Indian Evidence Act, 1872

The appellant was arrested for theft and granted bail, but a police officer (respondent No.2) allegedly paraded him half‑naked, verbally abused him on the basis of caste and physically assaulted him, illegally detaining him for four hours despite bail. An inquiry by the Sub‑Divisional Police Officer found the officer r…

The case concerned the murder of two persons in a wine shop in Tamil Nadu, for which appellants Periyasamy (A‑1) and R. Manoharan (A‑2) were convicted under sections 302 and 307 of the Indian Penal Code, with A‑2 also under section 109. The trial court relied mainly on the testimonies of three injured witnesses, who we…

The appellant was convicted of murdering four members of a family, house‑trespass and attempted suicide, and was originally sentenced to death for the murder under s.302 IPC. The High Court commuted the death sentence to life imprisonment with a direction that the appellant could not be released for 30 years, invoking …

The State of Madhya Pradesh appealed against the High Court’s acquittal of Ramesh and Bhaggo Bai for the murder of Bhaggo’s husband, Chatra. The prosecution’s case rested primarily on the testimony of an eight‑year‑old daughter, Ran nu Bai, who alleged that the accused beat the deceased, supported by medical findings o…

The appellants, Dr. Atma Ram and Vijay Kumar, were convicted for murder and related offences under Sections 1208, 302, 460 and 382 IPC based solely on circumstantial evidence that the deceased midwife was killed and her ornaments were stolen. The prosecution relied on four circumstances: homicidal death, a threat by th…

The case involved a double murder arising from a fight between two rival groups in a field in Rajasthan. The appellants Gopal and Mahesh killed Rameshwar (R) while defending themselves from an attack, and subsequently chased and killed Prabhat (P) who was fleeing the scene. The trial court convicted them under Section …

Rameshbhai Dabhai Naika, whose mother belonged to the Nayak Scheduled Tribe and father was a Kshatriya, had his tribal certificate cancelled by a Scrutiny Committee and the Gujarat High Court upheld the cancellation, relying on Valsamma Paul, Punit Rai and Anjan Kumar. The Supreme Court examined whether a person born o…

In the 2006 Assam Legislative Assembly election, polling station No.124 was initially set up at a non‑notified school and later shifted to the notified venue. The defeated candidate, Kalyan Kumar Gogoi, alleged that this change caused chaos, preventing 200‑300 voters from casting their votes and materially affected the…

The appellants were convicted under Sections 366 and 376 IPC read with Section 109 for alleged abduction, forced marriage and rape of PW‑2, a girl claimed to be a minor. The High Court affirmed the trial court's convictions, but the Supreme Court, exercising its Article 136 jurisdiction, examined the evidentiary record…

The appellant was convicted of kidnapping, brutal sexual assault and murder of a four‑year‑old boy and sentenced to death by the trial court, a sentence confirmed by the Gujarat High Court. The Supreme Court examined whether the circumstantial evidence satisfied the golden principles and whether the presumption under S…

The appellant husband, Ram Sahay Mahto, and his mother-in-law, Parvati Devi, were convicted under Sections 304B, 201 and 34 of the IPC for the death of the appellant's wife, Fulwa Devi, who disappeared from her matrimonial home and was later found dead in a river. The prosecution alleged that the accused demanded dowry…

The case involved an international commercial arbitration under a Long‑Term Agreement for the supply of coking coal between Anglo American Metallurgical Coal Pty Ltd (appellant) and MMTC Ltd (respondent). The arbitral tribunal held that MMTC breached the contract by failing to lift 454,034 MT of coal at the agreed pric…

The appellant Raj Kumari filed a partition suit claiming a one‑fourth share in a tenement allotted to her mother Suhagwanti. The respondent Surinder Pal Sharma defended the suit by producing a registered Will dated 02‑01‑1992, allegedly executed by Suhagwanti in his favour and attested by Ramesh Kumar (the appellant's …

The appellant, a non‑executive director of M/S Elite International Pvt. Ltd., was charged under Section 138 read with Section 141 of the Negotiable Instruments Act for the dishonour of cheques issued by the company. She had resigned from the board on 17‑December‑2005, while the cheques were dishonoured in 2008. The com…

The appellant, Tummala Venkat... was convicted under Section 304B IPC for causing the death of his wife Neelima, who died after ingesting poison following repeated dowry demands and physical abuse. The High Court upheld the conviction and sentenced him to seven years rigorous imprisonment. On appeal, the Supreme Court …

The deceased, Babita Devi, allegedly died after being forced to consume poison following dowry harassment by her husband’s relatives. The father‑in‑law and sister‑in‑law were tried and convicted under Sections 304B (dowry death) and 498A (cruelty) of the IPC, as well as under the Dowry Prohibition Act. The High Court a…

The appellant Raj Kumar was convicted of murder under Section 302 IPC based primarily on the identification by the injured eye‑witness, PW‑18, whose testimony was recorded via video‑link eight and a half years after the incident. The High Court upheld the conviction, relying on the witness's identification, the appella…

The appellants, claiming to have purchased land from a Mahant, obtained an order of ejectment against the respondent tenant under Section 14A of the Punjab Security of Land Tenures Act, 1953. The tenant contested the existence of a landlord‑tenant relationship, arguing that the Mahant had no authority to convey title a…

The appellant KUNA@ SANJAYA BEHERA and co‑accused Pravati Behera were convicted under IPC s.302 read with s.34 for the murder of Santosh Behera, the prosecution alleging an extra‑marital relationship as motive. The sole eye‑witness, PW‑1 (Niranjan Behera), claimed to have seen the murder and to have disclosed the alleg…

The case involved the murder of Satinder Sekhon, for which A‑10 (Balkar Singh) was convicted under Sections 120B (conspiracy) and 302 read with 34 of the IPC, based largely on circumstantial evidence. The trial court and the Punjab & Haryana High Court upheld the conviction, while the accused argued that there was no m…

The appellant, Vishwajeet Kerba Masalkar, was convicted and sentenced to death for the alleged murders of his wife, daughter and mother, based largely on the ocular testimony of a single injured neighbour (PW‑12) and circumstantial evidence such as a recovered hammer, blood‑stained clothes and CCTV footage. The Supreme…

The accused were convicted by a Fast Track Court and the conviction was upheld by the High Court for offences under IPC sections 302 r/w 149, 148, 123 and 447. On appeal, the Supreme Court examined the testimony of ten prosecution witnesses, all of whom were related to the deceased and to each other, and found material…

The deceased, a 32‑year‑old fish‑vendor‑cum‑driver, died in a 2015 road accident caused by a rash driver of a car insured by United India Insurance Co. The claimants (wife, minor son and mother) sought compensation under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, including loss of dependency. The Tribunal awarded Rs 32,39,000, whic…

The Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi filed a private complaint under Section 200 CrPC alleging defamation against six persons, including Manoj Kumar Tiwari (A‑1) and Vijender Gupta (A‑5). The Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate issued summons, but the two appellants challenged the order. The Supreme Court held that …

