Supreme Court of India Judgements

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Category: I P C

I P C

Criminal Law — Conviction based on Circumstantial Evidence — Appreciation of Evidence — Principles Governing Circumstantial Evidence — A conviction based entirely on circumstantial evidence must satisfy five conditions: (1) Circumstances must be fully established; (2) Facts established must be consistent only with the hypothesis of guilt; (3) Circumstances must be conclusive in nature and tendency; (4) They must exclude every possible hypothesis except guilt; (5) Chain of evidence must be complete, leaving no reasonable ground for any conclusion consistent with the accused’s innocence. (Para 22)

Dec 17, 2025 sclaw

2025 INSC 1433 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH MANOJBHAI JETHABHAI PARMAR (ROHIT) Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT ( Before : Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta, JJ. ) Criminal Appeal No(S).…

Dowry Death I P C

Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) — Section 304-B and 498-A) — Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 (DPA, 1961) — Sections 3 and 4 — Dowry Death — Appeal against acquittal — Setting aside High Court’s acquittal and restoring Trial Court’s conviction — Essential ingredients of Section 304-B IPC established by consistent prosecution evidence regarding dowry demand (motorcycle, TV, and cash) and continuous harassment — “Soon before death” liberally construed to emphasize nexus between death and dowry-related cruelty — Evidence of witnesses, even with minor inconsistencies, held reliable and sufficient to prove guilt; minor contradictions or use of words like ‘happily’ by witnesses do not discredit the substratum of the prosecution case proving continuous dowry harassment leading to death. (Paras 1, 14.1, 16.1, 16.2, 17, 18, 20, 22)

Dec 17, 2025 sclaw

2025 INSC 1435 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH STATE OF U.P. Vs. AJMAL BEG ETC ( Before : Sanjay Karol and Nongmeikapam Kotiswar Singh, JJ. ) Criminal Appeal Nos.…

I P C

Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) — Section 302 read with Section 34 — Murder — Appeal against acquittal — Powers of Appellate Court — Reversal of acquittal — Principles — The guilt of the accused must be established beyond reasonable doubt (must or should, not may be) — Once an accused is acquitted, the presumption of innocence is reinforced — Interference by the appellate court must be minimal and guided by “substantial and compelling reasons” — Reversal should not occur merely because another view is possible — If two reasonable or plausible conclusions are possible on the evidence, the one favouring the acquittal must not be disturbed by the Appellate Court. (Paras 9, 9.2, 9.3, 9.4, 9.5)

Dec 17, 2025 sclaw

2025 INSC 1442 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH RAJ PAL SINGH Vs. RAJVEER AND OTHERS ( Before : K. Vinod Chandran and N.V. Anjaria, JJ. ) Criminal Appeal No(S).…

I P C

Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) — Section 376(2)(d) — Rape — Appreciation of Evidence — Conviction solely based on First Information Report (FIR) or previous statements of hostile witnesses — Admissibility and reliability — Victim (PW-1) and her husband (PW-2) turned hostile and did not support the prosecution case during trial — Court should be slow to act on the testimony of hostile witness and normally look for corroboration — Both Trial Court and High Court erred in placing reliance on the FIR and recording conviction by virtually converting the case into one of circumstantial evidence, especially when the main direct evidence witnesses (victim and husband) were declared hostile. (Paras 6, 9, 10, 11, 18, 19)

Dec 17, 2025 sclaw

2025 INSC 1443 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH JAYANTIBHAI CHATURBHAI PATEL Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT ( Before : Sanjay Karol and Vipul M. Pancholi, JJ. ) Criminal Appeal No.…

I P C

Penal Code, 18602 (IPC) — Sections 302 and 460 — Appreciation of Evidence — Prior Enmity and Delayed Disclosure of Accused’s Name — Where the star eyewitness (PW-2), the wife of the deceased, provided a detailed account of the assault to the informant (PW-1) immediately after the incident, but failed to name the accused in the First Information Report (FIR), this omission is fatal to the prosecution case, especially when there existed a palpable prior enmity between the witness’s family and the accused (who was the brother of the deceased’s second wife). (Paras 28, 31, 40, 41, 45)

