Criminal Law – Murder – Conviction Based Solely on Injured Eye-Witnesses – Reversal – Appellants convicted under Section 302 IPC based on testimonies of injured witnesses (P.W.4 and P.W.5) – Trial court disbelieved recovery of weapons and ballistic evidence – No independent or forensic corroboration – Court held conduct of eye-witnesses unnatural as they f...
Criminal Law – Common Intention – Acquittal – Appellant Raj Bala convicted under Sections 302/34 and 307/34 IPC for allegedly firing at injured Kailash during a group assault where another accused had fired fatal shot – Trial court relied on ocular evidence but injury report (Exh. Ka-20) showed no firearm injury – Medical evidence inconsistent with prosecution’s...
Criminal Law – Murder – Acquittal - Circumstantial Evidence – Standard of Proof – Held: In cases resting purely on circumstantial evidence, the chain of circumstances must be complete and point irresistibly to the guilt of the accused, excluding any other hypothesis. Where the prosecution failed to prove the accused and deceased were last seen together, and witnesses had on...
Bail – Gangster Act – Second Bail Application – Rejection for Lack of New Grounds – Applicant sought bail under Section 2/3 of the Gangster Act after rejection of earlier application – Criminal history of 11 cases spanning from 2013 to 2023 including prior Gangster Act charges – No new grounds urged beyond continued incarceration and parity with co-accused &ndas...
Criminal Law – Quashing of Criminal Proceedings – Matrimonial Dispute – Attempt to Murder – Petitioner-husband sought quashing of Sessions Case No.20 of 2024 under Sections 324, 326, 307 IPC on the basis of compromise deed with wife (Respondent No.3), the complainant – Allegations related to physical assault with knife – Chargesheet filed, but during trial parti...
Criminal Law - Anticipatory Bail – Maintainability Before High Court – Concurrent jurisdiction of Sessions Court and High Court – Applicant directly approached High Court without first applying before Sessions Court – Applicant not residing within jurisdiction of Sessions Court where FIR lodged – Held: Petition maintainable under Clause 26(B) of Full Bench decision in...
Criminal Law – Conviction under IPC and SC/ST Act – Acquittal – Appellants convicted by Special Court for offences under Sections 354, 323 IPC and Section 3(1)(xi) of the SC/ST Act based on victim’s complaint of assault and caste-based abuse – High Court affirmed conviction – Supreme Court finds inconsistencies in victim’s and her brother’s (PW-2) te...
Criminal Law – Anticipatory Bail – Cancellation – Factors to be Considered – The Appellant (Complainant) challenged the High Court's grant of anticipatory bail to the Respondent (Accused), a Senior Accountant alleged to have embezzled over Rs. 3 Crores – Held: The High Court erred by taking a mechanical route and failing to consider the investigation status report...
Criminal Writ - Habeas Corpus - Preventive Detention – Right to Representation – Failure to Inform – Violation of Article 22(5) – Context of detention order passed by District Magistrate under NSA – Held: Article 22(5) of the Constitution confers two distinct rights: the right to be informed of the grounds of detention and the right to be afforded the earliest opportu...
Criminal Law – NDPS Act – Bail – Commercial Quantity – Section 37 – Applicant found with 460 grams of MD (Commercial Quantity) – Held: The rigors of Section 37 apply. The Court must be satisfied that there are reasonable grounds to believe the accused is not guilty. Given the recovery and circumstances, such satisfaction cannot be recorded. [Paras 12-14]
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