M K MUKHERJEE

The Gujarat police seized sheep and goats belonging to C.M. Nat for alleged violations of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 and related statutes. A Judicial Magistrate initially ordered that the animals be placed under the custody of the appellant Pinjrapole, but the Additional Sessions Judge later directe…

The petitioner, the wife of Suresh Chander Sharma, challenged his preventive detention under the National Security Act, 1980. The detenu had made a representation to the State Government within the prescribed time, which was rejected, and the representation was forwarded to the Central Government, which also rejected i…

The respondent, a senior police officer, was investigated under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947 for possessing assets disproportionate to his known income. After a FIR was lodged, the Maharashtra government granted sanction under Section 197 of the CrPC and a charge‑sheet was filed. The Bombay High Court, invoki…

The petitioner, Krishna Veer Singh Chauhan, was appointed Secretary of the Vidharbha Rashtrabhasha Prachar Samiti in 1982 but the respondents forcibly took control of the trust's affairs and properties. The petitioner obtained orders from the Joint Charity Commissioner and the Supreme Court directing the respondents to…

The State of Haryana filed a complaint alleging that two batches of sodium chloride injections purchased by a district inspector were adulterated, as reported by the Government Analyst under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act. The manufacturers, Mis Mittal Pharmaceutical Pvt. Ltd., were served with the analyst's report but fa…

The case concerned the murder of Rama, a young woman who disappeared from her matrimonial home and whose body was later found in a hold‑all at New Delhi railway station. The prosecution relied on identification of the victim by her sister through the red saree and glass bangles, forensic evidence of strangulation, and …

The Kerala Government, after initially consenting to CBI investigation of espionage cases under Section 6 of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, later withdrew that consent to allow State Police to conduct a "further investigation". The Supreme Court held that once the CBI, acting on the State's consent, comple…

Shri M.A. Wahab joined the National Airport Authority in 1957 with his date of birth recorded as 1 January 1934. After passing his matriculation in 1962, a certificate indicated his birth as 1 March 1939, and in 1990 he applied to have his service record corrected. The Authority refused and the Central Administrative T…

The Supreme Court considered two questions raised by Bombay Dyeing & Manufacturing Co. Ltd.: (1) whether professional fees paid to solicitors for the amalgamation of Nawrosjee Wadia Ginning & Pressing Co. could be treated as revenue expenditure under the Income Tax Act, and (2) whether a contribution of Rs. 2,25,000 to…

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) raided Arun Kumar Bajoria's residence and issued summons under Section 40 of the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA). Bajoria filed a writ petition challenging the summons and later obtained anticipatory bail under Section 438 of the CrPC from the City Sessions Court, with a conditio…

Wassan Singh and two co‑accused attacked a gathering at Hazara Singh's house; during the fray Singh was injured multiple times and, fearing grievous hurt, fired his gun, inadvertently killing an innocent woman, Bholan. He was convicted by the Sessions Court under Section 304 Part I IPC and under Section 27 of the Arms …

The appellant, Sadanandan Badran, received a Rs 30,000 cheque from the respondent, Madhavan Sunil Kumar, to settle a loan. The cheque was presented twice (January and May 1991) and was dishonoured both times for insufficient funds. After each dishonour the appellant issued a legal notice demanding payment; the responde…

Sahib Singh was convicted under the IPC and TADA for the murder of Om Prakash based on the testimony of three brothers—sons of the deceased—and a confession recorded under Section 15 of the TADA Act. The Supreme Court examined whether relatives of the deceased are competent witnesses, the effect of a delayed FIR, and t…

The appellants were accused of murdering their brother‑in‑law, Hanamappa, and of acting with common intention under IPC sections 302 and 34. The trial court acquitted them, disbelieving the eye‑witness P.W.2, the hostile witness P.W.1 and several independent villagers, and giving undue weight to minor contradictions an…

The appellants, involved in a land dispute, attacked Dayashankar and his brother Ramesh, dismembering the former and severely injuring the latter. Ramesh (PW‑1) survived, narrated the incident to his mother (PW‑2) and nephew (PW‑3), and later gave a statement to the police and a dying declaration to a magistrate. PW‑3 …

The appellants, daughters of Banarsi Das, claimed that surplus land declared under the Punjab Security of Land Tenures Act, 1953 was not utilised before their father's death, invoking the inheritance exemption under Section 10‑A(b). The State argued that the land had been allotted to a tenant, Mangat Ram, in 1964, with…

The Supreme Court examined several appeals concerning the liability of insurers under Section 95 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1939 for passengers travelling in goods carriages. The petitioners, owners of goods vehicles and claimants, argued that the insurance policy should cover death or injury of passengers, including o…

The State of Karnataka appealed against the High Court’s order allowing a writ petition filed by IPS officer Kempaiah, who challenged a preliminary inquiry by the Upalokayukta into allegations of amassing wealth. The Supreme Court examined whether the term "action" in Section 2(1) of the Karnataka Lokayukta Act, 1984 i…

