Criminal Law

The Supreme Court clarified that 90-day default bail under Section 167(2)(a)(i) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 applies only to offences with a minimum punishment of 10 years. The Delhi High Court granted default bail to Rajeev Sharma after 60 days under Section 167(2)(a)(ii) as the investigation was incomplete. Sharma was charged with an […]

The Supreme Court held that a restitution of conjugal rights decree does not absolve a husband from paying maintenance under Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), if the wife has valid reasons to live separately.  Rina Kumari married Dinesh Kumar Mahto in 2014 but left in 2015, citing cruelty, dowry demands and lack of basic amenities.

The Supreme Court held that the transfer of a prisoner from one jail to another is an administrative decision. Therefore, Courts must interfere in the matter sparingly. A decision to transfer a prisoner is not arbitrary if a profound rationale supports it. The respondent, Vikash Tiwary, a gangster, was serving life imprisonment at Lok Nayak

The Supreme Court held that physical recovery of contraband is not necessary to determine conspiracy and facilitation of a crime in a narcotics smuggling operation. Harpreet Singh Talwar was accused of facilitating the import of a consignment containing heroin and carrying out a transnational smuggling operation linked to Afghan-based syndicates, with proceeds alleged to have

The Supreme Court held that a warrant is adequate to constitute the grounds for arrest. A reading of the warrant to the detained person is sufficient to satisfy the requirement of communicating the grounds of arrest. The accused’s father filed a writ of habeas corpus at the Andhra Pradesh High Court. He alleged that the

The Supreme Court set aside the sentence awarded to a Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO) convict, reasoning that it would cause further injustice to the victim, who was now committed to the convict. The Bench had previously overturned a Calcutta High Court decision which had indulged in “victim-shaming” while acquitting the accused in a POCSO

The Supreme Court held that the procedural safeguards laid down in People’s Union for Civil Liberties v State of Maharashtra (2014) for police encounters are binding and must be enforced regardless of whether the victim or their family initiates the complaint. A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) at the Assam High Court sought an independent investigation into alleged

The Supreme Court held that in cases where a court has relied on circumstantial evidence, it must compare the prosecution’s evidence with that of the defence. Where two views exist, the one favouring the accused should be taken. Vaibhav, the accused, claimed that he found Mangesh, the deceased, in a pool of blood along with

Conviction reversed due to non-holding of TI parade along with absence of motive and any connection with recovered articles,  On facts, in a brutal murder of a teenager girl allegedly by the main accused and co-accused, conviction and sentence u/s. 302/34, ss. 449, 404 and 201 r/w 302 IPC – Appeal by the co-accused, wherein