Supreme Court of India Judgements

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Category: I P C

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.…

I P C POCSO

Penal Code, 1860 — Sections 376(2), 450 — Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 — Section 4 — Sexual assault on a minor — Evidence of prosecutrix — Conviction can be based solely on the prosecutrix’s testimony if it inspires confidence — Corroboration of testimony of prosecutrix is not a requirement of law, but a guidance of prudence — Minor contractions or small discrepancies should not be a ground for throwing out the evidence of the prosecutrix.

Aug 9, 2025 sclaw

2025 INSC 929 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH DEEPAK KUMAR SAHU Vs. STATE OF CHHATTISGARH ( Before : Sudhanshu Dhulia and N.V. Anjaria, JJ. ) Criminal Appeal No. …..of…

I P C

Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) — Sections 302, 307, 436 — Murder, Attempt to murder, Mischief by fire or explosive substance — Appreciation of evidence — High Court reversed trial court’s conviction, finding prosecution failed to prove charges beyond doubt — Supreme Court found High Court erred in treating case as purely circumstantial and misappreciating evidence — Supreme Court held evidence, including eyewitness testimony, spot punchanama, and post-mortem reports, supported prosecution’s case of explosion, fire, burn injuries, and deaths — High Court’s assumption that no remains of bomb were found was erroneous, as explosive substance causing fire was sufficient — Supreme Court also disagreed with High Court’s view that parents would not leave children during fire, citing principle of varying human reactions under stress — Supreme Court restored trial court’s conviction for respondents Nilu Ganjhu and Mahboob Ansari

Aug 9, 2025 sclaw

2025 INSC 942 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH THE STATE OF BIHAR NOW JHARKHAND Vs. NILU GANJHU @ NILKANT RAM GANJHU AND ANOTHER ( Before : Pankaj Mithal and…

I P C

Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) — Section 302 — Murder — Circumstantial Evidence — Conviction on circumstantial evidence requires a chain of events to be fully established, consistent only with the hypothesis of guilt, conclusive in nature, excluding all other hypotheses, and leaving no reasonable ground for innocence.

Aug 9, 2025 sclaw

2025 INSC 936 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH SHAIL KUMARI Vs. STATE OF CHHATTISGARH ( Before : B.R.Gavai, CJI. and K. Vinod Chandran, JJ. ) Criminal Appeal No. 2189…

I P C

Criminal proceedings can be quashed if a civil dispute is disguised as a criminal offense, indicating an abuse of process. Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) — Sections 419, 420, 467, 468, 471 — Cheating, Forgery, Using Forged Document — Abuse of process of law — Civil dispute disguised as criminal offence — Complaint filed after significant delay following dismissal of objections and failure to pursue civil remedies — Allegations of fabrication of will and circumvention of sale deed not prima facie made out — Continuation of proceedings would be an abuse of process and not serve ends of justice — High Court erred in refusing to quash — Order set aside and proceedings quashed.

Aug 1, 2025 sclaw

2025 INSC 915 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH URMILA DEVI AND OTHERS Vs. BALRAM AND ANOTHER ( Before : B.V. Nagarathna and K.V. Viswanathan, JJ. ) Criminal Appeal No.…

I P C

Criminal proceedings may be quashed if cheating or criminal breach of trust elements are absent, or if civil disputes are wrongly criminalized, amounting to abuse of process.- Section 420 — Cheating — Ingredients not made out — Agreement to Sell for property was executed, but possession was not handed over as stipulated in the ATS — No fraudulent or dishonest inducement found — Criminal proceedings quashed.

Aug 1, 2025 sclaw

2025 INSC 917 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH S.N. VIJAYALAKSHMI AND OTHERS Vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA AND ANOTHER ( Before : Sudhanshu Dhulia and Ahsanuddin Amanullah, JJ. ) Criminal…

I P C

Penal Code, 1860 — Sections 420, 468, 471 — Cheating, Forgery, Using Forged Document — Essential Ingredients — Complaint based on a GPF nomination form from 1996 failed to establish fraudulent intent or any act attributable to the accused; it did not override statutory birth certificates, nor did it prove falsification by the accused — No evidence of dishonest inducement, wrongful gain, or loss — Allegations based on conjecture and surmises, intended to malign the accused — Continuation of proceedings amounts to abuse of process when allegations are inherently improbable and no case is made out.

Jul 29, 2025 sclaw

2025 INSC 903 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH CHIRAG SEN AND ANOTHER ETC. Vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA AND ANOTHER ( Before : Sudhanshu Dhulia and Aravind Kumar, JJ. )…

I P C

Abkari Act, 1077 – Section 8 – Carrying 5 litres of illicit arrack – Conviction based solely on testimony of official witnesses – Delay in investigation – Testimonies of official witnesses can not be discarded simply because independent witnesses were not examined – Mere urging that delay casts a suspicion on the investigation, without any evidence being led in furtherance thereof, cannot be sustained

Jul 28, 2025 sclaw

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH  SATHYAN — AppellantVs.STATE OF KERALA — Respondent ( Before : Abhay S. Oka and Sanjay Karol, JJ. ) Criminal Appeal No. 2363 of 2023…

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Accident

Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 — Sections 165, 166 — Death allegedly caused by murder inside a motor vehicle — Claim for compensation — Requirement of causal link between death and “use” of motor vehicle — Held, mere presence of a motor vehicle in the chain of circumstances leading to death does not attract liability under MVA — Some nexus between the vehicle and the death must be established.

Jul 25, 2026 sclaw
State Laws

Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Act, 1976 — Section 2(25) — “Occupier” — Scope of definition — The MHAD Act defines only “occupier,” which includes any person liable to pay rent, an owner in occupation, a rent-free tenant, a licensee, or one liable to pay damages for use and occupation — Occupancy is not a statutory tenancy dependent on the owner’s will, and even a person in possession without formal rent liability may claim occupancy status for reallotment purposes.

Jul 25, 2026 sclaw
Stamp Act

Stamp Act, 1899 — Section 26, proviso — Mining lease — Stamp duty on instrument with indeterminate value — Determinant of stamp duty — Where value of subject-matter is indeterminate at execution, proviso to S.26 specifically governs mining leases, directing that estimated royalty or value of share, as estimated by the Collector where State is lessor, suffices for stamp duty purposes — Proviso held not inconsistent with main provision — actual value of mining lease is ascertainable only once mining operations commence

Jul 25, 2026 sclaw
Service

Service Law — Modified Assured Career Progression Scheme (MACPS) — Grade Pay convergence — Effect on promotions within cadre — Convergence of Grade Pay pursuant to Sixth Central Pay Commission does not obliterate separate identity of promotional posts within a cadre — Promotions carry promotional increments, enhanced running-duty allowances and post-specific benefits, remaining financially meaningful notwithstanding constancy of Grade Pay.

Jul 25, 2026 sclaw