The respondent, K.V. Vijeesh, was placed at rank 172 in the select list for Diesel Assistant vacancies of the Southern Railways but was not appointed while lower‑ranked candidates were. He approached the Central Administrative Tribunal, which directed the Railways to consider him for any existing or future vacancy. The…

The State of Maharashtra appealed against the Bombay High Court’s order granting bail to Ramesh Taurani, who was arrested for allegedly conspiring to murder film producer Gulshan Kumar by financing contract killers. The High Court had relied on the fact that Taurani’s name did not appear in the remand applications of o…

The Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax alleged that a partnership firm, Mahajan Borewell & Co., and its three partners had failed to deduct tax at source, violating Section 276‑B of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The Special Court discharged the respondents on procedural grounds, and the High Court upheld the discharge, h…

The employees of the Central Plantation Crops Research Institute were allotted official quarters but refused to occupy them, after which the Institute denied them House Rent Allowance (HRA). The employees challenged the denial before the High Court, which transferred the matter to the Central Administrative Tribunal (C…

The case involved eleven accused who participated in a violent incident that resulted in the death of Dana Pitha. The trial court acquitted eight of them, convicting only three under Section 302 IPC, but the Gujarat High Court reversed the acquittals, finding that the accused formed an unlawful assembly with the common…

The State of U.P. prosecuted four accused, including Smt. Noorie, under IPC sections 147, 148, 302/149 and 201/511 for the murder of Ram Bharosey (Bachan Shah). The prosecution relied on three eye‑witnesses (PW‑1, PW‑2 and PW‑3) who testified that the accused assaulted the victim with knives and lathis and later dragge…

Preetam and his brother Ishwar Lal were tried for the murder of Chhita. The trial court acquitted both, but the State appealed. The High Court set aside Preetam’s acquittal, relying on a confession recorded by a magistrate and on property recoveries allegedly made pursuant to that confession, while rejecting eye‑witnes…

The appellant, a Major in the Indian Army, was served a notice under Section 19 of the Army Act, 1950 and Rule 14 of the Army Rules, 1954, proposing termination of his service for misconduct alleged to have occurred about seven years earlier. The notice claimed that a court‑martial trial was impracticable because the t…

The landlord, Bhola Nath Varshney, served a notice under Section 106 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 and filed an eviction suit in 1981 against his tenant, Mulk Raj Madan, for a building constructed in 1974. The issue was whether the Uttar Pradesh Buildings (Regulation of Letting, Rent and Eviction) Act, 1972 wou…

Ishvarbhai Fuljibhai Patni was convicted under Section 302 IPC and sentenced to life imprisonment. He appealed to the Gujarat High Court, which dismissed his appeal in a brief, cryptic judgment that merely affirmed the conviction without discussing the evidence or the arguments raised. The Supreme Court held that a Hig…

The case arose from FIR No. 735 (8 November 1993) alleging dowry death of Sunita, wife of Anil Kumar. The Additional Sessions Judge, Rohtak, granted anticipatory bail under Section 438 CrPC to the parents and brother of the husband, noting that they lived separately from the deceased as evidenced by the FIR and ration …

In June 1981 a mob of 40‑50 Bharwad community members armed with sticks and dharias attacked three Patel individuals, killing one and injuring two. The trial court acquitted all fifteen accused, treating each assault as unrelated and discounting eye‑witness testimony. On appeal, the Gujarat High Court held that the ass…

The appellant and four others were tried for murder, rioting and attempt to murder. Eye‑witnesses PW4 and PW6 testified that the appellant and his brother fired at the deceased Sukhdev Singh, while a defence witness DW5 also admitted the appellant’s firing. The trial court acquitted three accused on the basis of doubt …

The appellant, Nayudu Srihari, and fourteen others were charged with the murder of Nagulu, a member of a rival faction, based solely on the testimony of PW‑1. The trial court and the Andhra Pradesh High Court upheld the conviction, despite inconsistencies in PW‑1's statements, the fact that his parents testified he was…

Rai Singh was convicted for the murder of Smt. Parkashi, who was shot with a pistol inside her house in the early hours of January 30, 1987. The prosecution established that Singh had an illicit relationship with the deceased, and that he was present at the house on the night of the murder, where he fired the pistol af…

Madhu Bala filed two complaints alleging offences under Sections 498A and 406 IPC before Chief Judicial Magistrates. The magistrates, invoking Section 156(3) of the Criminal Procedure Code, directed the police to register a case and investigate; the police registered FIRs, investigated, and submitted charge‑sheets. The…

The appellant was tried before the Sessions Court for uxoricide and was convicted under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code for murder. On appeal, the Andhra Pradesh High Court set aside the murder conviction and, invoking Section 222 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, convicted him instead under Section 306 IPC for a…

