criminal procedure - The Legal Chamber

Supreme Court’s Landmark Ruling: No Special Treatment for Celebrities in Bail Matters

17Sep

By The Legal ChamberNo Comments

Supreme Court

Supreme Court’s Landmark Ruling: No Special Treatment for Celebrities in Bail Matters

The Supreme Court cancelled the bail granted by the High Court, holding that the order was perverse and suffered from non-application of mind to material facts, including the gravity of the offence and prima facie evidence. The Court reiterated that bail in serious offences like murder requires careful consideration of the allegations, evidence, and risk of witness tampering, and cannot be granted mechanically. Facts Of The Case: The case arose from the brutal murder of Renukaswamy, a resident of Chitradurga, whose body was discovered near an apartment in Bengaluru on June 9, 2024. The prosecution alleged that the murder was a result of a criminal conspiracy orchestrated by actor Darshan (A2) and his partner, Pavithra Gowda (A1), after the deceased had sent obscene messages to A1's Insta...

Influencing Witnesses? Supreme Court Sets Strict Rules for Granting Bail in Serious Crimes

17Sep

By The Legal ChamberNo Comments

Supreme Court

Influencing Witnesses? Supreme Court Sets Strict Rules for Granting Bail in Serious Crimes

The Supreme Court reiterated that bail grant requires a balanced assessment of the nature and gravity of the offence, the prima facie case, and the accused's potential to influence the trial or evade justice. It set aside the High Court's bail order for failing to consider these established parameters, particularly the accused's conduct and the crime's seriousness. Facts Of The Case: The case stems from an FIR registered concerning a violent incident on the intervening night of May 4-5, 2021. The accused, Sushil Kumar, and his associates were alleged to have abducted several individuals from different locations in Delhi and taken them to Chhatrasal Stadium. There, they were violently attacked with wooden sticks and lathis, and gunshots were allegedly fired. One of the abducted in...

Supreme Court: 20-Year Life Sentence Means Release After 20 Years, No Remission Needed

16Sep

By The Legal ChamberNo Comments

Supreme Court

Supreme Court: 20-Year Life Sentence Means Release After 20 Years, No Remission Needed

The Supreme Court ruled that a "life imprisonment" sentence specifying a fixed term of "actual imprisonment without remission" is a determinative sentence. Upon completing that fixed term, the convict is entitled to automatic release and need not apply for remission. Any detention beyond this period violates Article 21 of the Constitution. Facts Of The Case: Sukhdev Yadav was convicted for the 2002 murder of Nitish Katara, alongside Vikas and Vishal Yadav. In 2015, the Delhi High Court, while upholding his life sentence, specifically modified it to "life imprisonment which shall be 20 years of actual imprisonment without consideration of remission." This fixed-term sentence was later affirmed by the Supreme Court. Sukhdev Yadav completed this mandated 20-year period of actual inc...

No Endless Cases: Supreme Court Uses Special Power to End Dowry Case After Couple Divorced

15Sep

By The Legal ChamberNo Comments

Supreme Court

No Endless Cases: Supreme Court Uses Special Power to End Dowry Case After Couple Divorced

The Supreme Court quashed criminal proceedings under Sections 498A/34 IPC and Sections 3/4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act against the father-in-law, invoking Article 142 of the Constitution. The Court held that continuing prosecution after divorce and in the absence of specific, timely allegations amounted to an abuse of the process of law. Facts Of The Case: The marriage between the complainant (Respondent No. 2) and the appellant’s son was solemnized in December 2017. By May 2019, marital discord arose, leading the wife to leave the matrimonial home and allege mental and physical cruelty. Both parties attended police-led counselling sessions, which resulted in an agreement to remarry through Hindu rites. However, the wife soon left again and, in July 2019, filed an FIR alleging that her ...

Supreme Court Acquits Village Assistant: Merely Accepting Bribe Isn’t Enough

14Sep

By The Legal ChamberNo Comments

Supreme Court

Supreme Court Acquits Village Assistant: Merely Accepting Bribe Isn’t Enough

The Supreme Court upheld the conviction of the main accused under Sections 7 and 13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, as demand and acceptance of illegal gratification were proven. However, the conviction of the co-accused was set aside due to the absence of a specific charge of abetment and lack of evidence proving his connivance or independent demand for the bribe. Facts Of The Case: The case involved two government officials, A. Karunanithi (A-1), the Village Administrative Officer, and P. Karunanithi (A-2), the Village Assistant. The complainant approached A-1 to obtain a necessary community certificate for a government job. On two separate occasions, A-1 demanded a bribe of Rs. 500 from the complainant to process the application. The complainant subsequently lodged a formal...

