Category: supreme court

How Judicial Permissiveness Sustains Solitary Confinement in Indian Prisons

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-Ayush Gupta Introduction The long and contentious aspect of solitary confinement has always been a topic of debate in criminal law jurisprudence, which raises serious human rights and legal concerns. Keeping inmates in confinement for prolonged hours without meaningful human contact has been criticized globally for its harmful physiological and psychological effects. This practice is … Continue reading How Judicial Permissiveness Sustains Solitary Confinement in Indian Prisons

WHO GOT IT WRONG—THE ALLAHABAD HIGH COURT OR US?

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-Aarya Dubey & Kush Shanker. INTRODUCTION Recently, in a judgement delivered by the Hon’ble Ram Manohar Narayan Mishra J. of the Allahabad High Court, it was observed that groping breasts, snapping off the girl’s pyjama strings and dragging her beneath the culvert prima facie do not constitute an attempt to rape under the relevant provisions … Continue reading WHO GOT IT WRONG—THE ALLAHABAD HIGH COURT OR US?

UNCERTAINTY UNDER-TRIAL: DISCRETION IN DENIAL OF BAIL U/S 436A 

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-Jugaad Singh INTRODUCTION Overflowing and overburdened prisons are often a consequence of either an increased crime rate or an increased conviction rate. However, in India, the situation is neither. It is the consequence of a delayed judicial process, as more than 75% of the in-mates are under trial prisoners. While the overflow of prisons is … Continue reading UNCERTAINTY UNDER-TRIAL: DISCRETION IN DENIAL OF BAIL U/S 436A 

Shifting Sands: The Evolving Interpretations of Anticorruption Laws for Insolvency Resolution Professionals 

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- Raunaq Bali The fight against corruption hinges on the cornerstone: the definition of a ‘public servant’. Within the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (hereinafter referred to as “the PC Act”), this seemingly straightforward term holds immense weight, determining who falls under its watchful gaze and who remains beyond its reach. However, this line in … Continue reading Shifting Sands: The Evolving Interpretations of Anticorruption Laws for Insolvency Resolution Professionals 

Unconstitutionality of Premature Release: Examining the Abuse of Remission Policies

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-Shruti Mishra Introduction Premature release entails a prisoner’s release before the completion of his judicially ordained sentence. States may grant premature release to convicts owing to several factors, as laid down in the case of Bir Singh v. State of Himachal Pradesh, which includes good conduct by the prisoner, no commission of jail offence, prisoner’s … Continue reading Unconstitutionality of Premature Release: Examining the Abuse of Remission Policies

Denial of Sanction under Prevention of Corruption Act: A case for Expansive Interpretation

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~ By KV Kailash Ramanathan & Vasishta Ganapathi K Introduction Incurring the ire of stakeholders prejudiced by their actions is an inexorable professional hazard in the life of public servants. Whether these acts are rectitudinous or condemnable, someone is aggrieved in the oft zero-sum game of governance. Mercy, while being a quality worthy of Shakespearian … Continue reading Denial of Sanction under Prevention of Corruption Act: A case for Expansive Interpretation

NUTRITION BEHIND BARS: ELIMINATING FOOD AS A MEANS OF PUNISHMENT [Part II]

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~By Jugaad Singh Part I of the Blog dealt with the historical context and the legal background pertaining to prison food in India. Part II of the blog will be tackling the introduction of the Modern Prison Manual of 2016 as well as providing a global perspective of the problem along with possible solutions.  THE … Continue reading NUTRITION BEHIND BARS: ELIMINATING FOOD AS A MEANS OF PUNISHMENT [Part II]

NUTRITION BEHIND BARS: ELIMINATING FOOD AS A MEANS OF PUNISHMENT [Part I]

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~By Jugaad Singh "No one can understand the reality of the prison experience until they've actually walked in the shoes of those who are incarcerated." - Bryan StevensonExecutive Director, Equal Justice Initiative INTRODUCTION Considerations about the quality, quantity and nutritional value of prison food are not something a person who has never been incarcerated loses sleep … Continue reading NUTRITION BEHIND BARS: ELIMINATING FOOD AS A MEANS OF PUNISHMENT [Part I]

Right of the Dead: Analysing the Legal Framework for Necrophilia in India

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~By Tanya Verma Necrophilia, characterized by the pursuit of sexual satisfaction through engaging in sexual acts with corpses, has undergone a significant transformation in societal perception. The recent acquittal by the Karnataka High Court (HC) of a man accused of sexually assaulting the lifeless body of a 21-year-old woman following her murder highlights the concern regarding the … Continue reading Right of the Dead: Analysing the Legal Framework for Necrophilia in India

The Conundrum of Women being Prosecuted for Gangrape

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- Rushil Batra On 13.02.2023, a single judge bench of the Allahabad HC gave a rather interesting judgment in the case of Suneeta Pandey v State of UP wherein it held that women can be prosecuted for the offence of gang rape under Section 376D of the IPC. This conclusion is interesting since generally rape as an offence is seen … Continue reading The Conundrum of Women being Prosecuted for Gangrape

