P P NAOLEKAR

The Supreme Court examined the murder of Harnek Singh by four of his brothers, who attacked him with gandasas and a dang, leading to his death. The appellant, Mithu Singh, challenged his conviction under Section 302 read with Section 34 of the IPC, arguing that his injuries were not fatal, that there was an unreasonabl…

The incident occurred on the night of 14-15 July 1979 during a land dispute when several accused entered the house of the deceased, Sitaram Manda, allegedly firing weapons and assaulting occupants. The trial court convicted the accused under IPC sections 302 read with 149, 148, 452 and 323 based largely on the testimon…

The appellant, Buddappa Kolkar, was charged with murder (S.302 IPC) after he struck the deceased, Hanamant Basappa, on the head with an axe during a quarrel over a bullock‑cart passage. The trial court acquitted him, but the Karnataka High Court convicted him of murder. On appeal, the Supreme Court examined whether the…

The appellant, Guddu, was accused of raping a minor girl, Sushama, after entering her home while her parents were away, removing her underwear and sitting on her. The victim, her mother, and her grandfather testified to the incident, and a medical examination revealed swelling and redness of the genitalia with an intac…

Mis Parakh Foods Ltd., the manufacturer of "Shaktimaan Refined Soyabean Oil", was prosecuted for alleged misbranding under Rule 37 D of the Prevention of Food Adulteration Rules, 1955 after a public analyst claimed that the label’s pictures of various vegetables exaggerated the quality of the oil. The High Court held t…

The case involved an acid attack on G. Janardhan, resulting in his death. The prosecution’s case against accused A‑1 and A‑2 rested mainly on a dying declaration recorded by a magistrate, which alleged that the deceased had named the accused. The trial and High Courts accepted this declaration despite the absence of an…

Bal Krishna and another filed a suit for specific performance of a reconveyance agreement concerning a house that had been sold in 1952. The plaintiffs claimed they were ready and willing to pay the consideration and sought a deed of reconveyance, while the defendant (deceased) denied the existence of the reconveyance …

Syed Hussain, a police constable, stood as surety for Ahmed Qureshi, a hardened criminal involved in 32 snatching cases, and allegedly helped other accused obtain bail. The disciplinary authority found him guilty of misconduct and ordered his removal from service. The Andhra Pradesh Administrative Tribunal upheld the r…

The appellant, P. Mani, was convicted of murdering his wife by allegedly setting her on fire, based solely on her dying declaration. The High Court upheld the conviction, holding the dying declaration reliable and noting the appellant's alleged absconding and lack of injury as circumstantial support. On appeal, the Sup…

Suresh Nanda, an NRI, had his passport seized by the CBI during a search on 10 October 2006. The Special Judge ordered its release with conditions, but the High Court reversed that order, refusing release. The Supreme Court examined whether the CBI could retain or impound the passport without an order under the Passpor…

The case involved the murder of two villagers in Uddandarayunipalem, for which twelve accused were charged under various IPC provisions. The trial court convicted all except A-3 (who died) and the High Court upheld convictions of A-1, A-2, A-10, A-11 and A-12 while acquitting A-4 to A-9 on the ground of insufficient ev…

The landlord filed an eviction suit against the tenant under the Madhya Pradesh Accommodation Control Act, 1961 on grounds of default in rent, sub‑letting and later bonafide necessity. The tenant was given protection under s.12(3) and the first suit was decreed on bonafide necessity, not on arrears of rent. While the f…

The appellants, Pulin Das @ Panna Koch and Mahendra Saikia @ Dilip Saikia, were arrested after a police raid on 8 December 1993 during which arms were seized and they were alleged to be members of the banned ULFA outfit. They were convicted by a designated TADA court under Section 3(2)(ii) of the Terrorist and Disrupti…

The appellants, who had unsuccessfully appeared for a written promotion test conducted by the Institute of Banking Personnel Selection for posts in Purvanchal Gramin Bank, alleged that the then Chairman (respondent No.10) acted with mala fide intent by favouring his brother and cousin, and that the State Government’s e…

M/s. Anis Ahmad & Sons, a commission agent for raw hides and skins, filed its 1984‑85 return as a commission agent but the Assessing Officer treated it as a trader and levied a higher tax. After a remand, the Assessing Officer summoned ten traders under s.131(1); five appeared and supported the commission‑agent claim, …

The appellants Shaikh Rafiq and Fatimbee were convicted for the murder of Noor Miya Mohd. Hussain, allegedly after they, together with the deceased's daughter‑in‑law Jaibunisa, came to his house and, following a dispute, poured kerosene on him and set him alight. The conviction rested solely on a dying declaration reco…

Nagar Mal, a Mitakshara coparcener, adopted Nemi Chand, thereby creating a joint coparcenary. Upon Nagar Mal's intestate death in 1989, his undivided half‑share in the ancestral property had to be allotted among his three heirs – the adopted son and his two daughters. The trial court erroneously awarded each daughter a…

The case involved the murder of Jaspal Kaur, who died from severe burns after allegedly being set alight by her husband, father‑in‑law, mother‑in‑law and sister‑in‑law. Four dying declarations were recorded: an initial one to an ASI stating the fire was accidental, and three subsequent statements to a magistrate and an…

The appellant, Vineet Kumar Chauhan, got into a quarrel with his neighbours over a cable connection and, in a fit of anger, fired his father's revolver indiscriminately from his house, striking the neighbour's wife in the jaw. The bullet lodged in her spinal cord, causing paralysis; she later died of septicemia and tox…