How Unexplained Injuries and a Family Dispute Led to an Acquittal by the Supreme Court

9Sep

By The Legal ChamberNo Comments

Supreme Court

How Unexplained Injuries and a Family Dispute Led to an Acquittal by the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court acquitted the appellant, granting the benefit of doubt. The conviction was overturned due to material inconsistencies in the prosecution's case, including an unexplained timeline of death, unrebutted defence evidence of family enmity, and a lack of medical corroboration for the alleged weapon and dying declaration. Facts Of The Case: Based on the altercation, the appellant and her husband were accused of fatally beating the deceased with sticks near a temple later that night. The prosecution's case, supported by eyewitnesses including the deceased's father (PW-7), was that the attack was retaliation for the afternoon dispute. The victim was allegedly carried home unconscious and died minutes later, with a First Information Report (FIR) lodged around 9:00 PM. How...

Chain of Circumstances Broken: Supreme Court Frees Accused in Landmark Circumstantial Evidence Ruling

8Sep

By The Legal ChamberNo Comments

Supreme Court

Chain of Circumstances Broken: Supreme Court Frees Accused in Landmark Circumstantial Evidence Ruling

This Supreme Court judgment acquits the accused based on the prosecution's failure to establish a complete chain of circumstantial evidence as mandated by Sharad Birdhichand Sarda. The court found the evidence regarding motive, last seen, extra-judicial confessions, and recoveries to be unreliable, contradictory, and insufficient to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt. Facts Of The Case: The case involves the murder of Balwant, whose body was discovered in a waterworks tank in Hisar on December 23, 1997. His father, Har Nath (PW-11), identified the body and filed a complaint, leading to an FIR. The prosecution alleged that the accused—Shanti Devi, her son Rajbir, and Veena—murdered Balwant due to a property dispute, as Shanti Devi was a tenant in his house, and an illicit relatio...

Supreme Court Upholds Rape Conviction, Rules Victim’s Testimony Alone Is Enough

5Sep

By The Legal ChamberNo Comments

Supreme Court

Supreme Court Upholds Rape Conviction, Rules Victim’s Testimony Alone Is Enough

The Supreme Court upheld that a rape conviction can be based solely on the sole, credible testimony of the prosecutrix. Corroboration through medical evidence is not a legal necessity. The absence of injuries does not disprove the offense, especially when the victim's account is consistent and inspires confidence. Facts Of The Case: On April 3, 2018, at approximately noon, a 15-year-old victim and her 11-year-old brother were alone at their home in Rajnandgaon, Chhattisgarh, as their parents had gone to a nearby village to attend a funeral. The appellant-accused, Deepak Kumar Sahu, who was known to the family and lived in the neighbourhood, entered the house. Finding the victim alone, he sent her younger brother away to buy chewing tobacco. Once the brother left, the accused forced the v...

Technicality or Right? Supreme Court Acquits Man, Rules Mandatory NDPS Procedures Were Ignored

5Sep

By The Legal ChamberNo Comments

Supreme Court

Technicality or Right? Supreme Court Acquits Man, Rules Mandatory NDPS Procedures Were Ignored

The Supreme Court held that the High Court erred in dismissing the appeal solely on the ground of delay, particularly when the appellant was incarcerated. On merits, the Court acquitted the accused due to fatal procedural lapses: non-compliance with mandatory sampling guidelines under Standing Order No. 1 of 1989 and Section 52A of the NDPS Act, which rendered the seizure and FSL report unreliable. The trial court also erred in clubbing separate recoveries to constitute commercial quantity without evidence of conspiracy under Section 29. Facts Of The Case: On July 16, 2018, based on source information, police apprehended the appellant, Nadeem Ahamed, and a co-accused, Amit Dutta, near Laxmi Store in Kolkata. A search, conducted in the presence of a Gazetted Officer, led to the recovery o...

Betrayal of Trust is Demonic: Supreme Court’s Powerful Stand on Incest & POCSO Act Upholds Life Term for Father Who Raped Minor Daughter

29Aug

By The Legal ChamberNo Comments

Supreme Court

Betrayal of Trust is Demonic: Supreme Court’s Powerful Stand on Incest & POCSO Act Upholds Life Term for Father Who Raped Minor Daughter

The Supreme Court upheld the conviction under POCSO Act Section 6 and IPC Section 506, affirming the statutory presumption of guilt under Section 29. It emphasized that a child victim's credible testimony requires no corroboration and denied bail, highlighting the severity of familial sexual abuse and the imperative for stringent punishment. Facts Of The Case: The case involved the appellant, Bhanei Prasad @ Raju, who was convicted for repeatedly committing aggravated penetrative sexual assault on his own minor daughter. The victim was approximately ten years old at the time of the incidents, which were not isolated but constituted sustained assaults within the family home. The prosecution case was built primarily on the unwavering and credible oral testimony of the victim (PW-3), ...