Supreme Court of India Judgements

46915 Judgements hosted as on 02/11/2025 - Search (FREE), Subscribe, Read & Download

Category: Acquittal

Acquittal

Finding recorded by the Trial Court against appellant that he also dragged the dead body and thrown into the courtyard of the deceased is not supported by any evidence – Trial Court as well as the High Court have committed a grave error in convicting appellant for the offences punishable under Section 302 read with Section 34 of the IPC – Appeal allowed

Jan 23, 2022 sclaw

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH MUKESH — Appellant Vs. THE STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH — Respondent ( Before : M.R. Shah and B.V. Nagarathna, JJ. ) Criminal Appeal No.…

Acquittal

(IPC) – Sections 302 and 34 – Arms Act, 1878 – Sections 25 and 4 – Murder – Death penalty – Acquittal – Prosecution has failed to prove the case beyond reasonable doubt –A greater degree of care and caution would be required and a corroboration in material particulars by reliable testimony, direct or circumstantial, would be necessary to pass an order of conviction – Criminal trial is not like a fairy tale wherein one is free to give flight to one’s imagination and phantasy – Conviction and death sentence imposed on the accused is totally unsustainable in law – Accused persons acquitted.

Dec 19, 2021 sclaw

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA FULL BENCH JAIKAM KHAN — Appellant Vs. THE STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH — Respondent ( Before : L. Nageswara Rao, B.R. Gavai and B.V. Nagarathna, JJ.…

Acquittal

(CrPC) – Section 378 – Appeal in case of acquittal – – An Appellate Court shall not expect the trial court to act in a particular way depending upon the sensitivity of the case – Rather it should be appreciated if a trial court decides a case on its own merit despite its sensitivity – District judiciary is expected to be the foundational court, and therefore, should have the freedom of mind to decide a case on its own merit

Dec 16, 2021 sclaw

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH MOHAN @SRINIVAS @ SEENA @TAILOR SEENA — Appellant Vs. THE STATE OF KARNATAKA — Respondent ( Before : Sanjay Kishan Kaul and M.M. Sundresh,…

Acquittal

(IPC) – Section 477A – Falsification of accounts – the prosecution must, therefore, prove—(a) that the accused destroyed, altered, mutilated or falsified the books, electronic records, papers, writing, valuable security or account in question; (b) the accused did so in his capacity as a clerk, officer or servant of the employer; (c) the books, papers, etc. belong to or are in possession of his employer or had been received by him for or on behalf of his employer; (d) the accused did it wilfully and with intent to defraud.

Dec 16, 2021 sclaw

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA FULL BENCH  N. RAGHAVENDER — Appellant Vs. STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH, CBI — Respondent ( Before : N.V. Ramana, CJI, Surya Kant and Hima Kohli, JJ.…

Acquittal

(IPC) – S 420 – Cheating & dishonestly inducing delivery of property – the mere breach of contract cannot give rise to criminal prosecution under Section 420 unless fraudulent or dishonest intention is shown right at the beginning of the transaction. It is equally important that for the purpose of holding a person guilty under Section 420, the evidence adduced must establish beyond reasonable doubt, mens rea on his part.

Dec 16, 2021 sclaw

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA FULL BENCH  N. RAGHAVENDER — Appellant Vs. STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH, CBI — Respondent ( Before : N.V. Ramana, CJI, Surya Kant and Hima Kohli, JJ.…

Acquittal

(IPC) – Section 409 – Criminal breach of trust by public servant, or by banker, merchant or agent -‘criminal breach of trust’ is defined under Section 405 IPC which provides, inter alia, that whoever being in any manner entrusted with property or with any dominion over a property, dishonestly misappropriates or converts to his own use that property, or dishonestly uses or disposes of that property contrary to law, or in violation of any law prescribing the mode in which such trust is to be discharged, or contravenes any legal contract, express or implied, etc. shall be held to have committed criminal breach of trust

Dec 16, 2021 sclaw

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA FULL BENCH N. RAGHAVENDER — Appellant Vs. STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH, CBI — Respondent ( Before : N.V. Ramana, CJI, Surya Kant and Hima Kohli, JJ.…

Acquittal

(IPC) – 120A, 120B, 107 and 109 – P C Act, 1988 – S 13(1)(e) r/with S 13(2) – Disproportionate Assets- no allegation of a legal act being done in an illegal manner – Therefore, the alleged offence under Section 120-B IPC against the respondent is also not made out from the charge-sheet – Terms of both the chargesheet and the final report, Respondent is not involved with the money trail or the transaction for the purchase of the property which was acquired by A-1, according to the prosecution – It is a fact that not only is the investigation complete, depositions of prosecution witnesses too have been recorded – There cannot be any question of introducing any further evidence – Appeal dismissed.