The appellant, Gunmala Sales Private Ltd., challenged the Calcutta High Court’s order quashing criminal complaints under Section 138 read with Section 141 of the Negotiable Instruments Act against several directors of the accused company. The Supreme Court held that a complaint must specifically aver that a director wa…

The appellant Brij Lal, a government employee, and his co‑accused Kashi Ram, armed with pistols, went to the residence of Mohan Ram where a crowd had gathered to prevent them from killing Mohan Lal. Brij Lal fired at the unarmed crowd, causing the deaths of Om Prakash, Sultan Bhat and Munni Devi, and injuries to others…

M. Manickam, a District Munsif, claimed that his date of birth recorded in service records (19‑Mar‑1947) was incorrect and sought to have it changed to 24‑Nov‑1950 to extend his retirement. He filed an application for change in 1993, more than five years after his entry into service, and addressed it to the Registrar o…

Maya Singh died leaving a registered Will dated 16 May 1991 that bequeathed his 67-kanal land to his nephew, Gurdial Singh, while omitting any reference to his wife, Jagir Kaur, and providing no reason for her disinheritance. The nephew sued to enforce the Will, and the wife filed a separate suit claiming she was the l…

The appellant, a police guard, was carrying a semi‑automatic carbine when he was asked by a Sub‑Inspector to stop a constable from using the police telephone. During a scuffle the weapon became entangled in the appellant's belt chain, causing an accidental discharge of five rounds that struck the constable, who later d…

The case involves a property dispute between the branch of Lakshmiah Naidu (respondents) and legatees under a Will (appellants) of Rangaswami Naidu, who died on 01.06.1955 before the Hindu Succession Act, 1956. The appellants claimed that Rangaswami Naidu had severed the joint family status through a newspaper notice a…

The accused, a dentist, lured vulnerable individuals with false promises of sending them to America, extracted large sums of money and murdered two victims in separate incidents while attempting to murder two others. Conviction under sections 419, 420, 302, 307, 397, 342 and 328 IPC was upheld based on eyewitness testi…

The plaintiff filed a suit seeking a declaration of title over agricultural land, alleging ancestral grant from the Maratha Government and a partition in 1819, while the Union of India contested the title. The trial court dismissed the suit, but the first appellate court reversed the decision by admitting a Will as add…

In December 1996 a dacoity with two murders was committed at a house in Rajasthan. Two of the accused, Kuniya and Talevar, were later arrested and, based on their disclosure statements, cash, silver items and a scooter were recovered, but the recoveries occurred several days after the incident and involved items that c…

The case involves a dacoity on 16-17 December 1996 in which two persons were murdered and movable property was looted. Six accused were identified through test identification parades and the stolen articles, weapons and a vehicle were recovered based on their disclosures. They were convicted under Sections 395, 396 and…

The predecessor‑in‑interest of Bharatha Matha filed a suit for a share in the property of her brother Muthu Reddiar, who died intestate and allegedly unmarried. Defendant No.1, Rengammal, claimed she was lawfully married to Alagarsami Reddiar (who was alive) and also asserted a live‑in relationship with Muthu Reddiar, …

The appellant Siju Kurian was convicted by the Karnataka High Court for murder, concealment of body, theft and cheating. The conviction rested on circumstantial evidence, the post‑mortem report establishing homicide, witnesses who saw the accused with the deceased, and a voluntary statement made by the accused that led…

M. Narayan was convicted for dowry death and cruelty after his wife Ganga was found hanging within two years of marriage. The prosecution alleged that Narayan repeatedly demanded additional dowry, subjected her to physical and mental harassment, and threatened her, leading to her suicide. The trial court acquitted him,…

Mohan Lal was convicted for possession of 10 kg of opium under Section 18 of the NDPS Act and for theft under Sections 457 and 380 of the IPC. He argued that the offence occurred before the NDPS Act came into force, that applying the Act was retrospective and violative of Art.20(1) of the Constitution, that the seizure…

Shanti Roy, married to Sekhar Roy, allegedly faced a dowry demand of Rs.5,000 by her husband, his mother, and siblings, leading to harassment and her suicide by self‑immolation while eight months pregnant. The trial court convicted the husband, his mother, and the siblings under Sections 3048, 498A, 306 and 304B of the…

The Supreme Court reviewed an appeal by the mother‑in‑law convicted of murdering her daughter‑in‑law, who died within two months of marriage after being burnt with kerosene. The victim’s dying declaration alleged that the appellant poured kerosene on her because of dowry demands. The trial and High Courts had relied on…

The appellant Safi Mohammad was arrested on suspicion of supplying secret information about the Indian Armed Forces to Pakistani intelligence. During a search of his railway quarter, police seized a blue diary (1982) and a hand‑drawn map (Ex.D‑3) which were deemed by the Air Force to be useful to an enemy. He was convi…

The appellant, Rohit Jangde, the step‑father of a six‑year‑old girl, was convicted by the trial court and the High Court for her murder based on three circumstances: a ‘last seen together’ theory, recovery of charred bone fragments and ashes after the accused allegedly led police to the site, and DNA matching of verteb…

Ram Gopal, the former sarpanch of Har Gangoli, was accused of murdering his neighbour Pratap Singh after taking him on the evening of 19 December 1995; the victim was found dead the next morning. The prosecution relied on circumstantial evidence, including the "last seen together" theory, the short interval between the…

The appellant, Narayan Sitaramji Badwaik (deceased), filed a suit for possession of a property based on a sale deed dated 26‑09‑1978, which the respondents claimed was only a collateral security for a loan. The trial court dismissed the suit, the District Judge reversed the decision, and the High Court, on a second app…

The dispute concerned a 0.08‑cent portion of a 120‑acre land parcel in Chengalpattu, where the appellant Seethakathi Trust claimed title based on a series of registered sale deeds dating back to 1963, while the respondent Krishnaveni sought specific performance of an earlier agreement and claimed possession of the same…

The deceased Pushpa was burnt and later died; two dying declarations were recorded—first (Ex. P‑11) by a Naib Tehsildar, which did not name her husband Rajaram, and second (Ex. P‑26) by a police officer, which accused Rajaram and others of cruelty and dowry harassment. The trial court convicted Rajaram under Section 49…

The accused, Mangusinh, was convicted by the trial court for murder of his wife and daughter under IPC s.302 and Arms Act s.25, based on a confessional FIR, a second FIR lodged by the victims' father (PW1), and the testimony of an alleged eye‑witness (PW4). The High Court acquitted him, holding that both FIRs were ante…

The appellant Rajiv Singh was convicted under Sections 304B, 201 and 498A for the alleged murder of his wife Archana during a honeymoon train journey, based on a dead body found near the railway tracks. The Supreme Court examined whether the body was indeed Archana's, whether the prosecution proved a homicidal death, a…

The case involves the death of Saroj, a married woman, within four months of her marriage. Her father alleged that the husband, his father, brother and brother‑in‑law demanded dowry, threatened her and subsequently murdered her and attempted to burn the body. The trial court acquitted all accused, but the High Court co…

