Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898

Sukhdev Singh and his uncle Teja Singh were tried for the murder of Socha Singh under IPC sections 302 and 34. The trial court acquitted Teja Singh but convicted Sukhdev Singh, sentencing him to life imprisonment. On appeal, the Punjab & Haryana High Court re‑examined the evidence, held that the acquittal of Teja Singh…

The State of Andhra Pradesh appealed the acquittal of P.T. Appaiah and another, who had been convicted by a Sessions Judge for murder under IPC s.302 read with s.34. A Division Bench of the High Court upheld the conviction but was split on whether the offence was murder or culpable homicide. Under s.429 of the Code of …

The case concerned an application by the CBI for a pardon under s.306 CrPC in a corruption investigation where the offence was triable by a Special Judge under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. The Metropolitan Magistrate granted the pardon to the co‑accused during the investigation, a decision later challenged b…

The appellant Dagadu was convicted of murder under IPC s.302 and sentenced to life imprisonment. The Bombay High Court dismissed his first appeal summarily, using only the word "rejected" and providing no reasons. The Supreme Court examined the High Court's power under CrPC s.384 (formerly s.421) to dismiss appeals sum…

The appellants, a mother‑in‑law and her son‑in‑law, were convicted under Section 498‑A of the IPC for cruelty to a woman and sentenced to rigorous imprisonment and fine. They sought to replace the imprisonment with an enhanced fine, but the court held that fine cannot substitute imprisonment under Section 498‑A. The pr…

Three Army officers were charged with offences under Section 52 of the Army Act, 1950, which can be tried either by an ordinary criminal court or a court‑martial. They were tried before a Special Judge of the Fourth Additional Special Court, Calcutta, but the trial judge did not follow the Criminal Courts and Court Mar…

Ramesan was convicted under Sections 55(a) and 55(g) of the Kerala Abkari Act and sentenced to two years' imprisonment and a fine of Rs.1 lakh for each charge. He appealed the conviction, but died while the appeal was pending. The Kerala High Court held that the imprisonment portion of the sentence became unworkable du…

K. Prabhakar Hegde, a former officer of Vijaya Bank (later merged with Bank of Baroda), was dismissed after disciplinary proceedings for alleged irregularities in approving temporary overdrafts. He challenged the denial of the preliminary inquiry report, the failure of the Inquiry Officer to generally question him as r…

Naib Singh, originally sentenced to death for murder, had his sentence commuted to "imprisonment for life" and had served 22 years (including remissions). He claimed that life imprisonment could not be executed in Indian jails and that, after serving 14 years of rigorous imprisonment, he should be released absent a for…

The husband and wife filed a maintenance petition under Section 125 of the CrPC, which the Family Court disposed of by a settlement order directing monthly maintenance and a mutual consent divorce. The husband paid only four months' maintenance; the wife filed an execution petition which was rejected as the order was d…

The State of Uttar Pradesh investigated Ram Babu Misra for offences under Sections 120‑B, 420, 468 and 471 IPC and asked the Chief Judicial Magistrate to order the accused to provide a specimen writing for comparison with disputed documents. The magistrate refused, holding that Section 73 of the Evidence Act did not em…

The State of Goa filed a complaint under Section 340 of the CrPC alleging that a prosecution witness, Jose Maria Albert Vales, gave false testimony under oath in a Sessions trial, constituting an offence under Section 193 IPC. The trial magistrate, without conducting a full inquiry, framed a charge against Vales. The H…

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…

Kapoor Chand, a British citizen of Indian origin, entered India with a car under the Carnet de Passage convention and later sought an import licence, altering an affidavit by changing "for three years" to "permanently". He was prosecuted under IPC s.420 read with s.511 (cheating) and related forgery provisions, despite…

The appellant, Montri Sreenu, was convicted under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code for murdering his mother‑in‑law, Batta Chandramma. The prosecution relied on the appellant’s confession before a magistrate, extra‑judicial confessions to witnesses, recovery of a stone and stick allegedly used as weapons, and medica…

The appellant, Abhilasha, a Hindu daughter, challenged a lower court order that limited her maintenance from her father, Parkash, to the period until she attained majority, arguing that under Section 20(3) of the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956 she could claim maintenance until she marries. The Supreme Court …

The appellant, Beopar Sahayak Ltd., sought possession of leased premises, but the respondents obtained a release order under Section 21 of the U.P. Urban Buildings (Regulation of Letting, Rent & Eviction) Act, 1972, issued by a Prescribed Authority who was an Executive Magistrate. The appellant challenged the order on …

Four life convicts who had served more than 18 years (over 24 years including remission) filed writ petitions under Article 32 challenging the State Government's refusal to grant them premature release. The petitioners argued that, under Rule 591(29)(4) of the West Bengal Rules for Superintendence and Management of Jai…

The petitioners, all serving life sentences, had completed twenty years of continuous detention including any remission and sought premature release under the West Bengal Rules. Their applications were rejected by the Government of West Bengal primarily on police objections concerning the likelihood of reoffending. The…

SirajMohammedKhan appealed against a judgment granting his wife, Hafizunnisa, maintenance under Section 125(3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. The wife had proved that the husband was impotent and therefore unable to fulfil his marital obligations, and she refused to cohabit with him. The trial magistrate held…

