Category: I P C

Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) — Sections 406, 420, 467, 468, 471 — Criminal Breach of Trust, Cheating, Forgery, Using Forged Document — Joint Venture Agreement — Dispute arising from JVA — FIR quashed — Allegations primarily civil in nature, with a criminal cloak — Dishonest intention not evident from the inception — Delay in lodging FIR indicates civil dispute — Security deposit not refundable, adjustable against share in sale proceeds — No false representation regarding title or litigation in JVA — Allegation of forgery of a tracing document unsubstantiated — Recourse to civil remedies should be taken for contractual disputes.

2026 INSC 192 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH VANDANA JAIN AND OTHERS Vs. THE STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH AND OTHERS ( Before : Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha and Manoj Misra,…

Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) — Sections 306 and 309 — Abetment of suicide and attempt to commit suicide — Suicide pact — Mutual encouragement and reciprocal commitment to die together — Survivor’s participation acts as a direct catalyst for the deceased’s actions — Psychological assurance or instigation, if intentional and directly related to the commission of offence, constitutes abetment — Each participant’s resolve to commit suicide is reinforced and strengthened due to the other’s participation — Suicide in a pact is conditional upon mutual participation — Assisting in ending life is a crime against the state.

2026 INSC 160 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH GUDIPALLI SIDDHARTHA REDDY Vs. STATE C.B.I. ( Before : Rajesh Bindal and Manmohan, JJ. ) Criminal Appeal No. 457 of 2012…

Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) — Sections 307, 326, 324 — Conviction for causing life-threatening injuries — High Court reducing sentence to period already undergone and enhancing fine — Supreme Court held High Court acted in defiance of law and created a travesty of established criminal jurisprudence by relying on irrelevant factors like time elapsed and death of victim by other persons, without proper reasoning — Such reduction undermines the deterrent effect of punishment and erodes public confidence in the justice system.

2026 INSC 164 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH PARAMESHWARI Vs. THE STATE OF TAMIL NADU AND OTHERS ( Before : Rajesh Bindal and Vijay Bishnoi, JJ. ) Criminal Appeal…

Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) — Section 302 — Murder — Dying declaration — Admissibility and weight — A dying declaration can be the sole basis for conviction if it is voluntary, truthful, and reliable, even without corroboration. The court must scrutinize it carefully for tutoring or manipulation and consider the declarant’s opportunity to observe and identify the assailant and their fitness to make the statement.

2026 INSC 57 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH STATE OF HIMACHAL PRADESH Vs. CHAMAN LAL ( Before : B.V. Nagarathna and R. Mahadevan, JJ. ) Criminal Appeal No. 430…

Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) — Sections 302, 120-B, 201, 506 read with Section 34 — Conviction by High Court after acquittal by Trial Court — Supreme Court’s role — Appellate court can review and reconsider evidence, but must respect the presumption of innocence accorded to an accused who has been acquitted. A plausible view taken by the trial court should not be overturned merely because another view is possible. Interference is warranted only if the acquittal suffers from patent perversity, misreading of evidence, or if no other conclusion than guilt is possible. (Paras 26, 27, 28, 29)

2026 INSC 67 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH TULASAREDDI @ MUDAKAPPA AND ANOTHER Vs. THE STATE OF KARNATAKA AND OTHERS ( Before : Sanjay Karol and Vipul M. Pancholi,…

Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) Sections 302, 304 Part II, 147, 149 — Culpable Homicide not amounting to Murder — Distinction between Murder (Section 302) and Culpable Homicide (Section 304) — Circumstances warranting conviction under Section 304 Part II — Initial conviction under Section 302/149 altered by High Court to Section 304 Part II, IPC — Incident arising from sudden quarrel and group fight (free fight) where two rival parties attacked each other — Both sides suffered injuries — Common object for forming an unlawful assembly (Section 149) not established in a free fight scenario, negating charges under Sections 147, 148, and 149 IPC — Individual role of appellant assessed: causing fatal head injury with a lathi — In a sudden group clash without premeditation, where the appellant also suffered serious injuries, the intention to cause death (requisite for Section 302) is negated, but knowledge that the act (hitting vulnerable part like head with lathi) was likely to cause death is inferred (Section 304 Part II) — Offence rightly reduced to Section 304 Part II, IPC. (Paras 5.1.4, 5.1.5, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 5.5, 5.6)

2026 INSC 45 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH SHRIKRISHNA Vs. THE STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH ( Before : K. Vinod Chandran and N.V. Anjaria, JJ. ) Criminal Appeal No.…

Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) — Section 302 read with 34, 148, and 341 — Murder —Appeal against reversal of acquittal — Appellate court’s duty in overturning acquittal — Trial court’s acquittal based on “imaginary and illusionary reasons” and misappreciation of evidence, including attributing undue significance to minor contradictions and perceived manipulation of delayed FIR submission, justifies reversal by High Court. (Paras 31, 45, 46, 52)

2025 INSC 1478 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH PATCHAIPERUMAL @ PATCHIKUTTI AND ANOTHER Vs. STATE REP. BY INSPECTOR OF POLICE AND ANOTHER ( Before : Dipankar Datta and Augustine…

Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) — Section 366A, 372, 373, 34 — Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 (ITPA) — Section 3, 4, 5, 6 — Child Trafficking and Commercial Sexual Exploitation — Evidence of Minor Victim — Appreciation of Evidence — Concurrent findings of fact by Trial Court and High Court regarding conviction for procuring and sexually exploiting a minor victim upheld — Prosecution case substantially corroborated by testimony of minor victim (PW-13), decoy witness (PW-8), independent witness (PW-12), and recovery of incriminating articles — Minor contradictions in testimony (e.g., about forcible sexual intercourse causing injury, or apartment topography) do not vitiate the prosecution case, as the consistent version of the victim establishes procurement for sexual exploitation. (Paras 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13)

2025 INSC 1473 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH K.P. KIRANKUMAR @ KIRAN Vs. STATE BY PEENYA POLICE ( Before : Manoj Misra and Joymalya Bagchi, JJ. ) Criminal Appeal…

Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) —Section 302 read with Sections 149 and 148 — Murder —Conviction affirmed by High Court — Appeal to Supreme Court — Sufficiency of evidence — Role of interested/related witnesses — Deposition of PW-4 (mother of deceased and alleged eyewitness) scrutinized closely — Material contradictions found in PW-4’s evidence regarding the manner of assault and who informed her — Failure of prosecution to examine key witness (deceased’s granddaughter, who initially informed PW-4) — Independent witnesses (PW-1, PW-2, PW-3 and PW-9) turned hostile — Recovery of weapons based on accused’s memorandum/statement rendered unreliable when supporting witnesses hostile. (Paras 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 13, 14, 15)

2025 INSC 1454 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH PUNIMATI AND ANOTHER Vs. THE STATE OF CHHATTISGARH AND OTHERS ( Before : Prashant Kumar Mishra and Vipul M. Pancholi, JJ.…

You missed