Harish Kumar was married to Manisha, who suffered severe burn injuries on 13 September 1993 and died five days later. He was charged under Sections 304B (dowry death) and 498A (dowry cruelty) of the IPC. The trial court convicted him on both counts; the High Court upheld the convictions. On appeal, the Supreme Court ex…

The appellant Subhash was convicted under Sections 306 and 498A IPC for the death of his wife Anuradha, who suffered severe burns. The prosecution's case relied primarily on a dying declaration recorded by Sub‑Divisional Magistrate Ravi Malik, which alleged that the victim attempted suicide due to dowry harassment. The…

The appellant Sanjay Kumar Jain was convicted of murder under Section 302 IPC for the death of his wife within fourteen months of marriage, based on circumstantial evidence and a post‑mortem indicating strangulation. The Supreme Court found serious inconsistencies in the prosecution’s version, including uncertain acces…

Five independent MLAs who had supported the BJP government in Karnataka withdrew their support and were disqualified under paragraph 2(2) of the Tenth Schedule. They filed writ petitions challenging the disqualification and sought to amend paragraph 9 of their petitions, which mistakenly stated that they had not left t…

The appeal arose from the Kathua gang‑rape case where the accused Shubam Sangra claimed to be a juvenile. The Chief Judicial Magistrate, relying on municipal and parental testimony, held him a minor, a decision affirmed by the High Court. The State appealed, arguing that contradictory documentary evidence required refe…

The Supreme Court examined civil suits filed by Joginder Kaur (deceased) represented by Nirmal Gill, seeking to declare a 1990 General Power of Attorney (GPA) and related sale deeds as fraudulent and void. The lower courts had held the documents genuine, but the High Court reversed that finding, declaring them forged. …

The plaintiff, a coparcener of a Hindu Undivided Family (HUF), challenged the sale of a suit land by the Karta (father) to the fifth defendant, alleging the sale was not for legal necessity but to meet the Karta's personal habits. The central issue was whether the sale was made to meet the legal necessity of the Karta'…

The State of NCT of Delhi appealed against the High Court's acquittal of Nitin Shah and Om Prakash Srivastava in the murder of Lalit Suneja (2 August 1992). The prosecution alleged that Shah, as Suneja's employer, conspired with Srivastava and others to kill Suneja, basing its case on a complaint (Ext. PW15/A1) purport…

The appellant Munna was convicted under Sections 376 and 450 IPC for allegedly raping the prosecutrix at knife point, based primarily on the testimonies of the prosecutrix, her husband (PW‑2) and a village Kotwar (PW‑3). The High Court upheld the conviction, but the Supreme Court examined whether the prosecutrix's test…

The appellant Sunder Singh was convicted for the murder of six members of his cousin's family by setting their house on fire with petrol, closing the door, and slashing one victim with a sword. The prosecution relied on the surviving victim's eyewitness testimony, the dying declarations of two victims, and forensic evi…

The husband (Pathan Hussain Basha) and his mother‑in‑law were convicted under Sections 304‑B (dowry death) and 498A of the IPC for the suicide of the wife, who had been harassed for unpaid dowry. The Supreme Court examined whether the statutory ingredients of a dowry death were satisfied and whether the onus of proving…

Baljinder Kumar, accused of murdering his wife, two children and sister‑in‑law, was convicted by the Trial Court and sentenced to death under Sections 302, 308 and 325 IPC. The High Court upheld the conviction, relying mainly on the testimonies of three witnesses despite contradictions and lack of forensic linkage. On …

The complainant filed a complaint under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act alleging that a cheque issued by the respondent bounced and that a demand notice had been sent by registered post. The High Court quashed the complaint on the ground that the complaint did not specifically state that the notice had be…

Ms. P (appellant) alleged that her fiancé, respondent No.2, raped her in Delhi in February‑March 2016 (IPC s.376) and later, in November 2016, threatened and abused her over telephone in Chamoli (IPC s.504, s.506). The Sessions Judge, Chamoli, discharged the accused of the rape charge for lack of territorial jurisdicti…

The petitioners, former public servants, were charged in a large‑scale corruption case involving alleged manipulation of liquor allocations and kickbacks. They applied for anticipatory bail, but the Andhra Pradesh High Court denied relief, relying on confessional statements recorded from co‑accused under Section 161 of…

The Supreme Court examined a large jobs‑for‑cash scam in Tamil Nadu where public servants allegedly accepted bribes for appointments, triggering investigations under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. The Court held that the bribe money itself constitutes "pr…

The case concerned an attack in which three persons were killed and five injured, allegedly committed by a group of seventeen accused. The Sessions Court convicted four accused and acquitted the rest, but the charges were found to be improperly framed under CrPC sections 211‑213, lacking specific allegations for each d…

The Supreme Court examined the convictions of six accused in the 2002 Akshardham temple terrorist attack, which were based largely on confessional statements recorded under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA), testimony of accomplices, and two Urdu letters allegedly recovered from the terrorists' pockets. The Court …

The appellants were convicted for the murder of a driver, John Bosco, and his companion Madhan, based largely on circumstantial evidence, including the testimony of a taxi driver who claimed to have last seen the accused with the victims, a retracted confession by one accused, and the recovery of a mobile phone and cam…

Kiriti Pal was accused of murdering Anjali Goswami, a widow who was last seen alive with him on the evening of 11 November 2008 before being found dead the next morning in a jungle 25 km away. The trial court convicted Pal and three co‑accused (Siddique Mia, Mustaque Mia, and Durga Sutradhar) under sections 302, 120B, …

The appellant, a former employee of Bhavnagar Electricity Company, sought correction of his date of birth from 27‑06‑1937 to 27‑06‑1940 based on a municipal birth certificate and other documents, but the employer rejected the change and later terminated him on the basis of the original date. The Labour Court held that …

The father executed a registered Will in 1972 bequeathing property to two sons and two daughters, omitting his eldest son (appellant). After the father's death in 1980, the appellant claimed that the earlier Will had been revoked by two subsequent unregistered Wills dated 25 April 1980 and 2 May 1980, which allegedly g…

The appellant Pradeep Kumar was convicted for the murder of Umesh Chowdhary based on an alleged extra‑judicial confession, alleged animosity between the parties, and the recovery of keys and money. On appeal, the Supreme Court examined the reliability of the confession, the credibility of witnesses who were themselves …

The victim Satyappa was murdered in broad daylight; eight men were accused. The trial court and the Karnataka High Court convicted all eight based primarily on the testimony of a single eyewitness, PW‑1, the brother of the deceased, despite most other prosecution witnesses turning hostile. The appellants challenged whe…

The appellant, Ramdev Food Products, complained that accused partners had forged partnership documents and sought a direction under CrPC s.156(3) for police investigation. The magistrate instead ordered a report under s.202(1), deeming the matter primarily civil and lacking clear material for a cognizable offence. The …

