NDPS Act – Section 42 – Mandatory or Directory – Compliance Requirement – Constitutional Bench Clarification – Conflict between Abdul Rashid Ibrahim Mansuri and Sajan Abraham resolved – Held: Total non-compliance with Section 42 impermissible – Delayed compliance with satisfactory explanation permissible – Compliance with Section 42(1) and 42(2) shou...
Criminal Law – Murder – Political Rivalry – Conviction under Section 302 IPC – Members of rival political factions attacked the deceased with axes and sickles, causing fatal injuries – Multiple assailants involved in coordinated group assault – Medical evidence confirmed that injuries inflicted were sufficient to cause death – Trial court and High Court fo...
Bribery by Public Servant – Acceptance of Illegal Gratification – Conviction sustained – Section 161 IPC and Section 5(1)(d) r/w Section 5(2) PC Act – Appellant, a clerk, was caught accepting Rs. 200 in trap operation conducted by Lokayukt – Defence claimed he was only a conduit for a superior officer – Held: Once acceptance is proved, presumption under Section ...
Rape – Conviction under Section 376 IPC – Not Sustainable – Medical evidence showed presence of semen but no signs of forcible intercourse or injuries on victim – No evidence of absence of consent – Prosecution failed to have accused medically examined after recovery – Held: Conviction under Section 376 IPC set aside [Paras 8, 21].
Circumstantial Evidence &nd...
Remission Policy – Right to be considered – State of Haryana’s 2002 circular imposing stricter conditions for release of certain categories of life convicts challenged – Held: A convict has no fundamental right to remission but has a legal right to be considered for remission in terms of applicable rules/policies – Such right flows from Prisons Act, statutory rules an...
Terrorism – TADA – Confessional Statements – Admissibility – Confessions recorded under Section 15 TADA Act by competent officers held admissible when procedural safeguards substantially complied with – Certificates under Rule 15(3)(b) mandatory but defect curable where recording officers testified to full compliance and voluntariness – Confessions of A-27 and A...
Criminal Procedure – Second Complaint – Dismissal of Earlier Complaint for Default – Whether Barred – Petitioner challenged maintainability of a second complaint under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, after the first was dismissed for non-filing of process fee – Contended that the learned Additional Sessions Judge was incompetent to take cognizance again under ...
Murder – Familial Mass Homicide – Death Penalty Justified – Section 302 IPC – Rare and Diabolic Nature of Crime – Upheld – The accused Sonia and her husband Sanjiv (A-1 and A-2) were convicted for the premeditated and cold-blooded murder of eight family members including three children – Held: The nature of the crime was grotesque, calculated, and executed...
Criminal Law – Abetment of Suicide – Sections 306 and 107 IPC – Mens rea Essential – Mere harassment or taunting insufficient – Suicide by wife allegedly due to continuous harassment and dowry demands – No suicide note – No specific instigation or intentional aid proved – Held: Mere discord or cruelty in matrimonial home does not automatically amount...
TADA Offence – Sanction under Section 20A(2) – Cognizance without Sanction Invalid – Conviction Set Aside – FIR originally registered under Explosives Act, 1884 – Supplementary charge-sheet filed invoking TADA without prior sanction from Inspector General or Commissioner of Police as required under Section 20A(2) of TADA – Held: Designated Court had no jurisdict...