Four accused were convicted under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, the Indian Penal Code and the Explosive Substances Act on the basis of confessional statements recorded by a Superintendent of Police under Section 15 of TADA. The police officer failed to furnish the certificate of satisfaction…

Govindasami was accused of murdering his uncle Nagamalai, the latter's wife, two sons and a daughter in May 1984. The prosecution relied on circumstantial evidence: a land‑dispute motive, a wrist‑watch recovered from the crime scene that belonged to the accused, a blood‑stained lungi and a promissory note found on him,…

Modi Cements Ltd. filed three criminal complaints under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act against K.K. Nandi for dishonour of cheques that were returned with a "payment stopped by the drawer" endorsement. The High Court quashed the complaints on the ground that the stop‑payment instruction precluded liabili…

The State of Karnataka prosecuted four respondents for the murders of two brothers, alleging they were killed with an axe and sickle. The trial court convicted them under IPC sections 302, 34 and 324 based on eye‑witness testimony, recovered blood‑stained weapons, and post‑mortem reports. The Karnataka High Court acqui…

The Joshi Ambashankar Family Trust, a charitable trust, sought High Court permission to sell a property after obtaining a modification order allowing sale with court approval and 3/4 trustee concurrence. While the trustees received an offer of Rs.9 lakh from a group of purchasers, the appellants (Gowrishankar and other…

The appellant, Ahmad Umar Saeed Sheikh, was charged under IPC sections 307, 332, 427, the Foreigners Act, and TADA sections 3 and 4. He contended that the FIR, lodged on a Sub‑Inspector's complaint, was invalid because it was recorded without the prior approval of the District Superintendent of Police required by TADA …

Three brothers—Raj Mohammad, Niaz Ali and Gulzar Ali—were convicted for the murder of Tara Chand, a factotum of Jai Paul, based on circumstantial evidence, letters showing motive, and recovered weapons. The prosecution relied on letters seized from the accused, expert handwriting analysis, and statements by the accused…

The State of Punjab charged Tejinder Singh (A‑1) and Darshan Singh (A‑2) with murder of Jasbir Singh after a boundary dispute, alleging that both approached the victim with gandasas and assaulted him, leading to his death. The Special Court convicted A‑1 under s.302 IPC and acquitted A‑2, prompting A‑1 to appeal his co…

Gurdial Singh, along with two others, was charged with murder under Section 302 IPC read with Section 34 and under Section 25 of the Arms Act. The prosecution alleged that the three accused fired at the victim, Ram Pal, causing his instantaneous death, and forensic evidence linked the appellant's unlicensed 12‑bore gun…

The appellant, a police officer, was convicted under IPC s.302 for allegedly setting his wife on fire and under s.377 for sodomy. The sole evidence of his guilt was the victim's dying declaration recorded by a Judicial Magistrate, which the defence argued was inadmissible because it was not in question‑answer form, lac…

The case concerned a violent assault on 23 May 1985 in which six accused, armed with a double‑barrel gun, gandhalis, kirpans and gandasas, attacked two men (Harbhajan Singh and Baldev Singh) and injured a third witness (Suba Singh). The trial court convicted four of the accused and acquitted two; the Punjab and Haryana…

Six accused were convicted under IPC sections 147, 148, 307 and 302 for a homicide. The Madras High Court set aside the convictions, acquitting them on the ground that the appellant's statement recorded under Section 164 of the CrPC (initially a dying declaration) materially contradicted the FIR report. The Supreme Cou…

Ramti Devi filed a suit on 30 July 1966 seeking a declaration that she was the absolute owner of a house and that the sale deed dated 29 January 1947, by which the defendant had allegedly alienated the property, should be avoided or cancelled. The trial court dismissed the suit and the Delhi High Court affirmed the dis…

The case concerned a land acquisition where the Collector’s award was made on 30 December 1980 and possession taken in early 1981. The civil court, on reference, enhanced the compensation on 28 February 1985 and the enhanced amount was deposited in 1986. The High Court confirmed the enhanced compensation but denied int…

Muneshwar (deceased) filed a partition suit under Section 176 of the U.P. Zamindari Abolition Act, which was decreed but never executed, leaving him in possession of the land. The respondents later filed a suit for possession under Section 209, more than six years after the date prescribed in Appendix III, and the suit…

The State of Orissa prosecuted Janmejoy Dinda, who ran a nursing home, for stocking medicinal drugs without a valid licence and for failing to disclose the source of those drugs. The trial court convicted him under Sections 27(b)(ii) and 28 of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, imposing imprisonment and fines. The High…

The Supreme Court examined whether a corporation for whose benefit land was acquired under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 qualifies as a "person interested" under Section 3(b) and as a proper party under Order I Rule 10 of the CPC. A notification acquiring 5,200 acres for the appellant corporation led to compensation a…

The Collector of Uttar Pradesh passed awards determining compensation for land acquired by the U.P. State Industrial Development Corporation Ltd. Some claimants accepted the compensation, while others protested and obtained enhanced awards from the District Judge under Section 18 of the Land Acquisition Act. The State …