The appellant, one of seven accused in a murder case, sought to have PW64, a prosecution witness who had earlier given statements implicating himself in the conspiracy, summoned as an additional accused under Section 319 of the Cr.P.C. The High Court dismissed the petition, holding that PW64’s testimony was protected b…

The respondent, a Development Officer of LIC, was dismissed following a departmental inquiry that he alleged was conducted without a copy of the inquiry report and without a proper opportunity to be heard, violating natural justice. In the suit challenging his dismissal, the employer (appellant) did not lead any oral e…

The Supreme Court examined the murder of Venkatarama, where Krishnamurthy, Gopala and Thimmappa were convicted under Section 302 read with Section 34 IPC. Evidence showed Krishnamurthy brutally assaulted the victim after he fell, causing fatal injuries, establishing his liability for murder. The Court held that Gopala …

The appellant Vijayakumar, together with friends, was returning from a movie late at night when they encountered the deceased, who was allegedly drunk and slapped the appellant. In a sudden altercation, the appellant picked up a cement brick and struck the deceased on the head, causing death, and later set the body on …

The case concerned an appeal by Neeraj Dutta against the State under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, where the prosecution alleged that the public servant had demanded and accepted illegal gratification. The central issue was whether, in the absence of the complainant’s direct or primary evidence of demand, the…

Six members of a family were murdered in a house on 23 January 2014. The prosecution relied primarily on the ocular testimony of two interested witnesses, PW‑1 (Ali Sher Khan) and PW‑2 (Jaan Mohammad), who were closely related to both the deceased and the accused. The Supreme Court held that because the witnesses were …

The appellants sought a declaration that a temple they manage is their private family place of worship, not a public endowment. The Endowment Department contended that the appellants' father had endowed the temple as a Wakf, an entry of which (Exh. B6) appears in the Register of Endowments and was published in the Offi…

The plaintiff, Sujathamma, a maternal granddaughter of the deceased's father, claimed to have married her maternal uncle Hanumanthappa on 7 March 1986 and sought a share of his estate as his wife. The alleged marriage was supported only by a registration document (Ex.P/1) with no evidence of any customary rites or sapt…

The case concerned a parcel of land that formed part of the Chinneri tank bund, leased intermittently by the predecessor S. Vijayaranga Mudaliar and later purchased by P. C. Pachiappan. The plaintiff sought declaration of title and a permanent injunction against the State of Tamil Nadu, Salem Municipality and Anna Tran…

Satish Chander Ahuja, the father‑in‑law, owned a house in New Delhi and sued his daughter‑in‑law Sneha Ahuja for mandatory and permanent injunction to remove her from the first floor. Sneha had earlier filed an application under Section 12 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, obtaining an interi…

The appellant, Khumbha Ram, sought to challenge the acquittal of his daughter’s husband and others for the death of his daughter Kamla, which occurred within seven years of marriage and was alleged to involve dowry harassment. The trial court acquitted the accused, finding insufficient evidence of harassment and no med…

The case involved the alleged rape and murder of a 12‑year‑old girl, Anita, whose father Ram Sunder Sen filed a criminal complaint against Narendra @ Bode Singh Patel. The trial court convicted Patel under IPC sections 302, 376(2)(f) and 201, imposing death, life imprisonment and a seven‑year term respectively. On appe…

Ronobroto Roy filed a petition for divorce under Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act, alleging that his wife Dipanwita Roy had an extra‑marital relationship and bore a child with another man. To prove the allegation of infidelity, he applied to the Family Court for a DNA test of the child, which was dismissed, but the…

The appellant Kailas and co-accused were convicted under the NDNDPS Act for possession of 39 kg of ganja seized during a police raid, with the trial court relying on a video recording of the raid and a chemical examiner's report. The High Court set aside the convictions and ordered a re‑trial, holding that the video wa…

The appellant, Vijaya, allegedly ingested a poisonous substance and gave it to her 10‑month‑old daughter, who later died. A statement recorded by a Judicial Magistrate on 11‑Oct‑2012 was treated as a dying declaration, but the appellant survived and subsequently denied making the statement. The trial court and High Cou…

The appellant was convicted and sentenced to death for murder, rape and robbery based on circumstantial evidence, a last‑seen theory, confessions, recovered items and DNA evidence. The Supreme Court examined whether these evidentiary pillars were proved beyond reasonable doubt and whether the investigation complied wit…

The case involved senior officials of BHEL and private individuals accused of conspiring to award a contract for a desalination plant through a restricted tender, allegedly causing a loss of Rs.4.32 crore to the PSU. The prosecution relied heavily on the testimony of an approver who had been granted pardon under Sectio…

The case arose from a 1955‑56 partition suit concerning the estate of Nawab Khurshid Jah, where a preliminary decree dated 28‑06‑1963 declared certain lands as Mathruka property. The decree was later used by decree‑holders and their assignees to claim title over the land, leading to numerous execution and claim petitio…

The appellant, Virender Pal, was convicted under Section 304‑B of the IPC for the dowry death of his wife, Punita, who allegedly died after being harassed for dowry demands. The prosecution presented testimony that the husband and his relatives repeatedly demanded money, subjected the victim to physical and mental crue…

The appellant, Rajendra Kolhe, was convicted of murder under Section 302 read with Section 34 of the IPC for allegedly setting his wife Rekha on fire with the aid of his brother‑in‑law. The conviction was based primarily on Rekha's dying declaration (Ex. 59) recorded in the hospital, which implicated the appellant and …

The case involved the kidnapping of a five‑year‑old boy, Vicky, for ransom and his subsequent murder. The child’s sister, a seven‑year‑old witness, identified the primary kidnappers (A‑3 and A‑5) and testified consistently, while the father’s testimony corroborated her account. The Supreme Court held that the child’s t…

The appellant, Thoti Manohar (A‑2), was convicted along with his brother (A‑1) and cousin (A‑3) for the murder of Kuppuswamy Modali and related offences. The prosecution alleged that A‑1 had an illicit relationship with the victim's cousin, leading to a series of disputes, cattle raids, and a violent confrontation on 2…

The Supreme Court entertained a miscellaneous application seeking recall of its own judgment dated 03.01.2024 in Civil Appeal No. 37 of 2024 on the ground that the respondents had not been served and therefore did not appear. The Court held that non‑service justified recalling the judgment and ordered the appeal to be …

The appellants claimed that they had paid Rs.17,000 of the Rs.22,000 purchase price and that title passed to them upon execution and registration of the sale deed, seeking specific performance to obtain the registration receipt. The vendor denied any payment, retained the registration receipt, cancelled the deed and so…

The State of Uttar Pradesh, through the Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority, acquired land belonging to the appellants for a planned industrial development of Gautam Budh Nagar, invoking Sections 17(1) and 17(4) of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, thereby dispensing with the hearing provision of Section 5‑A. …

The appellant Bhajju (Karan Singh) was convicted of murder for allegedly pouring kerosene on his wife and setting her ablaze. The sole direct evidence against him was the victim's dying declaration recorded by an executive magistrate and attested by a doctor, supported by medical, forensic and material evidence. The ap…