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 appellant, a deliveryman, complained that gold bars received in exchange for gold chains were counterfeit, leading the police to freeze the accused's bank accounts. The police reported the seizure to the jurisdictional magistrate only after a delay, and the Madras High Court ordered de‑freezing on the ground that t…

The United States requested the extradition of Sarabjit Rick Singh on drug‑trafficking and money‑laundering charges, and the Indian government directed an Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate to conduct an enquiry under the Extradition Act, 1962. Singh challenged the magistrate’s order, arguing that the documents s…

The State of Maharashtra prosecuted Sk. Bannu, Shankar and Mohammad Nazir for forging a bail bond and affidavit in a bail application filed under the Bombay Prohibition Act. The first magistrate who granted bail later transferred the case to another magistrate, who, after discovering the forgery, filed a complaint unde…

The State of Gujarat appealed a High Court order that quashed a circular directing police not to grant bail to persons arrested under sections 4 and 5 of the Bombay Prevention of Gambling Act. The respondents were arrested by a Sub‑Inspector on a warrant issued under section 6 of the Act and were denied bail by the pol…

Ravinder Singh, owner of agricultural land, filed two criminal writ petitions seeking to quash FIRs filed by Sukhbir Singh. The second petition was filed without disclosing the earlier one, leading to a contempt proceeding which the High Court closed after the counsel apologized. Sukhbir Singh then lodged a criminal co…

Subhash Chand, an adolescent convicted of murder under IPC s.302 and sentenced to life imprisonment, filed a writ petition under Article 32 seeking detention under the Punjab Borstal Act, 1926, relying on Hava Singh v. State of Haryana. The State opposed, arguing that the Act does not apply to offences punishable with …

The appellant, a wife, obtained a maintenance order of Rs.12,000 per month and Rs.1,00,000 compensation under Section 12 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 in 2015. The respondent husband later filed an application under Section 25 seeking to set aside that order and to recover all maintenance …

The appellant, Sunil Damodar Gaikwad, murdered his wife and two sons and attempted to kill his daughter, later reporting the incident to police. He was convicted under IPC sections 302 and 307 and sentenced to death for the murder and life imprisonment for the attempt. The appeal centered on whether the death sentence …

The Union of India appealed against a Guwahati High Court decision that held all offences under the Railway Property (Unlawful Possession) Act, 1966 to be bailable. The Supreme Court examined the proviso to Section 8(2) of the Act and clarified that it merely gives the railway officer two options—admit to bail or forwa…

The instant appeals arose from five suits between 1950 and 1989 over a 1500 sq yard land in Ayodhya, claimed by Hindus as the birthplace of Lord Ram (Ram Janmabhumi) and by Muslims as the site of the Babri Masjid. The Allahabad High Court had directed a three-way partition of the disputed site, which the Supreme Court …

The father filed a petition under Section 125 of the CrPC for maintenance against his son in the Siwan court. The son, who was practicing and residing in Patna, applied for transfer of the case, arguing that Siwan lacked jurisdiction because the maintenance respondent lived elsewhere. The High Court rejected the transf…

The State prosecuted Vasantraj Bhagwanji Bhatia and others for possession of primary gold under the Customs Act, 1969 (Sec. 111 read with Sec. 135); one respondent was convicted and two were acquitted. The same authorities later sought to prosecute the three respondents under the Gold (Control) Act, 1968 (Sec. 85) for …

The appellants Jamin and Akil were summoned as accused under Section 319 of the CrPC after the original murder trial had concluded and the co‑accused were convicted. They challenged the summoning order, arguing that the trial court could not entertain a Section 319 application after the trial and that the High Court ha…

The petitioner, State of Madhya Pradesh, appealed against a High Court order that directed it to consider a prisoner's application for release on probation. The prisoner, convicted under IPC section 396, had applied under the Madhya Pradesh Prisoners' Release on Probation Act, 1954, but his request was rejected because…

Be​gum Subanu, a Muslim wife, filed a petition under Section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code seeking maintenance for herself and her minor daughter after her husband, Abdul Gafoor, married a second wife. The lower courts dismissed her claim, holding that the husband's offer to take her back and maintain her negated …

The Municipal Board of Pilibhit charged the managing director and officials of L.H. Sugar Factory with failing to pay octroi on 804 maunds of sugarcane brought by rail into the factory on 30 November 1967, alleging a violation of the 1960 octroi bye‑laws. The appellants contended that a 1936 Government order under sect…

The appellant, Amrutbhai Shambhubhai Patel, filed a petition under Section 173(8) of the CrPC seeking a court‑ordered further investigation by the police after a charge‑sheet had been filed and the trial was underway. The trial court had granted the direction, but the High Court set it aside, holding that a magistrate …

The appellant Neeraj Gupta filed a private complaint alleging that his father died after an altercation with the respondents, leading to a criminal proceeding under sections 302 IPC. The complaint was taken up by a Judicial Magistrate First Class under Section 156(3) CrPC, and the magistrate recorded some pre‑charge ev…

The Supreme Court examined three criminal appeals arising from chargesheets filed in Uttar Pradesh that were alleged to lack sufficient factual detail and evidence under Section 173(2) of the CrPC. It considered whether a chargesheet must contain detailed facts and material evidence to enable a magistrate to take cogni…

The Supreme Court examined whether the State of Bihar could file an appeal under Section 378(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 against an acquittal rendered by a Special CBI Judge when the offence was investigated by the Delhi Special Police Establishment (CBI). The Court held that the opening words "save as o…