Every criminal trial is a voyage of discovery in which truth is the quest. It is the duty of a Presiding Judge to explore every avenue open to him in order to discover the truth and to advance the cause of justice. Presiding Judge must cease to be a spectator and a mere recording machine. […]
Read more "Section 311 of The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 I"“The jurisdiction which this Court exercises under Article 136 has its own self-imposed restrictions. It is sufficient to refer to this Court’s decision reported in Ganga Kumar Srivastava v. State of Bihar, (2005) 6 SCC 211 where this Court after referring to various decisions has laid down certain principles for exercising the power of this […]
Read more "Article 136 and Criminal Appeals III"My Lord, Consecutive – Term Sentence – Life Sentence? Yes. “The power of the Court to direct the order in which sentences will run is unquestionable in view of the language employed in Section 31 of The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. The Court can, therefore, legitimately direct that the prisoner shall first undergo the […]
Read more "Section 31 of The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973"My Lord, Independent of the provisions contained in Codes of Civil and Criminal Procedure is there a source of power which the Supreme Court can invoke for directing transfer of a case from or to the State of Jammu and Kashmir? Yes. “The fact that there is no such enabling provision for transfer from or […]
Read more "The Real Apprehension in Transferring Cases II"My Lord, Is the ‘Internal Disturbance’ in Manipur equivalent to a ‘War’? “In support of his contention that a war-like situation was and is prevailing in Manipur, Learned Attorney General submitted that, under Section 121 of IPC, ‘war’ is not necessarily conventional warfare between two nations and even organizing and joining an insurrection against Government […]
Read more "Internal Disturbance I"“Under Section 24A of The Advocates Act, 1961 a person convicted of even a most heinous offence is eligible to be enrolled as an Advocate after expiry of 2 years from expiry of his sentence. This aspect needs urgent attention of all concerned. Apart from the above, we do not find any reason to hold, […]
Read more "Section 24A of The Advocates Act, 1961"Section 32-A of The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 reads as follows: “32-A. No suspension, remission or commutation in any sentence awarded under this Act – Notwithstanding anything contained in The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 or any other law for the time being in force but subject to the provisions of Section 33, […]
Read more "Section 32-A of The NDPS Act"Dr. Rini Johar v. State of M.P. [Writ Petition (Criminal) No. 30 of 2015] has brought back memories of Rudul v. State of Bihar, (1983) 4 SCC 141 that heralded a new era of compensatory jurisprudence in Indian legal history. Rini and Gulshan Johar were arrested in 2012 without following the procedure of arrest. SC held, […]
Read more "Compensatory Jurisprudence of Constitutional Courts II: Rini Johar"I am an Advocate, not an Academician. The practical impact of a Judgment interests me. Subramanian Swamy v. Union of India, [Writ Petition (Criminal) No. 184 of 2014] pronounced recently, is a significant weapon in my hand. Explanation 1 to Section 499 of The Indian Penal Code, 1860 reads as, “It may amount to defamation to […]
Read more "Section 499, Indian Penal Code II"2 in Balveer Singh v. State of Rajasthan [Criminal Appeal No. 253 of 2016] have carved an exception to what 5 held in Dharam Pal v. State of Haryana, (2014) 3 SCC 306. Dharam Pal was authored by Altamas Kabir, CJI. My Lord, Can a Sessions Court take cognizance of offence, under Sections 304-B and […]
Read more "The Revisional Court of Sessions"On 26th January, 1897 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Republic of Chile entered into a Treaty for Mutual Surrender of Fugitive Criminals. My Lord, Binding Treaty on India and Chile? “This question may first be looked at from the point of view of Republic of Chile. Supreme Court of Chile, in its […]
Read more "The Indo-Chilean Extradition Treaty I"22nd July, 1993 – Gulshan, Jairnal Singh, Karnail Singh and Harjinder Singh were reportedly killed by Tarn Taran Police, led by SHO Gurbachan Singh Manochahal. Police carried out the cremations themselves and did not permit family members to attend. On arrest, and before Court, Defence claimed, the incident was in the course of “discharge of […]
Read more "The Fake Encounters: Tarn Taran, 22.07.1993"The Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials is not legally binding for Member States, but rather seeks to further clarify aspects of the Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials and provide guidelines it encourages States to adopt and implement. __________ On 15.06.2004, vide C.R. No. 8/2004 of […]
Read more "The Fake Encounters: Ahmedabad, 15.06.2004"“The term ‘locus standi’ is a Latin term, the general meaning of which is ‘place of standing’. The Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 10th Edn., at page 834, defines the term ‘locus standi’ as the right or capacity to bring an action or to appear in a Court. The traditional view of ‘locus standi’ has been […]
Read more "Article 136 and Criminal Appeals II"My Lord, What is the import of Section 216 of The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973? “It is graphic that the Court can change or alter the charge if there is defect or something is left out. The test is, it must be founded on the material available on record. It can be on the […]
Read more "Section 216 of The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973"In England it was the practice in times of danger to the State to pass what were popularly known as Habeas Corpus Suspension Acts. Suspension did not legalize an illegal arrest; it merely suspended a particular remedy in respect of particular offences. House of Lords took the view, the power to detain could not be […]
Read more "The Diamond-Bright, Diamond-Hard Hope"History will not forget Hon’ble Justice Pratibha Rani at the crossroad of Kanhaiya Kumar v. State of NCT of Delhi, Writ Petition (Crl.) 558 of 2016. “While dealing with the Bail Application of the Petitioner it has to be kept in mind, by all concerned, they are enjoying this freedom only because our borders are […]
Read more "The Country Without a Post Office"Though the Rule of Casus Omissus i.e. “what has not been provided for in the statute cannot be supplied by Courts” is a strict rule of interpretation there are certain well known exceptions thereto. The following opinion of Lord Denning in Seaford Court Estates Ltd. v. Asher, (1949) 2 All ER 155 should be taken […]
Read more "Casus Omissus"“After perusal of the victim compensation schemes of different States and the Union Territories, it is clear that no uniform practice is being followed in providing compensation to the rape victim for the offence and for her rehabilitation. Indisputably, no amount of money can restore the dignity and confidence that the accused took away from […]
Read more "Compensation for Rape Victims"“On the basis of specific information, Air Customs Officers (Preventive) at IGI Airport, New Delhi, on 09.07.1996, recovered and seized from the aircraft of Lufthansa Airlines flight from Frankfurt to Delhi, 184 gold biscuits of ten tolas each, weighing 21454.400 grams valued at Rs. 1,09,84,652/- concealed in the meal trolleys by two passengers, named Varyam […]
Read more "The Comfortable Life of Gold Smugglers I"
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