The Supreme Court reviewed an appeal by Govindaraju against a Karnataka High Court conviction for murder under s.302 IPC read with s.34, which had overturned a trial court acquittal. The Court found that the High Court did not show the trial court's judgment to be perverse and that the prosecution's case suffered from …

The deceased Shashi Devi, a married woman, was found burnt in the hut of her husband Satye Singh; her father filed a complaint implicating the husband, his mother and sister‑in‑law. The Sessions Court convicted the husband and his mother under Sections 302, 34 and 201 of the IPC based solely on circumstantial evidence,…

The appellant, Manoj @ Monu @ Vishal Chaudhary, was initially declared a juvenile in conflict with law but the High Court set aside that finding and ordered him to stand trial as an adult. He sought to prove his juvenility on the basis of a birth certificate, a school leaving certificate, an ossification test report, a…

The case involved the smuggling of 184 gold biscuits concealed in meal trolleys of a Lufthansa flight, discovered by customs officers in 1996. Co‑accused Varyam Singh and Ranbir Singh named Pramod Kumar Dhamiya as an investor and participant in the smuggling, but the respondent evaded arrest and was declared a proclaim…

The appellant, Vivek Kalra, was convicted of murdering his 13‑14‑year‑old cousin, Ankit Kalra, based solely on circumstantial evidence. The prosecution alleged that Kalra lured the boy under the pretext of obtaining a cassette, used a dantli (sharp weapon) purchased from a blacksmith, and caused multiple fatal injuries…

Sanaullah Khan was charged with the kidnapping and murder of three persons—Ravindra Prasad, his son Sunny Kumar, and a servant Arvind—following a dispute over milk supply payments. The prosecution relied on three linked circumstances: the appellant’s servant luring the victims to his premises, the discovery of the bodi…

Surendra Koli, a servant of Maninder Singh Pandher, was convicted of multiple murders of children in Nithari, Noida, where he allegedly lured, strangulated, dismembered and ate the victims. He gave a voluntary confession before a magistrate under Section 164 of the CrPC, which was corroborated by the recovery of skulls…

The appellants Sheo Shankar Singh and Umesh Singh were convicted for the murder of MLA Gurudas Chatterjee, who was shot from a motorcycle while riding pillion. The prosecution relied on the eye‑witness testimony of two riders, corroborated by seizure of the motorcycles, blood‑stained clothing, empty cartridges and medi…

The State of Himachal Pradesh prosecuted Chaman Lal for allegedly pouring kerosene on his wife Saro Devi and setting her on fire, leading to her death. The trial court convicted him based largely on the wife's dying declaration recorded by a Tehsildar, but the High Court acquitted him, extending the benefit of doubt du…

The State of Rajasthan prosecuted six accused for gang rape and kidnapping of a 14‑year‑old mentally deficient girl, relying on the victim's testimony, her father's eyewitness account, medical examination, and forensic evidence showing semen on the victims' clothing. The trial court convicted all six under IPC sections…

The Supreme Court heard an appeal by Mohammed Abdul Wahid against Nilofer & Anr concerning whether a party to a civil suit can also be treated as a witness and whether CPC provisions bar the production of documents for cross‑examination of a party. The High Court had held that a party could not be equated with a witnes…

Air Commodore N.K. Sharma, a Judge Advocate General (Air) in the Indian Air Force, claimed that the Ministry of Defence failed to form a policy for filling the upgraded AVM JAG (Air) post and that his promotion was unjustly denied. He filed a complaint under Section 27 of the Air Force Act, which led the Armed Forces T…

The appellant, a 23‑year‑old resident of Chhattisgarh, was convicted of kidnapping, rape, murder and related offences after a missing‑child case led to his confession and the recovery of the victim’s body from a concealed sack. The trial court sentenced him to death for murder and to rigorous imprisonment for the other…

The Supreme Court of India addressed two interconnected issues: whether landlord-tenant disputes governed by the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 are arbitrable, and the scope of judicial review under Sections 8 and 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. The case arose from a tenancy agreement containing an ar…

The appellant Shama was convicted for murder under Sections 302 and 34 of the IPC, based primarily on the dying declaration of the deceased, Naurang, recorded by Police Inspector Mam Chand after a medical certification of fitness. The appellant challenged the conviction, arguing that the declaration was improperly reco…

The appellant, Ram Viswas, was convicted of murdering his wife by pouring kerosene on her and setting her ablaze. The victim, Maladeep, gave a dying declaration naming her husband as the perpetrator, which was recorded by a Naib Tahsildar after medical certification of her fitness to testify. The appellant challenged t…

The appellant Govind was convicted for murder under Section 302 IPC and for illegal possession of a firearm under Section 25 of the Arms Act based primarily on the recovery of a country‑made pistol and two live cartridges from an iron box in his house and a forensic report linking the cartridges to the bullets recovere…

Naresh Kumar was married to Rekha Rani, who within ten months complained to her father about dowry harassment by her husband and his family. Despite repeated pleas, the husband threatened divorce and forced her to return to his home, after which she set herself on fire and died. The prosecution proved that the dowry de…

The Supreme Court examined the appeal of A.K. Devaiah, convicted under Sections 3, 4, 6 of the Dowry Prohibition Act and Sections 498‑A and 304‑B of the IPC for the death of his wife, who committed suicide by self‑immolation within a year of marriage. The prosecution proved that the husband demanded dowry, that the wif…

The State of Karnataka appealed the acquittal of Smt. Suvarnamma and her husband Manjunath for the dowry‑related death of the bride, Soumya, who died from severe burn injuries within seven years of marriage. The prosecution proved that the accused had harassed the victim for dowry and that the mother‑in‑law poured kero…

The appellant, married to the deceased for 25 years, had a quarrel with his wife on the day she later ingested pesticide and died; the appellant also consumed pesticide and survived. He was convicted under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code for abetment of suicide and under Section 4(b) of the Tamil Nadu Prohibition …

The deceased woman repeatedly fled her matrimonial home due to alleged dowry harassment and cruelty by her husband, mother‑in‑law and sister‑in‑law, and filed complaints and a maintenance suit. She later died after ingesting poison, claiming it was a mistake, and gave a dying declaration to that effect. The trial court…

The appellants, a married couple and their son, were convicted for the murder of the son's wife, who was allegedly killed by being tied with a saree border and thrown into a well over a dowry demand. The trial court and High Court upheld convictions under IPC sections 302, 304B, 498A read with section 34, based solely …

Dr. Sunil Clifford Daniel was convicted for the murder of his wife, Dr. Loyalla Shagoufta, and for concealing her death under IPC sections 302 and 201. The prosecution relied on a series of circumstantial facts – blood‑stained clothes handed to a medical superintendent, forensic evidence of human blood on recovered ite…

The appellant, Mustafa Shahadal Shaikh, was convicted for the dowry death of his wife, who committed suicide by poisoning within seven months of marriage. The prosecution relied on the testimony of the deceased's close relatives, who detailed repeated harassment and demands for dowry by the appellant and his family, in…