The appellant State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur removed its manager, P.D. Grover, for allegedly accepting a bribe and dismissed his appeal before the Executive Committee. Grover filed a civil suit challenging the departmental and appellate orders, claiming violations of Regulation 68(2)(iii) (failure to frame definite c…

The appellants leased a property to a tenant who obtained permission from the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to use it for commercial (non‑conforming) purposes. Later the DDA issued a show‑cause notice alleging that the appellants had permitted the tenant to use the property in violation of the Master/Zonal Plan, an…

The State of Andhra Pradesh prosecuted six accused for the murder of Cherukuri Kalidas, alleging that they entered his bedroom at night armed with deadly weapons and killed him, with the assault witnessed by his wife and relatives. The trial court convicted five of the accused under Section 302 read with Section 149 of…

The case concerned the murder of reporter Sasidharan Nair, for which three appellants (George @ Vakkachan, Rajeev and Joshy) were charged. The trial court acquitted all accused, rejecting the eye‑witness testimony of the deceased's mother (PW3) and the dying declaration, and relying on a hostile FIR. The Kerala High Co…

The landlord filed an eviction suit under Section 14(1)(e) of the Delhi Rent Control Act, 1958, claiming a bona‑fide requirement for the premises. The tenant, a company, relied on Clause 5 of the lease deed which stated the premises were for the residence and personal use of directors, their relatives, and "for the pur…

Associated Cement Company Ltd. filed a complaint under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act against Kesvanand. The magistrate examined the company’s authorized representative, Puneet Aggarwal, on oath, but on two consecutive dates the representative was absent and the magistrate acquitted the accused under Sec…

The appellant, Sama Alana Abdulla, was accused of passing a BSF‑prepared map of an underground water pipeline to Pakistani intelligence. During a raid, police recovered the map from his house; a surviving panch witness did not corroborate the recovery, while two police officers who were part of the raid testified that …

The appellant Sudhir Brothers were awarded a construction contract by the Delhi Development Authority. Disputes led to a reference to arbitration on 1 April 1984; the arbitrator entered the reference on 8 February 1985 and rendered an award on 15 July 1987, granting the appellant the contract sum together with 12 % sim…

The appellant Kashiram and six others were charged with murder and related offences for allegedly forming an unlawful assembly and shooting Gorelal on 29 December 1986, also injuring four witnesses. The trial court acquitted all accused, but the Madhya Pradesh High Court reversed the acquittal of Kashiram, convicting h…

The respondent filed belated income‑tax returns for assessment years 1978‑79 to 1980‑81 after a search and seizure under Section 132 of the Income‑Tax Act, and the assessing officer made assessments higher than the returns. He was prosecuted under Section 276‑C for willful tax evasion. The respondent sought relief unde…

The State of Punjab appealed against the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s order quashing an FIR that alleged offences under Sections 419, 420, 467 and 468 IPC committed during civil proceedings. The High Court had held that Section 195(1)(b)(ii) of the Criminal Procedure Code barred police investigation into such offenc…

The case arose from a gang‑related shoot‑out at J.J. Hospital in 1992 that resulted in the death of Shailesh Haldankar and injuries to several persons. The appellants, Suresh Budharmal Kalani and Dr. Aken Kumar Gajendra Rai Desai, were charged under Sections 3(3) and 3(4) of the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Pre…

The appellant contested the 1992 Moga Assembly election, losing by seven votes, and filed an election petition alleging that 22 bogus votes were cast for the winning respondent by impersonating dead electors. The petition sought production of the ballot paper account and the marked copies of electoral rolls for five po…

The appellant, a Revenue Inspector, was caught in a police‑set trap after demanding a bribe of Rs.50 for certifying a sale deed. Marked currency notes were recovered from beneath his bag and a phenolphthalein test on his fingers was positive. The trial court acquitted him citing discrepancies in witness testimony, but …

The appellant, Ajit Savant Majagavi, was charged with murdering his wife, Padmavathi, and was acquitted by the Sessions Court on the ground that the prosecution failed to prove his presence at the lodge where the death occurred and that key witnesses had turned hostile. The State appealed under Section 378 of the CrPC,…

A violent dispute between rival trade unions in Trichur led to the stabbing deaths of two brothers, Vincent and Davis. The accused, Al (N.G. Sreedharan) and A2 (V.K. Sudhan), were initially acquitted by the trial court, but the Kerala High Court convicted them under Section 302 read with Section 34 of the IPC. On appea…

Jahar Singh, an employee of the Savings Bank Control Organisation (SBCO), qualified in the 1992 examination for Accountant posts in the Post Office and Railway Mail Service but his candidature was cancelled on the ground that he was a Lower Division Clerk (LDC) and therefore ineligible. The appellant challenged the can…

