Category: Cr P C

Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC) — Registration of FIR — Mandatory upon disclosure of cognizable offence (Lalita Kumari v. Govt. of U.P.) — No preliminary inquiry generally permissible — Remedies for non — registration under Section 154(3) and 156(3) are efficacious.- Magistrate’s power to direct FIR registration and investigation is pre-cognizance — Sanction under Sections 196 & 197 CrPC operates at cognizance stage, not investigation stage.

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH ASHWINI KUMAR UPADHYAY Vs. UNION OF INDIA AND OTHERS ( Before : Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta, JJ. ) Writ Petition (Civil) No. 943…

Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC) — Anticipatory Bail — Power of Court to Direct Surrender — When an anticipatory bail application is rejected, the court does not have the jurisdiction to direct the petitioner to surrender — The rejection of anticipatory bail means that an application for pre-arrest bail has been denied, and the subsequent steps regarding arrest and regular bail should follow the normal procedure as per law.

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH OM PRAKASH CHHAWNIKA @ OM PRAKASH CHABNIKA @ OM PRAKASH CHAWNIKA Vs. THE STATE OF JHARKHAND AND ANOTHER ( Before : J.B. Pardiwala and…

Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) — Sections 498A and 494 read with Section 34 — Cruelty and bigamy — Family members of husband — Allegations against in-laws must disclose specific acts of demand, threat, or physical assault, not mere generalised statements of presence or encouragementPenal Code, 1860 (IPC) — Section 494 — Bigamy — Liability for bigamy does not extend to persons other than the spouse who contracted the second marriage, unless there is evidence of their active participation, facilitation, or encouragement of the marriage — Mere knowledge of the second marriage is insufficient.

2026 INSC 412 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH SIVARAMAN NAIR AND OTHERS Vs. STATE OF KERALA AND ANOTHER ( Before : Sanjay Karol and Augustine George Masih, JJ. )…

Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) — Section 306 — Abetment of Suicide — Essential Ingredients — For a charge under Section 306, the prosecution must prove that the accused contributed to the suicide through a direct or indirect act of instigation or incitement — This act must reveal a clear intention (mens rea) to abet suicide and leave the victim with no other option — The act of instigation must be in close proximity to the suicide and form a direct nexus, indicating the suicide was a direct result of the instigation.

2026 INSC 375 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH BALAJI JAISWAL Vs. STATE OF CHATTISGARH AND ANOTHER ( Before : K.V. Viswanathan and Atul S. Chandurkar, JJ. ) Criminal Appeal…

Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 — Section 3 and Section 7(3) — Prosecution for ‘giving’ dowry — Protection to ‘person aggrieved’ — Wife and her family members made statements alleging ‘giving’ of dowry in a dowry harassment case against husband — Held, these statements, being made by ‘persons aggrieved’, cannot be the sole basis for prosecuting them for the offence of ‘giving’ dowry under Section 3 of the Act, due to the protection under Section 7(3) which states that their statements shall not subject them to prosecution.

2026 INSC 374 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH RAHUL GUPTA Vs. STATION HOUSE OFFICER AND OTHERS ( Before : Sanjay Kumar and K. Vinod Chandran, JJ. ) Special Leave…

Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC) — Section 482 — Quashing of criminal proceedings by High Court — High Court quashed FIR and proceedings at a nascent stage when Magistrate had merely directed investigation under Section 156(3) CrPC — Sale deeds relied upon by accused were examined by High Court, treating them as determinative of the dispute, and criminal proceedings were quashed on the ground that the dispute was predominantly civil in nature and sale deeds were not cancelled under Section 31 of the Specific Relief Act, 1963 — Such exercise by High Court was beyond the permissible scope of scrutiny in a petition under Section 482 CrPC, as it involved delving into defence material and adjudicating disputed questions of fact, which is the domain of investigation and trial — This approach stifled the investigative process and ran contrary to well-settled principles — High Court fell into error.

2026 INSC 362 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH ACCAMMA SAM JACOB Vs. THE STATE OF KARNATAKA AND ANOTHER ( Before : Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta, JJ. ) Criminal…

Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC) — Sections 468, 469, 470, 472, 473 and 341 — Limitation for taking cognizance of offence — Relevant date for computation of period of limitation is date of filing of complaint or date of initiation of criminal proceedings, not date on which Magistrate takes cognizance — Constitution Bench decision in Sarah Mathew v. Institute of Cardio Vascular Diseases [(2014) 2 SCC 62] holds good law.

2026 INSC 336 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH ROMA AHUJA Vs. THE STATE AND ANOTHER ( Before : Prashant Kumar Mishra and N.V. Anjaria, JJ. ) Criminal Appeal Nos.…

Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC) — Section 389 — Suspension of sentence pending appeal — Suspension of sentence in serious offences should not be granted routinely — Appellate court must apply its mind to the nature of the offence, manner of commission, and gravity of trial court’s findings — Reasons must be recorded in writing, reflecting due consideration of relevant factors — Order granting suspension of sentence should not be passed mechanically — This principle applies even at the stage of considering interlocutory orders.

2026 INSC 349 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH DHAN JEE PANDEY Vs. THE STATE OF BIHAR AND ANOTHER ( Before : Ahsanuddin Amanullah and R. Mahadevan, JJ. ) Criminal…

Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC) — Section 482 — Quashing of criminal proceedings — Medical negligence — Consent for surgery — Allegation of interpolation in consent form for Orchidectomy — Medical Board’s opinion that Orchidectomy was an appropriate procedure in cases of undescended testicle and that consent should have been obtained — No evidence of interpolation in consent form (different ink or handwriting) — Consent form indicated both Orchidopexy and Orchidectomy as options. Held, continuance of criminal proceedings would be an abuse of process of court and liable to be quashed. Appeals allowed, impugned High Court judgment set aside, and proceedings quashed

2026 INSC 319 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH DR. S. BALAGOPAL Vs. STATE OF TAMIL NADU AND ANOTHER ( Before : Pamidigantam Sri Narasimha and Manoj Misra, JJ. )…

Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC) — Section 482 — Quashing of criminal proceedings — Four-step test for assessing prayer for quashing — The Supreme Court, in Pradeep Kumar Kesarwani v. State of Uttar Pradesh, outlined a four-step test: (i) Is the material relied upon by the accused of sterling quality? (ii) Does it rule out the allegations in the complaint? (iii) Has it not been refuted by the prosecution/complainant? (iv) Would proceeding with the trial be an abuse of process and not serve the ends of justice? If all answers are affirmative, High Court should quash proceedings.

2026 INSC 322 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA FULL BENCH SAJAL BOSE Vs. THE STATE OF WEST BENGAL AND OTHERS ( Before : Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and N. V. Anjaria,…

You missed