The husband filed a divorce petition and sought to introduce secretly recorded telephone conversations with his wife as evidence, submitting memory cards, a CD and transcripts. The Family Court allowed the evidence, but the High Court set aside that order on the ground that the recordings violated the wife's right to p…

The appellant A-4, a young woman engaged to B.V. Girish, was unwilling to marry him and confided her grievance to friend A-1, who enlisted cousin A-3 and A-2 to murder the fiancé. The deceased was fatally injured with a steel rod on 3 December 2003; eyewitnesses were later discredited and the case hinged on circumstant…

The appellant, ShaHaja @ ShaHajan Ismail Mohd. Shaikh, was convicted of murdering Mahankal Jaiswal after two eye‑witnesses (PW‑1 and PW‑8) testified that he assaulted the victim with a hammer. The trial court also relied on a discovery panchnama under Section 27 of the Evidence Act, which recorded the appellant pointin…

The appellant, Arjun Panditrao Khotkar, was elected to the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly but his election was challenged on the ground that two of his nomination papers were filed after the statutory deadline. The High Court relied on video recordings of the Returning Officer's office, produced by the Election Commi…

Constable Mahadev, a BSF personnel, was convicted under Section 46 of the BSF Act (equivalent to murder under Section 302 IPC) for shooting and killing a civilian smuggler during a border patrol. He appealed, claiming the shooting was in private self‑defence against a group of armed intruders who had surrounded him. Th…

The appellant, Yusuf, was accused of murdering 13‑year‑old Sahanara Khatun and of concealing the offence under Sections 302 and 201 IPC. The prosecution relied on the claim that Yusuf attempted to rape the girl, struck her with a spade and buried her, supported by witnesses who saw Yusuf near the field with a spade, an…

The Supreme Court examined multiple appeals arising from the Satyam scandal, where the appellant, Chintalapati Srinivasa Raju, a former executive and non‑executive director of Satyam Computer Services Ltd (SCSL) and co‑brother of its chairman, was shown cause for insider trading under SEBI (Prohibition of Insider Tradi…

The Supreme Court examined the conviction of Durga Prasad and others under IPC sections 498-A and 304-B for the alleged dowry death of Kripa Bai, who committed suicide within seven years of marriage. The trial and High Courts had relied solely on the testimony of the victim's mother and brother, alleging cruelty and ha…

The appellant Niranjan Panja was convicted under Section 302 IPC for the murder of Haripada Samanta based largely on circumstantial evidence, including the alleged discovery of a blood‑stained weapon that was never produced in court and the claim that the victim was last seen with the accused. The prosecution failed to…

Gosaidas Samanta executed a will in 1929 bequeathing his extensive property to his sons and grandson. The attesting witnesses to the will were dead, and the propounder relied on depositions of the testator's sons, a witness who saw the signing, and related documents such as a 1945 partition deed and an acknowledgment d…

The appellant, a husband, was convicted under IPC sections 498A (dowry harassment) and 306 (abetment of suicide) for the death of his wife Girija, who committed suicide within seven years of marriage in their matrimonial home. The prosecution proved that Girija had suffered multiple physical injuries and mental cruelty…

The case concerned two separate prosecutions arising from the July 2006 Mumbai suburban train bomb blasts. In Special Case No. 21 of 2006, the accused‑respondents sought to summon four Deputy Commissioners of Police (who had recorded confessional statements of three other accused in a later Special Case No. 4 of 2009) …

The petitioners, who had obtained large credit facilities from two banks by allegedly submitting forged lease documents as collateral, defaulted on payments and were prosecuted for fraud and related offences. The banks later settled the civil dues through a one‑time settlement, and the petitioners sought to have the cr…

The plaintiff, C. Doddanarayana Reddy, claimed he was a minor at the time of his father's death in 1963 and therefore sought partition of his share in the family property, alleging that a release deed executed that year was void. To prove minority, he relied on a school leaving certificate, but the certificate was not …

The appellant was convicted under Sections 376(1) and 450 of the IPC for raping his brother's wife, based solely on the prosecutrix's testimony. The prosecution's case lacked any independent witnesses and the medical and forensic reports showed no injuries, semen or blood stains, and the forensic report was inconclusiv…

The complainant, APS Forex Services, alleged that the accused Shakti International Fashion Linkers and others issued four cheques which were dishonoured, and a fresh consolidated cheque was also returned on a stop‑payment order. A complaint under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act was filed. The accused admi…

The appellant, Sirajul Hoque, was declared a foreigner by the Foreigner's Tribunal on the ground of a discrepancy in his grandfather's name and the fact that his father later resided in a different village. The High Court upheld this declaration, holding that the appellant's written statement was inadequate and failed …

The case involved a fatal road accident in which Sitaram, a government school teacher, was riding a motorcycle that collided with a bus owned by the Rajasthan State Road Transport Corporation and driven rashly by its driver. The claimants sought compensation under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, and the Motor Accident Cl…

The Supreme Court allowed appeals against the acquittal of A2 to A4 (Sasikala, Sudhakaran, Elavarasi) in a disproportionate assets case under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. The trial court had convicted them for conspiracy and abetment with A1 (Jayalalitha, since deceased) in amassing assets worth Rs.66.65 cro…

Bansi Lal was convicted under Sections 498-A, 304-B and 306 of the IPC for the suicide of his wife Sarla, who had left the matrimonial home after a year of marriage, stayed with her parents for 14 months, and returned following a panchayat assurance. The prosecution proved a consistent demand for a scooter by the accus…

Padum Kumar, a postman, delivered a registered envelope containing four Indira Vikas Patras (Rs.20,000) on 09‑04‑1992, which was never received by the complainant, Dr. K.B. Varshney. The delivery slip bore the signature "D. Mohan"; the complainant's son, Devesh Mohan, denied that the signature was his. Private handwrit…

The case involved the murder and robbery of Premchand Jain and his family, for which three accused were initially convicted and sentenced to death. The High Court acquitted the accused, and the matter came before the Supreme Court on appeal by the complainant Ashish Jain and the State of Madhya Pradesh. The Court exami…

Rajinder Kumar was convicted for the dowry death of his wife, Raj Rani, who was allegedly harassed by him and his family for a demand of Rs 20,000 after marriage. The deceased’s brothers, Ganpat Rai and Hari Chand, testified that the harassment occurred shortly before her death, which was caused by aluminium phosphide …

The appellant Sudhir Kumar was convicted under Section 304B of the IPC for the dowry death of his wife, Kamlesh Rani, while his mother and other relatives were acquitted. The Supreme Court examined whether the presumption of dowry death under Section 113B of the Evidence Act was rebutted because four of the five accuse…

The appellant lodged an FIR alleging that his brother was murdered in Firozabad and that a separate FIR was falsely registered in Gwalior to provide an alibi for the main accused. The High Court quashed the criminal proceedings against several police officials, holding that sanction under Section 197 of the CrPC was re…

