FIRST LAW

Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 - Presiding Sessions Judges are advised to be cautious while mentioning their designation in judgments.

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...

Evidence Act, 1872 -  S. 35 -  Penal Code, 1860 -  Ss. 359, 363, 366, 366A, 375 & 376(2)(i) -  Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 -  Ss. 5(a)(i) & (I) r/w. 6 -  Kidnapping from lawful guardianship - A ge of the Victim Girl -  Prosecution has utterly failed to prove that the age of the victim girl was below the age of 16 years, insofar as offence punishable under Section 363 of the IPC and below the age of 18 years insofar as the offences punishable under Section 376(2) (i) of IPC and under Section 5(a)(i) and (I) read with Section 6 of the POCSO Act are concerned.