Claim of Juvenility VII

Since, at commencement of 2015 Act, proceedings were pending before High Court, Section 25 of 2015 Act would be attracted [Satya Deo v. State of Uttar Pradesh, (2020) 10 SCC 555]. It would mean, The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Rules, 2007 would be applicable including Rule 12. This aspect has also been […]

Anticipatory Bail III

There can be no presumption, wealthy and mighty will submit themselves to trial and humble and poor will run away from course of justice. In this case, we are concerned with what is loosely termed as ‘transit anticipatory bail’. If ‘anticipatory bail’ is not a defined expression, it is quite natural, ‘transit anticipatory bail’ would […]

Review of Death Penalty XXXIX

The trial was conducted in a hurried manner without providing ample and proper opportunity. Bashira v. State of U.P., AIR 1968 SC 1313 had a matter remitted back to Sessions Court because trial was conducted in 13 days. The issue concerning importance of a fair trial was considered by this Court in Zahira v. State […]

Section 50 of The NDPS Act

State of Punjab v. Baldev Singh, (1999) 6 SCC 172 stated, Section 50 will come into play only in case of personal searches and not of bags. State of Himachal Pradesh v. Pawan Kumar, (2005) 4 SCC 350 stated, a bag or briefcase under no circumstances can be treated as part of the body of […]

Grounds of Arrest

The finer connotations and nuances of Section 19 of The Prevention of Money-Laundering Act, 2002, left uncharted by this Court in Vijay Madanlal Choudhary, 2022 (10) SCALE 577, were still open to interpretation and resolution. Section 19 does not specify in clear terms as to how an arrested person is to be ‘informed’ of ‘grounds […]

Disciplinary Proceedings IX

P. Zadenga was employed in State Bank of India, Dawrpui Branch, Aizawl. He was a delinquent employee and contended, disciplinary proceedings should be either dropped or closed since criminal cases, arising from same set of transactions, were pending. It may be desirable or, in certain circumstances, advisable for disciplinary proceedings to be stayed when criminal […]

Medical Negligence and Consumer Law IV

Court cannot be oblivious of times when a warlike situation prevailed. It cannot also ignore or be blind to certain realities. In opinion of this Court, rather casual and superficial attention was paid to blood transfusion. These facts establish medical negligence. Bolam Test has gained widespread acceptance and application in Indian jurisprudence. CPL Ashish Kumar […]

Pardon Jurisprudence III

Regardless of arithmetical inconsistencies, it is not contested, Joseph has completed over 26 years of actual imprisonment. The latitude Constitution gives to Executive, under Articles 72 and 162, in regard to matters such as remission, commutation, et cetera, cannot be caged or boxed in form of guidelines, which are inflexible. The practical impact of a […]

Contempt Jurisdiction XI

The object of discipline enforced in case of ‘Contempt of Court’ is to prevent undue interference with administration of justice. To establish ‘Contempt of Court’, it is sufficient to prove, conduct was ‘wilful’ and contemnor knew of all facts. To hold a person guilty of civil contempt, ‘wilful disobedience’ is an indispensable requirement. The expression or […]

Review of Death Penalty XXXVIII

Our mind got clouded with suspicion. We noticed few very serious lapses. High Court completely forgot, there was juvenile-Pritam Tiwari. As per witnesses, it was Pritam Tiwari who had come. Also, Chotkau v. State of Uttar Pradesh, (2023) 6 SCC 742. If Courts are to impart justice in a free, fair and effective manner, then […]

Language of Courts I

Government of Madhya Pradesh, in excercise of power under Section 272, CrPC, on 28.03.1974, declared Hindi to be language of each Court in State except High Court. There is no such requirement laid down in respect of a Charge Sheet under Section 173, CrPC. With availability of various software and artificial intelligence tools for making […]

Test Identification Parade

We are conscious, M.P. Sharma v. Satish Chandra, AIR 1954 SC 300 came to be overruled in K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India, (2017) 10 SCC 1. M.P. Sharma had observed, privacy is not a right guaranteed by Indian Constitution. What is prohibited by Article 20(3) is procuring by compulsion, positive volitional evidentiary acts. It […]

Preventive Detention Statute V

Learned Counsel has placed strong reliance on Cherukuri Mani v. Chief Secretary, Government of Andhra Pradesh, (2015) 13 SCC 722. We may say with profound respect, Cherukuri Mani does not lay down correct law. It appears, attention of Learned Judges was not invited to T. Devaki v. Government of Tamil Nadu, (1990) 2 SCC 456 […]

Time to Time

When an investigation reveals new materials to be confronted with, a need for custody might arise subject to satisfaction of a Magistrate. State of Rajasthan v. Basant Agrotech (India) Ltd., (2013) 15 SCC 1 dealt with the words ‘time to time’: “Black’s Law Dictionary defined as follows, “occasionally, at intervals, now and then.” Stroud’s Judicial […]

Vernon’s Bail

Dr. Anand Teltumbde v. National Investigation Agency, 2022 SCC OnLine Bom 5174 has not been interfered with. _____ Hitendra Vishnu Thakur v. State of Maharashtra, (1994) 4 SCC 602; Niranjan Singh Karam Singh Punjabi v. Jitendra Bhimraj Bijjaya, (1990) 4 SCC 76 and Usmanbhai Dawoodbhai Memon v. State of Gujarat, (1988) 2 SCC 271] were […]

Monstrosity of Winnability III

It was urged, while it is undoubtedly important to respect popular will and Courts ought to be slow in upsetting them, equally it is important to maintain purity of an election process. Courts are, hence, duty bound to examine allegations without being unduly hyper-technical in their approach. Bhim Rao Baswanth Rao Patil defeated K. Madan […]

Intent

Chandrasekhara Aiyar J in Basdev v. State of Pepsu, AIR 1956 SC 488 observed, “demarcating line between ‘knowledge’ and ‘intention’ is no doubt thin.” Das Gupta J in Smt. Mathri v. State of Punjab, AIR 1964 SC 986 explained ‘intent’. It is derived from ‘archery’ or ‘aim’. It can only be deduced or inferred. Some […]

Hierarchy of Documents / Claim of Juvenility VI

A conjoint reading of Section 34 of The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 and Section 94 of The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 indicates hierarchy of documents to be accepted. No document produced was a date of birth certificate from a school or a matriculation or equivalent certificate. […]

Review of Death Penalty XXXVII

The blast at hand was not an isolated incident. It was part of an international conspiracy which was masterminded by A11, Bilal Ahmed Beg, who never faced trial. It is proved beyond reasonable doubt, A3 not only hatched a criminal conspiracy but also actively participated in procurement of materials. He failed to justify incriminating circumstances. […]

Money for Bail

A disquieting trend has gained pace in recent times. An inclusion of payment of money as a condition for bail tends to create an impression, bail could be secured by depositing money alleged to have been cheated. We may, however, not be understood to have laid down, in no case should willingness to make payment […]

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