Criminal Law – Murder – Appellants convicted for causing death of Sher Singh by setting him on fire – Trial Court and High Court relied on two dying declarations made by the deceased – Supreme Court examines the reliability and validity of the dying declarations – Conviction upheld [Paras 1-30].
Dying Declarations – Reliability and Evidentiary Value...
Criminal Law – Suspension of Sentence – Appeal against the decision of the Punjab and Haryana High Court upholding the vacation of suspension of sentence due to non-compliance with the condition of deposit – Court finds Additional Sessions Judge acted within jurisdiction in declaring suspension vacated for non-compliance with deposit condition – Upholds mandatory deposit co...
Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) – Section 66 – Sharing of Information – Whether the ED exceeded its jurisdiction under Section 66(2) by sending a questionnaire to customers and compelling them to file complaints – Held, the ED's action of soliciting information was within its powers under the PMLA, and the questionnaire aimed to gather information about the pr...
Preventive Detention – Allegations of Mala Fide Action – The petitioner, a local journalist, was detained under the Jammu & Kashmir Public Safety Act, 1978, based on a dossier alleging his involvement in repeated criminal acts – The petitioner contended that the detention was mala fide, with the authorities portraying him falsely as a habitual offender by selectively referrin...
Criminal Law – POCSO Act – Charge Framing – Petition Allowed – Juvenile Justice – Impact of Juvenility on Prosecution - The petitioner argued that the period of alleged offenses, as per the prosecution, covered his period of juvenility - Annexure A8 (birth certificate) showed his date of birth as 23.09.1996, making him a juvenile until 23.09.2014 - Held: The court dir...
Juvenile Justice – Heinous Offences – Interpretation of 'heinous offences' under Section 2(33) of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 – Offences with maximum sentence more than 7 years but no minimum sentence or minimum sentence less than 7 years do not qualify as 'heinous offences' – Such offences are to be treated as 'serious offences' – Offences ...
Criminal Law – Sexual Assault – Conviction Set Aside: The appellant was accused of abducting a minor and sexually assaulting her. The prosecutrix claimed she was forcibly taken and raped. However, during cross-examination, her statements indicated that she was a consenting party. Held: The prosecutrix’s own testimony showed consent, and there were contradictions in her statements...
Criminal Law – Conviction and Sentencing – Conviction under Section 302 IPC challenged on the basis of the incident occurring on the spur of the moment – Conversion to Section 304 IPC sought – Incident involved altercation over excavation, leading to firing by appellant – High Court relied on eyewitness testimonies and medical evidence – Conviction under Section...
Environmental Law – Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) – Appeal against prohibition on development of resort – CRZ Notifications 1991, 2011, and 2019 apply to backwater islands – High Court's findings upheld – Islands classified under CRZ categories due to ecological sensitivity – No new construction permitted within 20 meters from HTL under CRZ 2019 – Appe...
Criminal Law – Forgery – Appeal against High Court decision affirming conviction under Sections 467 and 468 IPC – Appellant, a postman, accused of forging the signature of PW-2 on a delivery slip for a registered envelope containing Indira Vikas Patras – Prosecution evidence included testimony from complainant, denial of signature by PW-2, and reports from handwriting exper...