Supreme Court of India Judgements

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Category: Cr P C

Cr P C

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.

Apr 17, 2026 sclaw

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…

Cr P C

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.

Apr 15, 2026 sclaw

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…

Cr P C

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.

Apr 12, 2026 sclaw

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.…

Cr P C

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.

Apr 12, 2026 sclaw

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…

Cr P C

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

Apr 7, 2026 sclaw

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. )…

Cr P C

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.

Apr 7, 2026 sclaw

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,…

Cr P C

Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC) — Section 197(1) — Requirement of sanction for prosecution of public servants — Protection under Section 197(1) applies only to public servants who are not removable from office except by or with the sanction of the government — Subordinate police officers not falling under this category are not entitled to the benefit of this protection, even if the alleged offence was committed while acting or purporting to act in the discharge of official duty.

Apr 5, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 304 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH SAMARENDRA NATH KUNDU AND ANOTHER Vs. SADHANA DAS AND ANOTHER ( Before : J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, JJ. ) Criminal…

Cr P C

Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC) — Sections 215, 228, 464 and 465 — Charge framing — Substantial compliance — Purpose of charge framing is to give notice to accused of accusation and enable defence preparation — Defect in charge, including absence of signature, is curable if no prejudice or failure of justice is occasioned — Accused’s active participation and cross-examination indicate awareness of charges and no prejudice — Belated objection to charge defect, especially after demise of key witnesses, suggests lack of genuine prejudice.

Mar 29, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 301 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH SANDEEP YADAV Vs. SATISH AND OTHERS ( Before : Ahsanuddin Amanullah and R. Mahadevan, JJ. ) Criminal Appeal No.1617 of 2026…

Cr P C

Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC) — Section 482 — Quashing of criminal proceedings — Summoning order based on complaint allegations lacking specific details of copyright infringement and without application of mind by Magistrate — Superior Court’s duty to examine proceedings for being frivolous, vexatious, or malicious — Held, allegations in complaint were bald and unsubstantiated, failing to disclose similarity between film and script.

Mar 22, 2026 sclaw

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH SUJOY GHOSH Vs. THE STATE OF JHARKHAND AND ANOTHER ( Before : Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha and Alok Aradhe, JJ. ) Criminal Appeal No….of 2026…

Cr P C

Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC) — Sections 221 and 222 — Conviction for offence not charged — High Court rightly reversed the conviction under Section 364 of IPC when the charge was for Section 302 of IPC, as Section 364 is not a minor or cognate offence to Section 302, making conviction without specific charge or notice prejudicial to fair trial

Mar 21, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 256 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH THE STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH Vs. RAM SWAROOP @ BARKAT ( Before : Aravind Kumar and Augustine George Masih, JJ. )…

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Constitution

Constitution of India, 1950 — Article 32 — Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC) — Sections 154, 173 — Clubbing/Transfer of FIRs — Multiple FIRs registered against petitioners in different jurisdictions arising from same set of transactions relating to a real estate project — Held, multiplicity of FIRs and parallel investigations on same facts leads to avoidable multiplicity of proceedings, conflicting findings and serious prejudice to the accused — Principle laid down in T.T — Antony v — State of Kerala, (2001) 6 SCC 181, that there cannot be multiple FIRs for the same occurrence or transaction, squarely applies — FIR No. 30/2019 (EOW, Delhi) directed to be transferred and clubbed with FIR No. 439/2024 (Gurugram, Haryana) for investigation — Blanket direction restraining coercive steps in future FIRs declined, but petitioners permitted to avail remedies in law if future FIRs are based on the same transaction.

May 24, 2026 sclaw
Cr P C

Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC) — Section 482 — Abuse of Process of Court — Discharge of Accused — Vague Allegations — Where allegations in FIR and charge sheet are general and do not specify the role of the accused, continuation of criminal proceedings amounts to abuse of process of court and may cause prejudice.

May 24, 2026 sclaw
C P C

Civil Procedure Code, 1908 (CPC) — Section 2(2), Order 20 Rule 18 — Preliminary vs. Final Decree — A Preliminary Decree declares rights and liabilities, leaving actual results to be worked out in further proceedings — A Final Decree is passed after further inquiries, completely disposing of the suit — A Preliminary Decree cannot be executed directly unless it is partly final — Provisions of Order 20 Rule 18 allow a court to pass a Preliminary Decree declaring rights and giving further directions if partition cannot be conveniently made without further inquiry in suits for partition of immovable property — The Supreme Court noted that the High Court erred by focusing on the nomenclature of the decree rather than its executable portions, especially when the property was not divisible by metes and bounds.

May 24, 2026 sclaw
Constitution Narcotics Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act

Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 — Section 43-D(5) — Bail — Constitutional Courts’ power to grant bail — The Supreme Court reiterated that statutory restrictions on bail under the UAP Act do not oust the power of constitutional courts to grant bail on grounds of violation of fundamental rights, particularly the right to a speedy trial under Article 21 of the Constitution — The Court emphasized that the rigors of Section 43-D(5) can “melt down” when there is no likelihood of trial completion within a reasonable time and the period of incarceration is substantial.

May 24, 2026 sclaw