Dec 12, 2021 sclaw

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH THE STATE BY S.P. THROUGH THE SPE CBI — Appellant Vs. UTTAMCHAND BOHRA — Respondent ( Before : K.M. Joseph and S. Ravindra Bhat,…

Acquittal

(IPC) – Sections 224, 225, 332, 353, 392, 307, 302 and 120-B – Arms Act, 1959 – Section 25, 54 and 59 – Conspiracy -alleged confessional statements of the co-accused, in absence of other acceptable corroborative evidence, is not safe to convict the accused – Prosecution has failed to prove its case, that the appellant herein, has conspired with other accused for the offences for which he was charged – Except the alleged confessional statements of the co-accused and in absence of any other corroborative evidence, it is not safe to maintain the conviction and sentence imposed upon the Appellant – Appeal allowed.

Dec 12, 2021 sclaw

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH PARVEEN @ SONU — Appellant Vs. THE STATE OF HARYANA — Respondent ( Before : R. Subhash Reddy and Hrishikesh Roy, JJ. ) Criminal…

Acquittal

(IPC) – Ss 147, 148, 149, 201 and 302 – Unlawful assembly – Acquittal – Role assigned to appellant was only of having pointed out the house where the victim was hiding – Mere fact that the appellant was not brave enough to conceal where the victim was hiding did not make him a part of the unlawful assembly – Appellant is entitled to a clean acquittal in the given facts – Appeal allowed.

Dec 5, 2021 sclaw

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH TAIJUDDIN — Appellant Vs. STATE OF ASSAM AND OTHERS — Respondent ( Before : Sanjay Kishan Kaul and M.M. Sundresh, JJ. ) Criminal Appeal…

Acquittal

Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) – Section 307 – Arms Act, 1959 – Section 27 – Attempt to murder – Using arms – Appellant-accused was admittedly a police official – Illegal use of a licensed or sanctioned weapon per se does not constitute an offence under Section 27, without proving the misdemeanour under Section 5 or 7 of the Arms Act. At best, it could be a ‘misconduct’ under the service rules, the determination of which was not the subject of the trial – No motive or element of planning has been proved by the Prosecution –

Nov 29, 2021 sclaw

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA FULL BENCH SURINDER SINGH — Appellant Vs. STATE (UNION TERRITORY OF CHANDIGARH) — Respondent ( Before : N.V. Ramana, CJI, Surya Kant and A.S. Bopanna, JJ.…

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Acquittal

Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) — Sections 302, 449, 376, 394 — Appeal against High Court’s upholding of conviction and sentence — Case based on circumstantial evidence — Absence of direct evidence connecting appellant to offense — Falsely implicated — Prosecution failed to establish guilt beyond reasonable doubt — No scientific evidence linking appellant — Important witnesses not associated in investigation or produced in court — Appeal allowed, conviction and sentence set aside.

Nov 2, 2025 sclaw
Cheque Dishonour

Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 — Section 138 — Dishonour of cheque — Quashing of proceedings — Cheques issued as security and not for consideration — Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) clearly stated cheques were for security purposes to show banks and not for deposit — Complainant failed to read the complete terms of MOU in isolation and misinterpreted it to claim cheques were converted into debt — Court empowered to consider unimpeachable documents at pre-trial stage to prevent injustice — Complaints under Section 138 NI Act liable to be quashed.

Nov 2, 2025 sclaw
General Insurance

Insurance Law — Fire Insurance — Accidental Fire — Cause of fire is immaterial if the insured is not the instigator and there is no fraud. The objective of fire insurance is to indemnify the insured against loss by fire.

Nov 2, 2025 sclaw
Tenders

Tender Conditions — Interpretation — Ambiguity — The terms of a tender must be clear and unambiguous — If a tendering authority intends for a specific document to be issued by a particular authority, it must be clearly stated in the tender conditions — Failure to do so may lead to rejection of the bid being deemed arbitrary and dehors the tender terms.

Nov 2, 2025 sclaw