Sahib Singh was arrested on suspicion and a police search recovered a revolver with six live cartridges from his bag. He was convicted under Section 25 of the Arms Act, 1959 and Section 5 of the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, 1987. On appeal, he argued that the prosecution failed to produce any i…

On 26 July 1986 the appellant Devinder allegedly attacked Ramphal with a knife, inflicting chest and abdominal injuries in the presence of two eyewitnesses. The victim was taken to a hospital, where a medico‑legal report recorded his details and the manner of injury but omitted the assailant's name; he died the followi…

Nine persons, including Atmaram Zingaraji, were charged with rioting, unlawful assembly, murder and wrongful restraint for an incident on 5 June 1987. The trial court acquitted all, but the High Court set aside the acquittal of the appellant, convicting him under Section 302 IPC (simpliciter) and acquitting the others.…

The case involved six police officers who were convicted under Sections 302 and 34 of the IPC for the killing of three civilians in a purported police encounter. The prosecution relied solely on circumstantial evidence, chiefly the testimony of two constables (PW 7 and PW 8), forensic reports and the recovery of the vi…

The State appealed the acquittal of Revenue Inspector Zakaullah, who was convicted by a trial court for taking a Rs 400 bribe under IPC Sec 161 and the Prevention of Corruption Act Sec 5(2). The bribe was given by Satpal Singh (PW‑5) after a trap was arranged by the Anti‑Corruption Bureau, and the seized notes tested p…

The appellant, Mahendra Singh, received Rs.3,000 from a guest house manager after two police officers, Uttamrao Baburao Raut and Abdul Kadar, demanded the money as gratification to drop a criminal case. The prosecution alleged that the appellant was part of a corrupt arrangement and convicted him under Section 163 of t…

The case concerned a senior District Judge of the Madhya Pradesh Judicial Service who retired voluntarily and was appointed as a Member of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT). He sought to combine his prior state judicial service with his CAT service to obtain a single, consolidated pension, invoking Rule 16 of t…

The State of Rajasthan appealed the Rajasthan High Court’s judgment that acquitted five accused of murder (Sec. 302 IPC) on the ground of private defence and convicted them only under lesser offences. The incident involved a dispute over agricultural land where the accused were found ploughing the complainant’s field; …

The appellants conspired to kidnap a ten‑year‑old boy and demand a ransom of Rs 5 lakhs. After abducting the child, Mohan and Gopi administered poison, tied the boy’s limbs and neck, and strangled him, later disposing of the body in a TV box placed in a well. All four accused – Mohan, Gopi, Muthu and Pushparaj – were s…

The State of Haryana appealed the Punjab & Haryana High Court's acquittal of five accused who had been convicted of rioting, murder and attempted murder. The High Court had set aside the trial court's convictions on the basis that the accused acted in private defence of person and property. The Supreme Court examined w…

The appellants were convicted for kidnapping, murder and illegal possession of a firearm under the Arms Act and TADA. The prosecution’s case relied on the victim’s father’s testimony about a witness’s statement, statements recorded by police before investigation, the accused’s own statements about the location of the b…

Satbir filed a criminal appeal after the Punjab & Haryana High Court acquitted twelve accused of rioting and murder under Sections 148, 149 and 302 IPC, relying on alleged identification failures, the status of witnesses as "chance" witnesses, the relationship of a witness to the deceased, contradictions about weapons …

The appellants, eight brothers and relatives, disputed a strip of land owned by the deceased and, on 17 August 1982, armed themselves with axes and sticks, attacked the deceased and others, causing the deaths of two victims. The trial court convicted them under Sections 302, 324, 325 read with Section 149 IPC, but the …

The case involved a riotous mob that surrounded the house of PW‑7 and chased the deceased RSS leader Vishwanathan to another house where he was killed. The five appellants, sympathisers of the CPM, were part of the mob but the prosecution could not prove that they pursued the deceased to the house where the murder occu…

A case was registered under Section 31 of the Representation of People Act, 1950, which is a non‑cognizable offence. The police filed an FIR and investigated, submitting a report seeking the appellant's discharge. The Chief Judicial Magistrate, relying on the report, took cognizance and proceeded against the appellant.…

The accused Rajendra Jawanmal Gandhi was charged with raping an eight‑year‑old girl. The trial court convicted him under Section 376 IPC and sentenced him to seven years' rigorous imprisonment. The Bombay High Court set aside the rape conviction, finding only an attempt and convicting him under Section 354 IPC, also re…

The State of Andhra Pradesh prosecuted twenty‑one accused for a night‑time raid on the house of Gankidi Mohan Reddy that resulted in his murder. The trial court convicted eleven of them under Sections 148, 302 read with 149 IPC and related offences; the High Court set aside the convictions of six accused under Sections…

Mrs. Sira Menan was a contractual tenant under the West Bengal Premises Tenancy Act, 1956. After her death, the respondent claimed to be her daughter and asserted that she inherited the tenancy. The trial court rejected her claim, holding that even if she were the daughter she was not a tenant because she did not ordin…

