Supreme Courts acquits convict in 1995 murder case for glaring omissions in evidence of deceased’s parents
“The motive for the commission of the offence was absent and the same was very relevant as the case was based on circumstantial evidence.”
Section 302 IPC
SC acquits man in 12-year-old murder case upon finding glaring defects in recovery of weapons and preparation of seizure memos
“If the recovery memos had been prepared in the police station itself or signed by the panch witnesses in the police station, the same would lose their sanctity and cannot be relied upon by the Court to support the conviction.”
‘Extra-judicial confession lacked credibility and evidence suffered from material contradiction’; SC acquits murder convict even after strong suspicion
“The circumstances taken cumulatively must be so complete that there is no escape from the conclusion that, within all human probability, the crime was committed by the accused and none else. While there is no doubt that conviction can be based solely on circumstantial evidence, great care must be taken in evaluating circumstantial evidence.”
Supreme Court upholds Trial Court’s decision acquitting 3 Constables in 20 year old Murder case
“It must be established that all the accused had preplanned and shared a common intention to commit the crime with the accused who has actually committed the crime.”
Read why Supreme Court turned conviction of two brothers from S. 302 to S. 304 Part I of IPC in 23-year-old co-villager’s murder case
“The requirement of law in criminal trials is not to prove the case beyond all doubt but beyond reasonable doubt and such doubt cannot be imaginary, fanciful, trivial or merely a possible doubt but a fair doubt based on reason and common sense.”
Gujarat High Court suspends life imprisonment sentence of persons convicted of murder
“Considering the backlog of appeals pending before this Court, the chance of the appeal being heard in near future is extremely remote.”
‘No law fixes responsibility on officers to verify age of arrestees’: Kerala HC issues directions to prevent mistaken trial of juveniles as adults
“It is most unfortunate that the convicts had to undergo incarceration in prison for a period of about 14 years due to the failure of the authorities concerned to take note of the fact that they were juveniles at the time of the commission of the crime.”
Supreme Court acquits three accused of murdering their sister-in-law in 27-yr-old case
“It is a well-established principle of criminal jurisprudence that conviction on a charge of murder may be based purely on circumstantial evidence, provided that such evidence is deemed credible and trustworthy. In cases involving circumstantial evidence, it is crucial to ensure that the facts leading to the conclusion of guilt are fully established and that all the established facts point irrefutably to the accused person’s guilt.”
‘Use of lethal weapon and precise targeting of vital organs establish intent for murder’; SC upholds UDF sympathizer’s life term in 2006 LDF worker murder case
“The nature and location of the injuries inflicted, the choice of weapon, and the circumstances of the attack unequivocally establish the liability of the convict for causing the death of the deceased.”
‘Police personnel strangulating pregnant wife not exceptionally brutal/violent’; Bombay HC holds husband eligible for remission
No separate category is carved out as an exception to the normal Rules of remission provided under Section 4321 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 for a Police personnel committing heinous crime of murdering his pregnant wife.
NRJ Series | When SC commuted death sentence to transportation for life after finding High Court’s confirmation to be based on subjective feelings and not positive evidence [(1954) 2 SCC 227]
This report covers the Supreme Court’s Never Reported Judgment, on commutation of sentence, dating back to the year 1954.
Suspicion alone insufficient for conviction; Orissa High Court acquits two and convicts one in murder case
“In dealing with circumstantial evidence, there is always a danger that conjecture or suspicion lingering on mind might take the place of proof and therefore, the Court has to be watchful and ensure that such thing should not take place.”
‘FIR not an encyclopedia, but can be used to corroborate or contradict informant’; SC upholds acquittal of 3 in 28-year-old murder case
“The prime object of FIR, from the point of view of the informant is to set the criminal law in motion and from the point of the investigating authorities is to obtain information about the alleged activity to enable them to take suitable steps to trace and book the guilty. FIR is an important document, though not a substantial piece of evidence, and may be put in evidence to support or contradict the evidence of its maker viz., the informant.”
Mechanical addition of charges u/s 302 IPC in dowry cases dilutes the severity of murder as an offense: Allahabad HC takes note of practice by Trial Courts
“Addition of Section 302 IPC in addition to pre-existing sections about dowry death and dowry related inhuman treatment is being carried out by Trial Judges as a matter of routine and in a most mechanical fashion, making the entire episode more grim and serious, without having any supporting documents or allegations”
‘Every possibility for prudent man to lose temper on seeing wife with another man’: Meghalaya HC modifies husband’s conviction u/s 302 for killing wife’s ex-husband
“On noticing the presence of the ex-husband (deceased) in his house, the husband caused the death of the deceased in order to safeguard his right over person (wife) without any premeditation or intention. The case fell within the ambit of Exception 2 to Section 300 of the IPC on the ground of it being unintentional and consequently, it is culpable homicide not amounting to murder.”
[Rarest of rare case] Orissa Court awards death sentence to five for chopping hands, legs and committing spine-chilling murder
“The series of inhuman acts involved extreme brutality and exceptional depravity and the crime was committed in an extremely brutal, grotesque, diabolical, revolting and dastardly manner.”
‘An extrajudicial confession, being weak evidence, requires corroboration’; Calcutta High Court sets aside conviction under Section 302 IPC
The Calcutta High Court criticised the trial court for not properly assessing the evidence and for erroneously applying legal principles and set aside conviction on prosecution’s failure to establish guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Manipulated laboratory report, broken links of evidence; Supreme Court reverses concurrent findings of Courts below to acquit a murder accused
Supreme Court: The Division Bench of Hemant Gupta and Vikram Nath*, JJ., reversed the impugned judgments of the Punjab and Haryana High
Clearing of prosecution evidence not an absolute bar from re-examining materials/witnesses under Section 311 CrPC: Supreme Court
“The statutory provision goes to emphasise that the court is not a hapless bystander in the derailment of justice. Quite to the contrary, the court has a vital role to discharge in ensuring that the cause of discovering truth as an aid in the realization of justice is manifest.”
Dying declaration is by itself sufficient to convict an accused of accusation levelled against him provided dying declaration is found to be voluntary, truthful and hence, could inspire confidence of Court: Bom HC
Bombay High Court: While addressing a matter with regard to a husband setting ablaze his wife, the Division Bench of Sadhana S.