Tag: Evidence Appreciation

Supreme Court Rules on Vicarious Liability in Group Assault Case
13Jan By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

Supreme Court Rules on Vicarious Liability in Group Assault Case

In this Supreme Court judgement, the Supreme Court affirmed the conviction of appellants under Sections 302 and 307 read with Section 149 IPC. The Court clarified that vicarious liability under Section 149 applies when a member of an unlawful assembly shares its common object, irrespective of direct commission of the fatal act. It upheld that active facilitation and participation in a coordinated attack establishes guilt. Facts Of The Case: On April 27, 1999, Ankush Gholap and others were returning from Bhor in a jeep when they were intercepted by six accused persons on two motorcycles. The accused, armed with weapons like knives and a sattur, stopped the jeep near Navi Ali. Accused no. 3 removed the jeep's keys and assaulted the driver, while the others dragged Ankush and two other occu...
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Supreme Court Upholds Tribunal’s Power to Modify Military Conviction
27Dec By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

Supreme Court Upholds Tribunal’s Power to Modify Military Conviction

The Supreme Court affirmed the Armed Forces Tribunal’s power under Section 15(6) of the AFT Act, 2007, to substitute a conviction. It held that where evidence establishes an act prejudicial to military discipline under Section 63 of the Army Act, 1950, the Tribunal can legally replace a more severe charge with this lesser offence and modify the sentence accordingly. Facts Of The Case: The appellant, Colonel S.K. Jain, was the Commandant of the Northern Command Vehicle Depot in Udhampur. In September 2008, a contractor alleged that the appellant demanded a bribe for passing motorcycles during inspection. A trap was laid, and during a search of his office on September 27, 2008, a Board of Officers recovered an envelope containing ₹10,000 and, significantly, a quantity of old ammunition (7....
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Evidence Wholly Unreliable: Supreme Court Overturns High Court’s Conviction for Power Pilferage
24Dec By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

Evidence Wholly Unreliable: Supreme Court Overturns High Court’s Conviction for Power Pilferage

The Supreme Court acquitted the appellant, holding that the prosecution failed to prove the use of "artificial means" for electricity theft under Section 39 of the Indian Electricity Act, 1910, which is necessary to invoke the statutory presumption against the consumer. The evidence was deemed insufficient, speculative, and not beyond reasonable doubt to establish offences under Sections 39 or 44. Facts Of The Case: Officials from the Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB) detected a 36.6% discrepancy between supplied units and meter readings at M/s. Rushi Steels and Alloys Pvt. Ltd. in March 1993. An inspection revealed three holes in the company's meter box. The prosecution alleged that unauthorized wires were inserted through these holes to slow the meter and steal electricity, ca...
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Supreme Court Upholds Conviction in Karnataka Murder Case: Why Witness Testimony Beat Medical Evidence
4Dec By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

Supreme Court Upholds Conviction in Karnataka Murder Case: Why Witness Testimony Beat Medical Evidence

In an appeal against acquittal, the Supreme Court reiterated that ocular evidence prevails over medical opinion unless irreconcilable. It held that the Trial Court’s view was perverse for discarding the injured eyewitness's consistent testimony based on speculative defenses and minor contradictions, thus rightly upholding the High Court's conviction. Facts Of The Case: On March 16, 2003, at around 6:00 a.m., Mohan Kumar was assaulted by a group of sixteen accused persons when he was leaving his house in the village to deliver milk. The attackers, armed with dangerous weapons, inflicted fatal injuries on him. His wife, Smt. Annapurna (PW-1), who intervened to save him, also sustained grievous injuries. The accused fled upon the arrival of other villagers. The injured were first take...
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Landmark Ruling: Supreme Court Clarifies Scope of Judicial Review in Employee Disciplinary Matters
27Oct By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

Landmark Ruling: Supreme Court Clarifies Scope of Judicial Review in Employee Disciplinary Matters

This Supreme Court judgment reiterates the limited scope of judicial review in disciplinary proceedings. Courts cannot act as appellate authorities to re-appreciate evidence. The standard of proof is preponderance of probability, not strict evidence rules. Interference is only permissible if the finding is perverse, based on no evidence, or violates natural justice. The Tribunal exceeded its jurisdiction under Section 11-A of the Industrial Disputes Act by doing so. Facts Of The Case: The respondent, Ganganarasimhaiah, was a Sub-Staff employee at Canara Bank's V.G. Doddi branch. An investigation revealed serious irregularities, including unauthorized loans and tampering with bank records. Specifically, it was alleged that he facilitated loans for his wife and father without the man...
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Supreme Court : Courts Can’t Reopen Departmental Inquiries; Role is to Check Procedure, Not Merits
23Sep By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

Supreme Court : Courts Can’t Reopen Departmental Inquiries; Role is to Check Procedure, Not Merits

This Supreme Court judgment reaffirms the limited scope of judicial review in departmental inquiries. The Supreme Court held that constitutional courts cannot act as appellate authorities to re-examine evidence. Interference is permissible only for procedural illegality, natural justice violations, or manifest perversity, not to reassess the merits of the findings recorded by the disciplinary authority. Facts Of The Case: The respondent, Ramadhar Sao, was employed as a messenger (a Class-IV employee) with the State Bank of India. In 2008, the Bank received complaints alleging he acted as a middleman, taking bribes from customers to facilitate the sanction and disbursement of loans. A chargesheet was issued against him in 2010, accusing him of misconduct for acting as a conduit fo...
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Supreme Court Rules :Landowners Can’t Get Uniform Compensation for Power Lines
20Sep By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

Supreme Court Rules :Landowners Can’t Get Uniform Compensation for Power Lines

The Supreme Court set aside the High Court's judgment for failing to properly assess compensation under the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885. It emphasized that compensation must be determined based on location-specific evidence and remanded the cases. The Court also highlighted the absence of a statutory appeal mechanism against orders of the District Judge and referred the issue to the Law Commission for examination. Facts Of The Case: A power transmission project titled "400 KV Jhajjar Power Transmission System-PPP-1" was initiated by HVPNL in Haryana. Jhajjar KT Transco Private Limited (JKTPL) was awarded the project, which sub-contracted the erection work to Kalpataru Power Transmission Ltd. The 100 km-long transmission line passed through land in four districts, including Sonepat and Jha...
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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...
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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...
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Bank’s Gold Revaluation Under Scrutiny: Supreme Court Allows Trial Against Bank Officials
18Jun By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

Bank’s Gold Revaluation Under Scrutiny: Supreme Court Allows Trial Against Bank Officials

The Supreme Court of India allowed the appeal by Abhishek Singh, holding that the High Court improperly quashed the FIR filed by him. The High Court erred by considering extraneous documents and evaluating the merits of the case at the quashing stage, rather than determining if a prima facie offense was made out. The proceedings from the FIR are revived, and the guilt or innocence of the respondents is to be established at trial. Facts Of The Case: Abhishek Singh, the appellant, a businessman, secured a loan of ₹7,70,000 from the Bank of India on July 22, 2020, by pledging 254 grams of 22-carat gold ornaments. According to Singh, he repaid the loan, including interest, by March 31, 2023, after receiving a notice from the bank on October 7, 2022, to pay ₹8,01,383.59. However, unbeknownst ...
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