Gursharan Singh demanded Rs. 2 lakh from Nirmal Singh for terrorist activities, threatening death. After a meeting where a revolver‑wielding accomplice threatened the victim, a reduced sum of Rs. 70,000 was agreed, of which only Rs. 50,000 was paid. The trial court convicted Singh under IPC Sections 387 (extortion) and…

Dr. D.K. Deka and Dr. P.K. Baruah, doctors at Mahendra Mohan Choudhary Hospital, were accused by a Guwahati High Court judge of manipulating medical reports to keep accused Geeta Kalita in hospital, thereby thwarting a court order to produce her in police custody. The judge, relying on a medical board’s report that fou…

The State of Jammu & Kashmir prosecuted Sudershan Chakkar and others, alleging criminal conspiracy and misappropriation of foodgrains and empty bags worth Rs. 3,22,119.36, involving forged documents. The trial judge discharged two respondents, holding that the evidence showed only negligence, not a conspiratorial desig…

The appellant filed an FIR alleging offences under Sections 406 and 498-A IPC against her husband, his parents and other relatives. The police investigated, filed a charge sheet and the magistrate took cognizance, framed charges under Sections 239 and 240 of the CrPC and fixed a date for recording evidence. Before tria…

The petitioners, who belong to the general category, challenged the Punjab Government's reservation policy for promotions in the Punjab Service of Engineers, arguing that the roster system and the percentage of reserved posts should cease once the prescribed quota was met and that backward‑class candidates already prom…

The Department of Telecommunications invited tenders for printing telephone directories in Hyderabad. New Horizons Ltd. (NHL), a joint venture of Indian firms and a Singaporean company, submitted a tender offering a substantially higher royalty but was rejected on the ground that it lacked experience in its own name. T…

Suba Singh was convicted under Section 302 IPC for the murder of Pritam Singh following a dispute that arose after a betrothal ceremony. The prosecution's case rested on the ocular testimony of two eyewitnesses, Jagtar Singh and Lahora Singh, who identified the appellant as the shooter, and was corroborated by the FIR,…

The State of Punjab prosecuted Surja Ram and his son Mohan Lal for the murders of Tulsa Ram and his son Brij Lal, arising from a family partition dispute over crop shares. The trial court convicted the two accused of the murder of Tulsa Ram under s.302 read with s.34 IPC, relying on the eye‑witness testimony of Kamla D…

Surya Prakash Sharma was detained under Section 3(3) of the National Security Act, 1980 while already in judicial custody for a murder case. The grounds of detention alleged that he might commit further serious offences if released on bail. The Supreme Court examined whether a preventive detention order can be validly …

The Supreme Court examined an appeal against the acquittal of twelve students charged under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act for the murder of Jasbir Singh and grievous hurt to Sumer Singh during a campus political clash. The Court held that a four‑hour delay in lodging the FIR, the recording of…

The appellants Hardial Singh, Uttam Singh and Gurnam Singh were charged with murder, grievous hurt and rioting for firing on members of an informant party who were cultivating land belonging to Khazan Singh. The incident occurred when the accused, armed with guns and rifles, confronted the cultivators who were ploughin…

The appellant, a tenant, was evicted by the landlord (respondent No.1) under an ex‑parte order, which was later set aside, and the tenant obtained a restoration order under Section 144 of the Code of Civil Procedure. Before the warrant could be executed, respondent No.2 claimed to be a bona‑fide transferee in possessio…

The Nilgiris Bar Association filed a petition against T.K. Mahalingam, who had fraudulently enrolled as a member of the Bar and practiced as an advocate for eight years, committing offences under Sections 419 and 420 IPC. Mahalingam was released by a magistrate under Section 4(1) of the Probation of Offenders Act, 1958…

On 21 April 1983, members of a rival trade union threw bombs at an industrial estate in Kerala, killing Nanukuttan and injuring several others. The trial court acquitted all twenty‑two accused, but the State appealed against the acquittal of three accused (A‑1 to A‑3). The Kerala High Court, on re‑appraisal of the evid…

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) seized documents from Ashok Kumar Jain’s residence under the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1973 (FERA) and issued repeated summons for his interrogation. Jain, citing deteriorating health, applied for anticipatory bail, which was dismissed by the Sessions Court. The Delhi High Court …

The appellant, a Provident Fund Inspector, was tried for accepting a bribe to exempt a hospital from statutory provident‑fund contributions under Section 161 of the IPC and Section 5(2) read with Section 5(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947. The Special Judge acquitted him, but the Kerala High Court set as…

The Supreme Court considered appeals by Hindustan Vegetable Oils Corporation Ltd. (the appellant) against an Allahabad High Court order that compelled it to issue Declaration Forms (Form III‑Kha) to several dealers (the respondents) for tins purchased for vanaspati production. The dispute centered on whether the appell…