Dec 9, 2025 sclaw

2025 INSC 1399 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH GOVIND MANDAVI Vs. STATE OF CHATTISGARH ( Before : Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta, JJ. ) Criminal Appeal No…..of 2025 (Arising…

I P C

Penal Code, 1860 — Section 304 Part-II — Culpable homicide not amounting to murder — Sentence — Appeal against High Court’s reduction of sentence from 10 years to 8 years rigorous imprisonment — Appellant was 20 years old at the time of the incident — Victim was an innocent intervenor — Supreme Court held that the sentence imposed by the High Court was balanced and principled and did not warrant interference, emphasizing the need to maintain public confidence in the justice system and avoid excessive leniency.

Oct 26, 2025 sclaw

2025 INSC 1250 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH KOTRESH @ KOTRAPPA Vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA AND ANOTHER ( Before : Dipankar Datta and Augustine George Masih, JJ. ) Criminal…

I P C

Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) — Section 302 — Murder — Conversion of conviction — Where evidence shows that though accused had knowledge that injuries would cause death, there is no material to prove intention to kill, conviction under Section 302 IPC is not tenable and should be converted to Section 304 Part I IPC.

Oct 2, 2025 sclaw

2025 INSC 1172 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH RAGHAV PRASHAD AND OTHERS Vs. STATE OF U.P. ( Before : B.R.Gavai, CJI. and K. Vinod Chandran, J. ) Criminal Appeal…

Dowry Death I P C

Indian Penal Code, 1860 — Section 498A — Cruelty by husband or relatives of husband — Quashing of FIR — Abuse of process of law — FIR filed by respondent-wife after divorce proceedings initiated by appellant-husband and a foreign court order for child’s return — Respondent’s conduct questionable regarding child’s return to Australia and allegations in the complaint not supporting the offence of cruelty under Section 498A IPC as defined — FIR quashed as a retaliatory measure and abuse of process.

Sep 21, 2025 sclaw

2025 INSC 1128 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH NITIN AHLUWALIA Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB AND ANOTHER ( Before : Sanjay Karol and Prashant Kumar Mishra, JJ. ) Criminal Appeal…

I P C

Penal Code, 1860 — Sections 302, 376(2)(g), 201 – Conviction and sentence for rape and murder – Appeal against – Circumstantial evidence – Prosecution failed to establish complete chain of incriminating circumstances beyond reasonable doubt – Testimony of prosecution witnesses contained contradictions and improbabilities – Suspicious conduct of accused attributed as improvement – Reliance on DNA reports found unjustified due to failure to establish sanctity and chain of custody of samples – Supplementary DNA report inadmissible as expert was not recalled and report not put to accused.

Aug 31, 2025 sclaw

2025 INSC 1042 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA FULL BENCH PUTAI Vs. STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH ( Before : Vikram Nath, Sanjay Karol and Sandeep Mehta, JJ. ) Criminal Appeal No(s).…

Cr P C I P C

Penal Code, 1860 — Section 498A — Cruelty by husband or relatives of husband — Allegations in FIR were vague, general, and filed one year after admitted separation of the parties — No specific instances of cruelty were mentioned — Criminal proceedings are liable to be quashed. Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 — Section 482 — Quashing of FIR — Court can quash FIR if allegations, taken at face value, do not constitute any offence — Vague and general allegations of marital discord, without specific instances, do not prima facie constitute an offence under Section 498A IPC.

Aug 9, 2025 sclaw

2025 INSC 926 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA FULL BENCH ANURAG VIJAYKUMAR GOEL Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA AND ANOTHER ( Before : B.R. Gavai, CJI., K. Vinod Chandran and N. V.…

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Education

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State Laws

Karnataka Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prohibition of Transfer of Certain Lands) Act, 1978 — Applicability — Interpretation of delay in initiating proceedings — While delay is generally discouraged, it may not be fatal in cases of beneficial legislation aimed at protecting Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes lands, especially when parties to the original transaction are privy to the proceedings.

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Arbitration

Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 — Section 11(6) — Privity of Contract — Collaborator invoked arbitration clause — High Court rejected petition claiming no privity of contract — Supreme Court granted leave and held Collaborator as veritable party with joint and several liability.

May 8, 2026 sclaw