The petitioners, accused in the 2001 Parliament attack, were originally convicted of several offences under POTA, the IPC and the Explosive Substances Act, with death sentences imposed. The Supreme Court partially set aside the convictions, substituting a conviction under IPC s.123 (concealment of design to wage war) w…

A dispute over a road between two villages escalated into violence, during which the accused A‑1 stabbed a villager (D‑1) who later died. The accused claimed he acted in private defence. The trial court convicted him under Section 302 IPC (murder) with life imprisonment; the High Court upheld this conviction. On appeal…

The State of Himachal Pradesh appealed a High Court revision that set aside the conviction of Karanvir, a postmaster, under Section 409 of the IPC for misappropriating Rs. 8,000 entrusted to him for the purchase of National Savings Certificates. The complainant had deposited the amount with the postmaster, who, as a pu…

The Supreme Court examined nine ad‑hoc Additional District Judges appointed to Fast Track Courts who challenged an Orissa High Court advertisement for 16 direct recruitment posts, arguing that the advertisement’s eligibility criteria (maximum age of 45 years and requirement of being a member of the Bar) disqualified th…

The appellant, E. Micheal Raj, was caught carrying a bag containing 4.07 kg of a heroin mixture that tested at 1.4% and 1.6% purity, amounting to roughly 60 g of pure heroin. He was convicted under Section 21(c) of the NDPS Act for possessing a commercial quantity and sentenced to ten years' rigorous imprisonment. On a…

The appellant, a clerk promoted to Assistant Manager in UCO Bank, sought reversion to his clerical post after more than a year on probation. The bank granted reversion on conditions that he permanently lose any chance of promotion and be denied stagnation increments. The appellant challenged these conditions, arguing t…

In the 2005 Alangad Block Panchayat election, V.A. Shabeer was declared elected from Ward No.2. The defeated candidate, P.A. Niamathulla, challenged the election alleging that the nomination papers were not delivered to a duly authorized officer and that Shabeer had not taken the required oath before a person authorize…

Mahesh was accused of murdering his former lover Sunita and injuring her husband Sanjay and mother‑in‑law Nirmalabai. The trial court acquitted him, disbelieving the testimony of several relatives who were eye‑witnesses, on the ground that they were interested and lacked independent corroboration. The State appealed un…

Mani and another accused were charged with murdering Sivakumar under IPC s.302, s.34 and s.201. The prosecution alleged that Mani had taken the deceased to his house, where blood was later found and blood‑stained clothes and a koduval were recovered based on the accused’s own statement. The trial and High Courts convic…

The appellant, M. Natarajan, was charged under IPC sections 120B, 420, 467 and 471, and the Prevention of Corruption Act for preparing fabricated documents that facilitated the customs clearance of an imported car under the Transfer of Residence scheme. He claimed that the Kar Vivad Samadhan Scheme (KVSS) 1998, which g…

The respondents were appointed to bank positions reserved for Scheduled Tribes on the basis of caste certificates claiming membership in the Konda Reddy community. A District Level Committee later cancelled those certificates after an enquiry, leading to their termination. The High Court quashed the committee’s orders,…

The Palani Roman Catholic Mission (landlord) leased a plot to S. Bhagirath Ammal (tenant) who erected a structure. After the lease expired, the Mission sought possession, and the tenant filed an application under Section 9 of the Madras City Tenants Protection Act, 1921 to purchase the land. While the application was p…

The appellants, Balwant Singh and his three sons, were armed with kirpans and gandasas and attacked Kuldeep Singh at the house of his mother Amarjit Kaur, inflicting multiple injuries that proved fatal. The prosecution relied on the testimony of two surviving witnesses, Amarjit Kaur and Sukhjit Kaur, whose accounts wer…

Vasanthi was arrested under the Andhra Pradesh Control of Organized Crime Act, 2001 and several IPC provisions for allegedly lending her car for a kidnapping. The High Court denied her bail, applying Section 21(4) of the Act and holding that there were reasonable grounds to believe she was guilty and might commit furth…

The trial court convicted Shantabai, her husband Sajan and their son Govind for the murder of Gunwant Dhumale based solely on circumstantial evidence, including an alleged illicit relationship and the discovery of the dead body in front of their house. The High Court affirmed the conviction, but the Supreme Court exami…

Vinay D. Nagar was convicted for the murder of Kalu, a chowkidar who had been a prime witness in an abduction case against Nagar. The prosecution relied on circumstantial evidence and on Kalu's statement recorded under Section 161 of the CrPC to establish motive. The Supreme Court examined whether that statement could …

The appellant, Prajeet Kumar Singh, who had been living with the family of the informant for four years, was convicted of brutally murdering three children (ages 8, 15 and 16) and assaulting the parents and another child with a dagger. The prosecution relied on the testimony of three injured eyewitnesses who were also …

The plaintiff, Mahant Dooj Das (deceased) through legal representatives, sued to declare title and cancel a sale deed concerning lands he claimed as heir and successor of Mahant Tahal Dass. The defendants argued that the lands were agricultural areas demarcated under the Uttar Pradesh Urban Areas Zamindari Abolition an…

The case concerned retired employees of the Overseas Communication Service who were transferred to Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (VSNL) and had opted to retain Central Government pension benefits. VSNL paid their pensions based on the IDA pay scales but applied Dearness Relief (DR) at Central Government (CDA) rates, result…