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Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC) — Sections 451 & 457 — Release of Seized Property — Trial Court rejecting release application for iron ore on grounds of applicant’s failure to substantiate ownership — High Court setting aside trial court’s order without examining correctness of its finding on ownership — High Court should have either agreed with trial court’s finding on ownership or recorded reasons for disagreeing — Failure to do so warrants interference and remand. Evidence Act, 1872 — Section 50 — Opinion as to relationship, when relevant — Opinion expressed by conduct of person with special knowledge on relationship is relevant — Essentials are court’s opinion, expression through conduct, and person having special knowledge — Conduct alone is not proof but an intermediate step to infer opinion — Opinion must be proved by direct evidence — Court needs to weigh evidence to form its own conclusion; Trial Court erred in treating opinion of witnesses as fact rather than evidence to be weighed and failed to independently assess credibility. Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 — Bail — Anticipatory Bail — Supreme Court granted leave to appeal against High Court’s rejection of bail in anticipation of arrest — Custodial interrogation not required — Appellant may be admitted to bail in anticipation of arrest upon arrest, subject to terms and conditions fixed by the trial court — Appellant directed not to dissuade witnesses from disclosing facts to authorities. Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC) — Section 366 — Death Sentence Reference — Sentencing Procedure — Conviction and death penalty were pronounced on the same day without a proper inquiry into aggravating and mitigating circumstances, psychological evaluation, or jail conduct report. This haste violated established sentencing principles and vitiated the death sentence. Army Act, 1950 — Sections 63 and 69 — Possession of ammunition — Substitution of conviction — Tribunal can substitute conviction from a civil offence (Section 69) to an act prejudicial to good order and discipline (Section 63) if evidence supports the latter and the original court-martial could have lawfully found the accused guilty of the substituted offence.

Medical Jurisprudence–By no norms a dead body would be skeletalized within a period of 3-4 days–it shall in ordinary course take at least few weeks. Murder–Acquittal–Police found a human skeleton–No DNA test conducted and investigating officer could not decipher as to whether dead body is of male or female. Disclosure Statement–Recovery of a weapon at instance of accused which has no nexus with cause of death of deceased in inadmissible in evidence.

2008(1) LAW HERALD (SC) 280 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA Before The Hon’ble Mr. Justice S.B. Sinha The Hon’ble Mr. Justice Harjit Singh Bedi Criminal Appeal No. 620 of…

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Industry–Law Department is not an industry within the meaning of Section 2(s) of the I.D. Act. Precedent–Reliance on the decision without looking into the factual background of the case before it, is clearly impermissible. Precedent–The enunciation of the reason or principle on which a question before a Court has been decided is alone binding as a precedent. Precedent–Judgments of Courts–Judges interpret statutes, they do not interpret judgments–They interpret words of statutes, their words are not to be interpreted as statutes.

2008(1) LAW HERALD (SC) 275 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA Before The Hon’ble Mr. Justice Arijit Pasayat The Hon’ble Mr. Justice P. Sathasivam Civil Appeal No. 3021 of 2006…

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