FIRST LAW

Evidence Act, 1872 - S. 27 - Only the recovery of weapon of commission of offence would be taken to be admissible as a discovered fact pursuant to the disclosure made by the accused but not his confessional statement that he had murdered the deceased by the said weapon.

Confession - If the court is satisfied that if the confession is voluntary, the conviction can be based upon the same. Rule of Prudence does not require that each and every circumstance mentioned in the confession with regard to the participation of the accused must be separately and independently corroborated. [Para 15]

Penal Code, 1860 - Ss. 498 A, 120 B, 420 & 365 - Courts should be careful in proceeding against the distant relatives in crimes pertaining to matrimonial disputes and dowry deaths - Relatives of the husband should not be roped in on the basis of omnibus allegations unless specific instances of their involvement in the crime are made out.

Penal Code, 1860 - The evidence of the defence witnesses has not been able to dislodge the prosecution case, which clearly stood fortified by the two dying declarations on record. The trial court was justified in relying upon the same as the dying declarations are found to be believable, trustworthy and inspiring confidence. The evidence and material on record was properly analyzed by the trial court while convicting the accused under Section 304 Part I of the IPC, while acquitting the co-accused.

Penal Code, 1860 - Ss. 294(b) - Police Act, 2011 ( Kerala)   -  S.119(b) -  taking photographs or records or videos of propagate them at any place in a manner affecting reasonable privacy of a woman - What is meant by the reasonable privacy of a woman ? I n the absence of a clear definition as to what is meant by a transgression into the privacy of a person, the conduct of the petitioner cannot ex post facto be brought within the campus of offending a statutory provision.

Penal Code, 1860 - Ss. 405, 406 & 420 -  Criminal P.C. 1973 -  Ss. 397, 401 & 482 - Q uashment of Complaint -  The criminal proceedings manifestly attended with malafide and/or where the proceeding is maliciously instituted with ulterior motive for wreaking vengeance on the accused and turning a civil litigation into a criminal litigation, deserves to be quashed. 

Criminal P.C. 1973 -  S.374 - Penal Code, 1860 - S. 302 -  Evidence Act, 1872 -  S. 32 -  Dying Declaration -  A dmissibility of -  One of the principles, which is always kept in mind, while examining the dying declaration of the deceased is that "a man will not meet his Maker with a lie in his mouth".

Criminal P.C. 1973 - S. 228 -  Framing of Charge -  While framing charge, the trial Court in exercise of the power under section 228 Cr.P.C., has to form an opinion judicially for its  prima facie  satisfaction on the basis of the material available on record that there is a ground for  presuming  that the accused has committed an offence and is not expected to critically evaluate the material/evidence placed on record by the prosecution.

Evidence Act, 1872 - Ss. 27 & 65B - Penal Code, 1860 - Ss.  120B,  147, 148,   149,  302 & 506B -  Electronic Evidence -  CCTV footages from Hard Disk, CD and DVD -  Significant aspects to be noted in respect of electronic evidence produced -  I dentification of Accused -  U nlawful Assembly - Criminal Conspiracy  -  Chain of the facts and circumstances established.

Evidence Act, 1872 -  S.114 -  Penal Code, 1860 - Ss. 411, 457 & 380 - Theft -  Lurking house trespass -  Dishonestly receiving stolen property - A ccused not guilty under Sections 457 and 380 I.P.C, but the 2 nd  accused was found guilty under Section 411 I.P.C. Though the prosecution could not effectively and successfully prove the alleged offence of lurking house trespass and theft, the evidence adduced by the prosecution clearly proved the offence under Section 411 I.P.C as against the 2 nd  accused. It was in such a circumstance, the trial court found him guilty under Section 411 I.P.C as a lesser offence.

Penal Code, 1860 -  Ss. 306/34 & 107 -  For the wrong decision taken by a coward, fool, idiot, a man of weak mentality, a man of frail mentality, another person cannot be blamed as having abetted his committing suicide.

Penal Code, 1860 - S. 498A -  One or two stray instances of physical assault or verbal abuse will not be sufficient for a prosecution under Section 498A IPC.

Criminal Procedure Code 1973 -  S. 439 -  Penal Code, 1860 -  Ss. 376, 342, 493, 506 & 354 (C) - B ail once granted should not be cancelled unless a cogent case, based on a supervening event has been made out.

This case is a classic illustration of how the State failed in its primary constitutional responsibility of maintaining law and order by its ineffectiveness in the enforcement of criminal law. 

Penal Code, 1860 - S. 489B - Recovery of large number of counterfeit currency notes from an accused in public place are sufficient to establish the mens rea and knowledge or reasons to believe the same to be forged or counterfeit and intending to use the same as genuine. Thus, the case is not of mere dormant possession, but it is a case of active transportation of currency notes which would fall with the expression traffics in currency notes under Section 489-B of IPC.

Indian Penal Code, 1860 -  Section 302 r/w. Section 34 -  Section 392 r/w. Section 34 - Section 397 - Section 411 -  Eyewitness Evidence - E xtra Judicial Confession - C ircumstantial Evidence - P anchsheel Principles - Discussed.

Penal Code, 1860 - S.  498A -  Seeking financial help from wife -  demand of Rs.1,000 to secure a room on rent - Considering the Appellant's poor financial condition, such request for help cannot be termed as 'unlawful demand.'- There is no evidence to show that the deceased was illtreated because the amount of Rs.1,000/was not paid.

Indian Penal Code, 1860 -  Ss. 147, 148, 452 r/w. 149, 302 r/w. 149 & 506 -  whether the High Court was justified in upsetting the findings of the trial court and whether there were compelling reasons for the High Court to set aside the order of acquittal and convict the accused appellant of culpable homicide amounting to murder?

Penal Code, 1860 -  Ss. 147, 148, 452 r/w. 149, 302 r/w. 149 & 506 -  Taking note of the foregoing shortcomings and discrepancies in the prosecution case coupled with the improvements and contradictions in the statements of prosecution witnesses, it cannot be said that the accused persons had really formed into an unlawful assembly and carried out an assault on the deceased that too with a view to kill him, so as to attract the provisions of criminal law. 

Penal Code, 1860 - Ss. 363, 364A, 302, 201, 120B, 34 - Kidnapping & Murder - Ransom Calls - Investigation - Interception and CDRs - Arrests of the accused - Recoveries - Post mortem - Trial - Defence witnesses - Impugned judgment of the trial Court - Law relating to circumstantial evidence - Proving the ransom calls - Recovery of the SIM card - Recovery of the skeletal remains - Joint recovery inadmissible - Doubts concerning recovery of skeletal remains - Motive not proved - Conspiracy not proved - Homicidal death not proved - With so many links in the chain of circumstances not having been established by the prosecution it is difficult for the Court to conclude that it is the accused alone and no one else who abducted and murdered the child - Court grants benefit of doubt to the accused and acquits them of the aforementioned offences for which they have been charged - The impugned...