The case involved a politically motivated murder of Nalluri Thirupathaiah in the office of a revenue officer on 26 February 1988. Seven appellants were alleged to have formed an unlawful assembly, entered the office armed, and killed the deceased with axes and knives. The trial court acquitted them, relying on the alle…

Tulsi Singh was convicted by a Special Court for the murder of his wife based solely on a confession he gave before a Judicial Magistrate. The appellant contended that the confession was not recorded in accordance with Section 164(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code, which requires the magistrate to caution the accused a…

The case arose from the 1993 bomb blasts in Bombay, after which the CBI took over investigation and sought non‑bailable warrants under Section 73 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) and Section 8(3)(a) of the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) to apprehend several absconding accused. The Desi…

The State of West Bengal prosecuted Pranab Ranjan Roy under the Prevention of Corruption Act for disproportionate assets. Roy filed a vakalatnama on 29‑02‑1992 through his counsel to obtain certain documents, and the charge‑sheet was filed only on 04‑05‑1994. When summoned, Roy sought discharge under Section 167(5) of …

A pregnant housewife fell from the fourth floor of her apartment and died. The prosecution alleged that the husband, his brother (A‑2 Suresh) and two employees conspired to murder her; the husband was abroad. The only direct evidence was the testimony of an approver (PW‑1) who confessed and implicated A‑2 and A‑3, supp…

The Supreme Court entertained a writ petition filed by Ms. Sheela Barse, later substituted by the Supreme Court Legal Aid Committee, highlighting the deplorable conditions in which mentally ill women and children were detained in jails. The Court appointed Commissioners to investigate and issued several orders to impro…

The respondent, P.V. Prabhakar Rao, feared arrest in connection with a massive urea‑related foreign exchange fraud and sought anticipatory bail under Section 438 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. A Single Judge of the Andhra Pradesh High Court granted an interim order, later making it absolute, relying on the responde…

Mohd. Zahid was arrested by ISBT police on 8 March 1990 and charged under TADA for possessing three country‑made pistols and twelve cartridges. He contended that he had actually been detained on 6 March 1990, that no weapons were seized, and his father filed a complaint with the magistrate. The Designated Court relied …

The State of U.P. appealed the Allahabad High Court’s acquittal of four accused who had been convicted for the murder of Shanker Lal under IPC sections 302 and 34. The High Court had set aside the trial court’s conviction, relying on an inquest report under Section 174 CrPC that omitted mention of a ‘banka’ weapon, and…

The appellants were convicted of murder, robbery and rape for the killings of a family in Pune in July 1992. They challenged the admissibility of witness identifications made for the first time in court without a test identification parade, the legality of the search and seizure of articles, and the doctor’s testimony …

The appellant, an armed constable of the Special Reserve Police, shot and killed his immediate superior, a Head Constable, at the Khampla Dam site, claiming he was discharging his patrol duties and feared a miscreant would set fire to a tower. The trial court acquitted him on the basis of reasonable doubt, but the Guja…

The appellant, Kumbhar Dhirajlal Mohanlal, was charged with murdering his wife, Hansaben, by pouring kerosene on her and setting her on fire. The deceased gave three dying declarations—before a doctor, a head constable, and an executive magistrate—stating that her husband had set her ablaze. The trial court acquitted t…

The appellant, a neighbour known as 'Tiwari Uncle', kidnapped, raped and murdered a seven‑year‑old girl named Pinky and disposed of her body in a well. The prosecution relied solely on a series of circumstantial facts, including the appellant's movements, forensic evidence linking his clothing and the victim's body, an…

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered a case under the Prevention of Corruption Act against Raj Kumar Jain, a junior engineer, but after investigation found no prima facie case and submitted a report under Section 173(2) of the CrPC seeking closure. The Special Judge refused to accept the report, directi…

The case arose from a bomb attack on a police lock‑up in Mumbai where a detainee was killed. Police constable PW‑2 identified two accused, Vijay and Keshya, as miscreants, but his statement did not contain their surnames. The FIR later listed full names, and the accused were arrested, photographed while in lock‑up, and…

A dispute over land allotment between the Vankar community and Harijans in Gujarat escalated into a riot involving a mob of 100‑150 persons, during which four Vankars were killed and thirteen injured. The mob also ransacked and set fire to several houses. The accused A‑34, A‑35 and A‑36 were convicted under Sections 30…

The appellant was convicted by a Sessions Judge for murder (Sec. 302/34 IPC) and for tampering with evidence (Sec. 201 IPC). On appeal, the Calcutta High Court dismissed the appeal without re‑examining the trial evidence, relying on the trial judge’s observation of witness demeanor. The Supreme Court held that an appel…

The appellants, senior officers of Tata Tea Company, were alleged to have negotiated with ULFA militants and funded their activities, leading to an FIR under IPC sections 120‑B, 121, 121‑A, 122 and UAPA sections 10 and 13. Anticipatory bail applications were filed under CrPC section 438; the Bombay High Court granted b…