The Urban Improvement Trust (the appellant) sought to acquire land in Nangli Kota and Moongaska villages under the Rajasthan Urban Improvement Act, 1959. The respondents challenged the acquisition, alleging procedural defects: failure to serve individual notices under s.52(2), premature possession before compensation w…

The appellant Yanab Sheikh was convicted for murdering Samim Ali by throwing a bomb, under IPC s.302 and the Indian Explosives Act s.9(b)(ii). The prosecution’s case rested on eyewitness statements and forensic evidence. The appellant challenged the conviction on five grounds, chiefly that the police entry recorded as …

Krishan was charged under Sections 302, 498A and 109 read with Section 34 of the IPC for allegedly setting his wife Rani on fire. Rani gave a dying declaration implicating Krishan, which was recorded by a Sub‑Divisional Judicial Magistrate after a medical certificate of fitness. The trial court acquitted Krishan, relyi…

Haradhan Das was convicted for murder under Section 302 read with Section 149 of the IPC for a dacoity in which the deceased Barindra Nath Mukherjee was killed. The trial court had acquitted three co‑accused on the ground of non‑identification, but the Supreme Court held that the prosecution proved its case against the…

The dispute concerned the auction of a 10,000 sq. m. government plot in Powai, Mumbai, advertised by MHADA on 17‑Nov‑2004. Jaykrishna Industries Ltd. (appellant) was the highest bidder and its bid was provisionally accepted with a 25% deposit paid. The respondent, Popcorn Properties Ltd., obtained a High Court order al…

The appellant, Surinder Singh, was convicted under Sections 3048 and 498A of the IPC for the death of his wife Anita, who died by burns within 94 days of marriage. The prosecution alleged that the husband and his family were dissatisfied with the dowry received and repeatedly harassed Anita, demanding Rs 60,000 for the…

The appellant was charged with murder, attempt to rape and related offences after the deceased was found dead in a pool of blood. The trial court acquitted him, finding the prosecution's key witness (PW1) unreliable and noting the non‑examination of material witnesses and the absence of a fingerprint report. The High C…

The appellant Subramanya was charged with murdering Kamalamma along with co‑accused Gowri and Seetharam Bhat. The trial court acquitted all three, but the Karnataka High Court convicted Subramanya under IPC s.302 and sentenced him to life imprisonment, relying on an extra‑judicial confession by Seetharam, motive, and d…

The appellant, Md. Anowar Hussain, was convicted by the Sessions Court and the Gauhati High Court for murdering his wife, Samina Begum, based on circumstantial evidence and a post‑mortem report showing asphyxia due to throttling. The appellant claimed the victim died of an illness in hospital and that he had left home …

The appellant Ramanand (alias Nandlal Bharti) was convicted and sentenced to death for allegedly murdering his wife and four children, based largely on circumstantial evidence comprising a discovery statement of the murder weapon, extra‑judicial confessions to two witnesses, alleged motive stemming from an extramarital…

On 7 November 2003 a large mob in Ahmedabad assaulted several persons, burnt a two-wheeler and an auto‑rickshaw, and snatched the gold chain of PW‑2. The appellant, accused No.6, was identified only by PW‑2’s testimony given two years later, without any identification parade and amidst a crowd of 50‑100 people. The tri…

The appellant, Rupesh Manger, was charged with murdering his grandfather using a sharp-edged weapon. He pleaded insanity, and the trial court, after considering psychiatric reports indicating acute psychotic disorder and abnormal behavior at the time of the offence, acquitted him under Section 84 of the IPC. The High C…

The appellants – the husband and his in‑laws – were convicted for dowry harassment that allegedly led to the suicide of the wife, Tuli Shah, by alleged consumption of poison. The trial court, and subsequently the High Court, held that despite the post‑mortem and viscera reports being silent on the exact cause of death …

M/S. Shivali Enterprises entered into an agreement to sell land to the respondents, receiving Rs.1,50,000 of the Rs.1,65,000 purchase price and taking possession, while the respondents were required to obtain an Income‑Tax Clearance certificate and have the revenue records mutated before execution of the sale deed. The…

The case arose from the loss of two pistols during a T‑90 tank conversion exercise of the 71 Armoured Regiment at Pokhran. The accused soldiers, Neeraj Kumar Dhaka and Sandeep Kumar, were convicted by a District Court Martial for theft and sentenced to rigorous imprisonment and dismissal. The Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT…

The Supreme Court examined appeals arising from the acquisition of 561.38 acres in Haryana where the High Court had fixed compensation at Rs.1.46 crore per acre by applying a 15% cumulative annual increase and relying heavily on the Swaran Singh judgment. The Court held that such reliance was improper because prior awa…

Manjit Singh and Paramjit Singh were convicted for the murder of Jagmohan Singh and the attempted murder of Amarjot Singh after a gang fired on a tractor following a political dispute. The appellants challenged the convictions on five grounds, chiefly that two material witnesses were not examined, that the maxim falsus…

The appellant, Ashwani Kumar Saxena, was convicted of murder under IPC s.302 r.w. s.27 Arms Act and appealed, claiming he was a juvenile at the time of the offence (19‑Oct‑2008). He produced school mark‑sheets and the school admission register showing a birth date of 24‑Oct‑1990, while the trial court relied on ossific…

The petition challenged the constitutional validity of Sections 12(5), 12(6), 15(5) and 15(6) of the Right to Information Act, 2005, which prescribe the eligibility criteria for appointing Chief Information Commissioners and Information Commissioners. The petitioner argued that the provisions were vague, lacked specifi…

Ajitsingh Harnamsingh Gujral was convicted of murdering his wife and three children by dousing them with petrol and setting them alight. The trial court and the Bombay High Court sentenced him to death. On appeal, the Supreme Court examined the circumstantial evidence, including the accused's last sighting with the vic…

The State of Kerala appealed against the Kerala High Court’s order quashing an FIR that alleged offences under Sections 182, 194, 195, 195A and 306 of the IPC based on a suicide note left by the deceased, a senior investigating officer. The Supreme Court examined whether the suicide note established a prima facie case …

The dispute concerned the inclusion of Rajni Kant and Anjani Kumar as heirs of the late Chandra Deo Singh in land records (khata) under Section 9A(2) of the U.P. Consolidation of Holdings Act, 1953. The respondents claimed they were legitimate children born out of a long‑standing live‑in relationship between the deceas…

Three naval personnel (AK Singh, UK Singh and DK Singh) were accused of a bank robbery at the Andhra Bank counter in INS Virbahu. The Court Martial convicted AK and UK, dismissing them with disgrace, while the Armed Forces Tribunal later affirmed their convictions based on eyewitness testimony of the bank manager (PW‑1…

The accused Mustkeem, Nandu and Arun were convicted for the murder of Ram Pal Yadav under IPC s.302/34 and the Arms Act based largely on circumstantial evidence, hostile eyewitnesses, and weapons recovered after the accused’s disclosure. The Supreme Court found that key witnesses had turned hostile, statements were ret…

