Tag: Trial court

Supreme Court Says Long-Term Cohabitation Can Prove Valid Marriage for Inheritance Claims: Landmark Ruling
26Sep By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

Supreme Court Says Long-Term Cohabitation Can Prove Valid Marriage for Inheritance Claims: Landmark Ruling

This Supreme Court judgment reinforces that under Section 50 of the Indian Evidence Act, the opinion of a person with special means of knowledge is relevant to prove a familial relationship. It upholds the legal presumption of a valid marriage from long-term cohabitation. The Court also affirmed that a party's failure to enter the witness box, when facts are within their exclusive knowledge, warrants an adverse inference under Section 114(g). Revenue records do not confer title but only have fiscal value. Facts Of The Case: The dispute centered on the inheritance rights to the properties of Dasabovi, who had died intestate. The plaintiffs, Venkatappa and Siddamma, claimed to be his legitimate children from his first wife, Bheemakka. They alleged that after their father married a second w...
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Supreme Court: Father’s Hearsay Statement Cannot Overturn a Dying Declaration
14Sep By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

Supreme Court: Father’s Hearsay Statement Cannot Overturn a Dying Declaration

The Supreme Court held that a High Court, in its revisional jurisdiction, cannot re-appreciate evidence to overturn an acquittal. It can only correct glaring errors. Finding no such error and that the dying declaration did not establish the charges, the Court restored the Trial Court's order of acquittal. Facts Of The Case: The case originated from an incident on June 14, 2005, in which a woman sustained fatal burn injuries in a fire at her marital home. Her husband (Appellant 1) and another accused (Appellant 2) were charged under Sections 498A (cruelty) and 306 (abetment of suicide) of the Indian Penal Code. The prosecution alleged that the appellants harassed the deceased and that the fire was a result of a deliberate act. The core of the prosecution's case was a dying declara...
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Supreme Court Rules: You Can’t Claim Adverse Possession for the First Time on Appeal
9Sep By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

Supreme Court Rules: You Can’t Claim Adverse Possession for the First Time on Appeal

The Supreme Court reaffirmed that a plea of title by adverse possession cannot be raised for the first time at the appellate stage if it was not specifically pleaded in the plaint, framed as an issue, and proven during trial. Such a surprise claim prejudices the opposite party and is impermissible as a decision must be based on the case pleaded. Facts Of The Case: The case originated from a title suit filed in 1999 by the plaintiffs (Kishundeo Rout & Ors.) against the defendants (Govind Rao & Ors.). The plaintiffs sought a declaration that a 1997 sale deed executed by the original plaintiff, Sudama Devi, in favour of the defendants was bogus, inoperative, and fit for cancellation. They also prayed for confirmation of their possession and a permanent injunction again...
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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...
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Supreme Court Rules: Vague and Omnibus Aren’t Grounds to Quash FIR If Specific Allegations Exist
9Sep By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

Supreme Court Rules: Vague and Omnibus Aren’t Grounds to Quash FIR If Specific Allegations Exist

The Supreme Court held that the High Court erred in quashing the FIR under Section 482 CrPC, ruling that the allegations contained specific details of dowry demands with dates and particulars, which prima facie disclosed offences under the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961. The Court clarified that factual defences like misrepresentation are to be adjudicated at trial and cannot be grounds for quashing at the preliminary stage. Facts Of The Case: The case originated from an FIR lodged by the first appellant, Krishnakant Kwivedy, against the respondents for offences under the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961. The complaint alleged that negotiations for the marriage between the second appellant (Kwivedy's daughter) and the fifth respondent broke down due to dowry demands. Specific allegations w...
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Justice Delayed is Justice Denied: Supreme Court Orders Fresh Bail Hearing for Convict
8Sep By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

Justice Delayed is Justice Denied: Supreme Court Orders Fresh Bail Hearing for Convict

The Supreme Court reiterated the legal principle that appellate courts should liberally suspend sentences of fixed short-term imprisonment during the pendency of an appeal to prevent the appeal itself from becoming infructuous. It held that denial requires recording exceptional, compelling reasons why release would be against public interest. Facts Of The Case: The appellant, Aasif @ Pasha, was convicted and sentenced by the Trial Court in Meerut for offences under the POCSO Act, IPC (Sections 354, 354Kha, 323, 504), and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The sentences, which included terms of four years of rigorous imprisonment for the major charges, were ordered to run concurrently. Dissatisfied with the conviction, the appellant filed a criminal appeal before the Allahabad High...
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No Set Formula for Human Reaction: Supreme Court Backs Parents Who Fled Fire That Killed Kids
8Sep By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

No Set Formula for Human Reaction: Supreme Court Backs Parents Who Fled Fire That Killed Kids

The Supreme Court ruled that the High Court erred in its appreciation of evidence, particularly witness testimony and circumstantial evidence. It upheld the trial court's conviction, establishing that the prosecution successfully proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt and that witness conduct cannot be judged by a uniform standard of reaction. Facts Of The Case: The case stems from a tragic incident on the intervening night of April 1-2, 1992, in Khunti, where the informant, Santosh Kumar Singh, his wife, and their two infant daughters were asleep. The prosecution's case was that accused persons Nilu Ganjhu and Md. Mahboob Ansari, motivated by a business rivalry with the informant over his bus agency operation, threatened him weeks prior. That night, an explosive substance was used, c...
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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...
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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...
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Supreme Court Upholds Acquittal: Doubtful Dying Declaration Cannot Secure Murder Conviction
26Aug By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

Supreme Court Upholds Acquittal: Doubtful Dying Declaration Cannot Secure Murder Conviction

The Supreme Court upheld the acquittal, emphasizing the well-settled principle that an appellate court should not interfere with an acquittal unless the findings are perverse and the only possible view is of guilt. The Court found the prosecution's evidence, particularly the dying declaration, unreliable due to material contradictions and the victim's precarious medical condition, making the case fit for the application of the benefit of doubt. Facts Of The Case: Based on the accusation of Poona Bai (PW-10), the prosecution's case was that on March 10, 2003, the accused-respondent, Ramveer Singh, forcibly entered their house and set her granddaughter, Badami Bai, on fire by pouring kerosene on her. The alleged motive was retaliation for a rape complaint filed against the accused's son by...
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