Bail Application – Custodial Detention – Section 439 CrPC – Bail Granted - The petitioner sought bail, asserting prolonged detention and lack of specific evidence linking him to the alleged offences of wrongful confinement, assault, and murder – The State opposed bail, citing witness statements recorded under Section 164 CrPC and the chargesheet naming eight accused, includ...
Murder Trial – Circumstantial Evidence – Acquittal Upheld - The State appealed against the trial court’s acquittal of Kamal Bahadur, contending that circumstantial evidence and witness testimonies supported conviction – The court reviewed the evidence, including alleged bloodstains on the accused's clothing and witness statements, which were found insufficient...
Criminal Law – Quashing of Complaint – Allegations of Forgery and False Representation in Property Documents – partially allowed - Application under Section 482 of CrPC – Petition filed by Accused Nos. 1 to 13 to quash the complaint in C.C. No. 2/2023 under Sections 465, 468 IPC and Section 82 of the Registration Act, alleging false documentation to depict public pathways a...
Criminal Law – Conviction on Basis of Hostile Witness Testimony – Appellants Suresh Mehto and Rajnarayan @ Rajkumar Mehto were convicted for the murder of Pradeep Kumar Paswan. Conviction was primarily based on statements recorded under Section 164 Cr.P.C. by witnesses who later turned hostile. The Court held that such statements are not substantive evidence and can only be used for co...
Bail - Money Laundering – Scholarship Scam – Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) – Bail Denied - The applicant, Rajdeep Singh, sought bail under Section 483 of the BNSS, asserting innocence and challenging his continued detention in a case of alleged involvement in misappropriating scholarship funds – The Enforcement Directorate (ED) contended that Singh and accomplic...
Criminal Writ - Preventive Detention – Legality of Repeated Detention on Identical Grounds – Appellant contested the detention order dated 23.02.2024, arguing it was based on grounds identical to those in a prior detention order quashed by the court – Held: Issuing a fresh detention order on the same grounds previously quashed lacks legal basis unless fresh, substantial grounds a...
Criminal Law – Conviction for Murder and Cruelty – Appeal by husband and father-in-law against their conviction for murder (Section 302/34 IPC) and cruelty (Section 498-A IPC) – Conviction based on dying declaration recorded in presence of police and doctor – Appellate court evaluates evidence, including inconsistencies in witness statements and procedural irregularities &n...
Anticipatory Bail – SC/ST Act – Rejection of anticipatory bail by the High Court under Section 438 CrPC for offences under Sections 3(1)(r) and 3(1)(u) of the SC/ST Act – Appellant allegedly insulted and humiliated the complainant, a Scheduled Caste MLA, by publishing defamatory content on social media – Supreme Court held that Section 18 of the SC/ST Act imposes a bar on a...
Narcotics Law – Bail Application for Commercial Quantity of Cannabis – Extended Detention Under Section 36A(4) NDPS Act – Petition for regular bail under Sections 480 and 483 of BNSS due to procedural lapses in handling detention beyond 180 days and irregular sample verification – Petitioner alleged that procedural violations, including failure to involve a Magistrate in sa...
Criminal Law – Murder Conviction – Acquittal – Appellants convicted under Section 302 r/w 34 IPC for the murder of deceased by attacking him with wooden logs – Trial court sentenced appellants to life imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs. 10,000 each – On appeal, the High Court found that the evidence of the key prosecution witness (PW1) was unreliable, with contradi...