Dowry Death – Section 304B IPC – Essential Ingredients – Deceased died due to burns within 7 years of marriage – Consistent statements by PW-1 (father), PW-2 (mother), and DW-3 (sister of deceased) established harassment and dowry demand for Rs. 5,000 and items like TV and fridge – Held: Prosecution established that cruelty occurred “soon before her death”...
Criminal Law – Foreigners Act – Sentence Modification – Section 14 – Conviction Upheld – Sentence Reduced – Appellant convicted under Section 14 of the Foreigners Act, 1946 for rendering assistance to a Pakistani national accused of illegal stay – Trial Court sentenced him to two years’ rigorous imprisonment with fine – Appellant did not challe...
Criminal Law – Murder – Conviction Based on Sole Eye-Witness – Appellant convicted for killing his wife and son and injuring another son with a knife – Conviction based mainly on testimony of surviving son (PW-1), corroborated by immediate post-incident disclosure to neighbours – Held: Testimony of PW-1 was natural, consistent and credible – Other prosecution wi...
Criminal Law – Abetment of Suicide – Framing of Charge – Suicide by law student following false accusation of theft – Appellant, a retired IPS officer serving as university security officer, was summoned under Section 306 IPC despite no allegation in the suicide note – FIR did not name appellant – Suicide note specifically blamed another student and faculty head...
Criminal Law – Common Intention – Section 34 IPC – Constructive Liability – Appellants accused of dragging deceased from station platform to Peepal tree where co-accused fired fatal shots – Eyewitnesses (PWs 1, 3, and 4) consistently deposed that accused were armed and acted jointly in furtherance of shared plan – Held: Active participation in commission of offe...
Negotiable Instruments Act – Section 148 – Deposit of Minimum 20% Compensation – Discretion of Appellate Court – Applicants challenged order of First Appellate Court directing deposit of 20% of cheque amount while granting suspension of sentence under Section 389 Cr.P.C. – Contention: requirement not mandatory and could not be imposed after suspension of sentence &nda...
Criminal Law – Kidnapping – Rape – Unnatural Offences – Conviction Restored – Appellant took 15-year-old minor to another city and subjected her to forcible sexual and anal intercourse – Trial Court acquitted appellant – High Court reversed acquittal and convicted under Sections 363, 366, 376, and 377 IPC – Held: As victim was a minor, her consent is...
Criminal Law – Quashing of Proceedings – Scope of Interference under Section 482 CrPC – High Court’s “Mini Trial” Deprecated – High Court quashed complaint alleging fabrication of caste certificate by holding that accused acted out of “legal illiteracy” and no criminality was made out – Supreme Court held such findings conjectural and imp...
Criminal Law – Kidnapping and Rape of Minor – POCSO – SC/ST Act s.3(2)(v) – Conviction Upheld – Victim’s testimony held trustworthy and consistent with statement under Section 164 CrPC – Her version that accused took her to forest and forcibly committed intercourse found reliable – Minor contradictions and omissions immaterial – Age proved thro...
Criminal Law – Murder and Dowry Death – Circumstantial Evidence – False Defence – Conviction Restored – Deceased Pushpa found dead inside matrimonial home – Accused (father-in-law) lodged false report alleging electrocution – Medical evidence proved death by strangulation; burn injuries were post-mortem – Supreme Court held that the High Court erred ...