The plaintiffs filed a partition suit claiming a half‑share in the coparcenary property of the Kattukandi Edathil family, asserting that the first plaintiff was the legitimate son of Damodaran and Chiruthakutty. The defendants denied that a marriage existed between Damodaran and Chiruthakutty and contended that the pla…

The appellant, Veerendra, a cousin of the victim’s mother, was found to have raped and strangled to death an eight‑year‑old girl, the daughter of his cousin sister. While in police custody he disclosed the location of the body, which was recovered from a dilapidated building. Post‑mortem and forensic reports confirmed …

The appellant was married to the deceased who, within months of marriage, faced severe dowry harassment by him and his family, leading to a first suicide attempt and later a settlement that failed to stop the abuse. The wife eventually committed suicide by hanging, and the husband, his mother, and two brothers were cha…

Rangammal appealed against a decree that included her share of a property in a partition suit filed by her cousin Kuppuswami. The plaintiff relied on a sale deed dated 24‑02‑1951, allegedly executed by the appellant's de‑facto guardian while she was a minor, to claim title. The Supreme Court held that the burden of pro…

Santosh, a married woman, died from severe burns after allegedly being set alight with kerosene by her husband, brother‑in‑law (Puran Chand) and aunt‑in‑law. A dying declaration was recorded by a First Class Judicial Magistrate after a doctor certified her mental fitness. The trial court convicted all three under IPC s…

B.S. Hari, a Commandant in the Border Security Force, was convicted by a General Security Force Court for allegedly permitting the smuggling of acetic anhydride across the India‑Pakistan border and was sentenced to ten years’ rigorous imprisonment, a fine and dismissal from service. The conviction rested mainly on the …

G.C. Pandya, a former Deputy Engineer of the Gujarat Maritime Board, was disciplined and censured in 2002 and superannuated as Superintending Engineer. He sued for a declaration that the departmental enquiry and punishment were illegal and sought promotion to Chief Engineer effective 1 January 2002. The Board did not f…

The plaintiff and his brother executed a registered gift deed in 1981 transferring land to the appellant, the appellant's son. Neither the plaintiff nor his brother contested the deed for about 22 years; the appellant filed a partition suit in 2001, in which the plaintiff was a defendant. In 2003 the plaintiff filed a …

The appellant, Bhagwan Tukaram Dange, and his father were convicted of murdering Dange's wife by beating, dousing her with kerosene and setting her on fire while intoxicated. The prosecution's case relied on two dying declarations recorded by a head constable and a special judicial magistrate, both corroborated by the …

The appellant Vipin Jaiswal was convicted under Sections 3048 and 498A of the IPC for the death of his wife, who died from burn injuries. The prosecution alleged that the wife was subjected to cruelty and dowry harassment, citing a demand of Rs.50,000 for a computer six months after marriage. The appellant claimed the …

The appellant was accused of murdering his wife after she resisted repeated dowry demands for a television, fridge and cooler, which were accompanied by beatings and harassment. The trial court acquitted the accused, citing a 51‑hour delay in filing the FIR and inconsistencies in the witnesses' statements. On appeal, t…

The appellant, a bank manager, was convicted of murdering his two minor children, his sister‑in‑law and mother‑in‑law in June 2010, motivated by his disapproval of his sister‑in‑law’s relationship. The trial court sentenced him to death, a judgment affirmed by the Karnataka High Court. On appeal, the Supreme Court exam…

Mahadeo Krishna Naik, a bus driver for Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC), was dismissed after a fatal accident in 1996. The Labour Court upheld his dismissal, but the corporation later obtained a Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal (MACT) award that placed sole blame on the lorry driver, a fact it failed…

The appellant Vinod @ Nasmulla was convicted under IPC sections 395 and 397 and Arms Act section 25 for a dacoity involving a bus robbery on 28 September 1993. The prosecution's case rested on a dock identification by a police constable (PW‑9) and the alleged recovery of a country‑made pistol at the time of his arrest,…

The Supreme Court examined appeals by Telestar Travels Pvt. Ltd. and its directors challenging the adjudication order under the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA) that found them guilty of dealing in foreign exchange without RBI permission and of using a paper company, Bountiful Ltd., to route funds. The Court held…

The plaintiffs sought a declaration of title over land based on two sale deeds dated 3 September 1968 and 29 September 1968, the first executed by plaintiff 2 as an attorney of the original owner who allegedly executed a power of attorney (PoA) in East Pakistan. The trial court and the first appellate court dismissed t…

The appellant Madhu and his co-accused Sibi were convicted for robbery and murder of Padmini Devi based largely on confessional statements to police and circumstantial evidence. The Supreme Court held that the confessions were inadmissible because they did not lead to the discovery of any unknown fact, violating Sectio…

The appellant was convicted of raping and murdering a three‑year‑old girl and was sentenced to death, a sentence confirmed by the High Court and upheld by the Supreme Court. The appellant filed review petitions, which were initially dismissed but later restored after the Supreme Court’s decision in Mohd. Arif alias Ash…

Kashmir Kaur and another were convicted under Section 3048 IPC (dowry death) read with Section 34 IPC and Section 498A IPC for the death of the deceased woman, which occurred 11 months after her marriage. The prosecution proved that the victim was repeatedly harassed and tortured by her mother‑in‑law, brother‑in‑law an…

The case arose from a 1992 altercation in Ajmer that resulted in the death of Idris and injuries to several persons, leading to two FIRs (cross‑FIRs). The trial court convicted four accused (Yasir, Khalil, Akil and Farukh) under Sections 302 and 324 read with Section 34 of the IPC and sentenced them to life imprisonmen…

The appellant, husband of Karnail Kaur, was charged under Section 304B of the IPC for dowry death after his wife died of poisoning within seven years of marriage. The prosecution proved that the wife had complained of dowry demands for a scooter and refrigerator on 25 June 1991, and she died on 30 June 1991, establishi…

Gowramma, a married woman, died from severe burns after allegedly being doused with kerosene by her husband Anjanappa. She gave a dying declaration implicating him, which was recorded by a police officer and endorsed by the attending doctor, who testified that she was conscious and fit to speak. The trial court acquitt…

The President of India referred the conduct of the Haryana Public Service Commission Chairman Mehar Singh Saini and three members to the Supreme Court under Article 317(1) for alleged misbehaviour, including irregular selections, use of bogus certificates, and refusal to cooperate with vigilance investigations. The Cou…

The case concerned the murder of Devinder Singh, who was allegedly attacked by three accused wielding hockey sticks and a knife. The prosecution’s case rested primarily on the testimony of Parminder Singh (PW‑1), a brother of the deceased, while the other two eye‑witnesses turned hostile. The Supreme Court examined the…

The trial court acquitted 23 accused of charges including criminal conspiracy (s.120B IPC) and murder (s.302 IPC) based on inconsistencies in eyewitness testimony, a doubtful dying declaration, and lack of corroborative evidence. The Madras High Court reversed the acquittal of 19 accused, convicting them on the same ch…