The State of Andhra Pradesh prosecuted Bimal Krishna Kundu and his son for conspiring to leak Public Service Commission examination question papers, alleging they used dummy firms to obtain printing contracts and printed the papers at their own press. Despite being blacklisted in 1994, the alleged leakage continued, le…

The police filed a report under Section 190(1)(b) CrPC and the trial court acquitted all accused. The complainant, Birbal, appealed to the High Court under Section 378(4) after obtaining leave, and the High Court convicted two of the appellants. The appellants challenged this conviction before the Supreme Court under S…

M.V. Chauhan, a Divisional Accountant, was caught in a trap involving anthracene‑treated currency notes and was prosecuted under Section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947 and Section 161 IPC. The Gujarat High Court, on a writ petition, directed the Secretary of the Vigilance Commission to grant sanction fo…

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) investigated former Himachal Pradesh minister Anil Sharma under Section 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 for possessing assets disproportionate to his known income. Sharma applied to the Himachal Pradesh High Court for anticipatory bail under Section 438 of the C…

The appellants were convicted of murdering Bagicha Singh and their conviction was upheld by the Sessions Court and the Punjab & Haryana High Court. On appeal, they argued that the eye‑witnesses, who had previously testified against them in a related murder case, were biased and that their precise recollection of events…

The State of Gujarat appealed a trial court order that barred the use of confessional statements recorded under Section 15 of the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, 1987 (TADA) in separate bomb‑blast cases. The Supreme Court held that a confession made to a police officer of at least Superintendent r…

The case involved six accused who attacked and killed Buchi Reddi with knives, spears and an axe. The trial court convicted all of them under Sections 148 and 302 IPC, and also under Sections 307, 326 and 324 IPC. The High Court set aside the convictions of four accused, reasoning that the FIR did not specify the manne…

The State of Gujarat filed a criminal appeal against Dilipbhai Nathjibhai Patel challenging a High Court order that a prior hearing was required before granting sanction for prosecution under Section 147(1)(d) of the Gujarat Cooperative Societies Act. The appellant had obtained sanction from the District Registrar as m…

The appellant, Raja Yan, was married to Sanalkumari who later committed suicide. The prosecution alleged that the appellant repeatedly demanded dowry before and after the marriage, leading to mental and physical cruelty that caused her death. The trial court acquitted the appellant, but the Kerala High Court reversed t…

The State of Uttar Pradesh alleged that a large mob of villagers attacked a scheduled‑caste marriage party, killing 14 and injuring 7. The key issue was whether the mob constituted an unlawful assembly with the common object of killing the Doms, and whether the accused could be held liable under Section 149 IPC based o…

The appellants were convicted of murder under Sections 302/149 IPC for the killing of Munnabhai, but the Madhya Pradesh High Court Division Bench was split on the convictions of seven of them. The matter was referred to a third judge under Section 392 of the CrPC, who refused to revisit the convictions of three appella…

The appellant, Ramesh Babulal Doshi, was charged with the murder of Khodibhai Patel and related offences. The prosecution relied solely on circumstantial evidence, including sightings of the appellant with the deceased, a trunk containing the body, and blood‑stained articles recovered from the appellant's flat. The tri…

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) relied on two spiral notebooks and related documents recovered from J.K. Jain's premises to charge politicians V.C. Shukla and L.K. Advani, alleging they received bribes through a hawala scheme. The Supreme Court examined whether the notebooks qualified as "books of account" un…

Four accused were caught red‑handed with lethal explosives and convicted under Section 5 of the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, 1987, receiving five years' rigorous imprisonment. They appealed under Section 19 of TADA seeking sentence enhancement, contending that under Section 377(3) of the Crimin…

In July 1984 foreign trawlers chartered by V.B.C. Exports Pvt. Ltd. and others were seized for fishing in Indian maritime zones at a depth of less than 40 fathoms, violating permit conditions. The trial court convicted the vessel owners but acquitted the charterer companies and their managing directors; the Bombay High…

The State of Rajasthan filed a complaint under sections 27(d) and 27(b)(i) of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 alleging that sub‑standard drugs were being sold. Samples were collected on 29‑Feb‑1988, but the Government Analyst’s report confirming the drugs were not of standard quality was received on 2‑July‑1988. The …

Krishan, already serving life imprisonment for a prior murder, was convicted of murdering his brother‑in‑law Ranbir inside District Jail, Sonepat, using a spade. The trial court sentenced him to death, a decision affirmed by the High Court. On appeal, the Supreme Court examined whether the death penalty was justified u…

Two recognised workers' unions and a third union (respondent No.2) that was not recognised under the Maharashtra Recognition of Trade Unions and Prevention of Unfair Labour Practices Act, 1971, challenged a circular issued by the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation regarding payment of interim relief. The unre…