding the bank responsible for negligence in comparing the s...
Murder – Conspiracy and Common Intention – Section 302 read with 120B IPC – Conviction Affirmed – The appellants were convicted for the murder of the deceased, Ramchandra Jha, based on the testimonies of eyewitnesses (P.W.-1 and P.W.-6), who identified the appellants as the perpetrators – The court upheld the conviction, noting the clear role each appellant played in ...
Criminal Law – Murder Conviction – Partial Acquittal – Two separate criminal appeals were heard together – Appellants accused of killing two victims, Brij Bihari Prasad, a legislator, and his bodyguard, at IGIMS hospital, Patna – Trial court had convicted the appellants for offences under Sections 302 and 307 IPC – High Court acquitted several accused, finding i...
Criminal Conspiracy – Section 120B IPC – Insufficient Proof of Conspiracy – The trial court convicted the appellants under Section 120B IPC for criminal conspiracy to wage war against the Government of India – The High Court set aside the conviction, holding that the prosecution failed to establish sufficient independent evidence proving a conspiracy beyond the accused'...
Criminal Law – Conviction under POCSO Act – The appellant was convicted under Section 7/8 of the POCSO Act for pressing the chest of a minor girl with sexual intent – Appellant contended that the prosecution’s case was based on contradictory evidence and the child’s testimony lacked corroboration – Held: The prosecutrix’s testimony, corroborated by her par...
Criminal Law – Conviction for Attempt to Murder – The appellants were convicted under Sections 307/149 IPC for assaulting the complainant, causing the amputation of his right hand palm – Appellants argued that the injury was not fatal and was caused by a single blow to a non-vital part of the body – Held: The court reduced the conviction from Section 307 to Section 326 IPC,...
Criminal Law – Bail – Section 439 Cr.P.C. – Petitioner sought regular bail for being falsely implicated in the offense of possessing stolen mobile phones – Prosecution alleged that the petitioner was caught near an electricity pole with stolen mobile phones based on a secret informer’s tip – Held: The petitioner has been in custody for over 4 months, and no furt...