Restricting Anticipatory Bail under the Atrocities Act

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-Saranya Ravindran Section 438 of the Code of Criminal Procedure [CrPC] empowers the Sessions Court and the High Court to grant anticipatory bail, i.e., the direction to release a person on bail in the event of an arrest on a non-bailable offense. Section 18 of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 (the Atrocities … Continue reading Restricting Anticipatory Bail under the Atrocities Act

Evaluating the Judicial Interpretation of Section 102(3) of Cr.P.C 

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~By Mansi Pandey Introduction Section 102 of the Criminal Procedure Code (hereinafter referred to as ‘Cr.P.C.’ or the ‘code’), deals with the power of the police officers to seize “any property” that is either stolen or creates a suspicion of commission of the offense. Further, the police shall report the seizure to the Magistrate forthwith. It … Continue reading Evaluating the Judicial Interpretation of Section 102(3) of Cr.P.C 

Time for a Seven-Judge Bench Reference to resolve the FIR conundrum?

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~By Abhinav Sekhri On 12.08.2022, the Supreme Court in XYZ v. State of Madhya Pradesh & Ors. [Crl. Appeal No. 1184 of 2022] set aside an order of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, and directed that a First Information Report ["FIR"] ought to be registered under Section 154 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 ["Cr.P.C.'] by the local police on the … Continue reading Time for a Seven-Judge Bench Reference to resolve the FIR conundrum?

Old Wine in New Bottles? – The Judgement in Vijay Madanlal Choudhary (Part Two)

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~By Abhinav Sekhri The previous post in this two-part series considered how the Supreme Court's judgment in Vijay Madanlal Choudhary & Ors. v. Union of India & Ors. [SLP Crl. No. 4364 of 2014; Judgment dated 27.07.2022 ("Vijay Madanlal Choudhary") dealt with the offence of money laundering under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act 2002 ["PMLA"]. This post turns its lens to how the judgment … Continue reading Old Wine in New Bottles? – The Judgement in Vijay Madanlal Choudhary (Part Two)

Of Old Wine in New Bottles – The Judgement in Vijay Madanlal Choudhary (Part One)

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~By Abhinav Sekhri After marathon hearings, the Supreme Court finally pronounced its judgment on 27.07.2022 in a batch of over 200 petitions where the legality of various provisions under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 ["PMLA"] had been challenged. This judgment — bearing the title Vijay Madanlal Choudhary & Ors. v. Union of India & Ors. [SLP Crl No. 4364 … Continue reading Of Old Wine in New Bottles – The Judgement in Vijay Madanlal Choudhary (Part One)

The Most Recent Clarifications to the Supreme Court Bail Guidelines

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~By Abhinav Sekhri On July 11, 2022, the most recent clarifications were issued by the Supreme Court in respect of the bail guidelines which it had first issued in October, 2021 [MA No. 1849 of 2021 in SLP (Crl) 5191 of 2021, titled 'Satender Kumar Antil v. CBI' (Order dated 11.07.2022)]. This blog had covered the guidelines in October, … Continue reading The Most Recent Clarifications to the Supreme Court Bail Guidelines

Reverse onus of proof: An incongruity in UAPA

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-Himanshu Mishra In all countries, the laws to prevent unlawful activities that may cause harm to the sovereignty and integrity of a nation are extremely consequential. In India, a law called Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, 1967 [hereinafter, “UAPA”]was enacted for this purpose. In recent times, our country has witnessed a plethora of UAPA cases and … Continue reading Reverse onus of proof: An incongruity in UAPA

Proviso to Section 372 or Section 378(4) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973; which remedy to avail? – An Interpretative Perplexity

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-By Atreya Chakraborty and Aurin Chakraborty Introduction The Latin maxim of Ubi Jus Ibi Remedium embodies a settled principle of common law which essentially means that ‘where there is a right, there is a remedy’. It envisages the establishment of an equitable legal mechanism wherein, every grievance must have a remedy in law. A wider … Continue reading Proviso to Section 372 or Section 378(4) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973; which remedy to avail? – An Interpretative Perplexity

‘Miniscule Fraction of The Total Population’: Not Entitled to Legal Marriage and Protection from Abuse?

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-By Prachi Agrawal & Charu Sharma Introduction: Namesake Recognition In the years antecedent to 2018, same sex carnal intercourse, regardless of consent, was considered against the order of nature and was weighed at par with bestiality, i.e. sexual intercourse between humans and animals. Under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 [hereinafter ‘IPC’], it … Continue reading ‘Miniscule Fraction of The Total Population’: Not Entitled to Legal Marriage and Protection from Abuse?

End of Justice? The Supreme Court’s Order in Hitesh Verma v State of Uttarakhand

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by Prannv Dhawan & Ishwar Singh The Supreme Court’s recent judgment in Hitesh Verma v. State of Uttarakhand [decided on 05.11.2020] reversed an order of the Uttarakhand High Court and quashed the case with respect to allegations under SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989 (‘the Act’). The Court held that insulting or intimidating a person belonging … Continue reading End of Justice? The Supreme Court’s Order in Hitesh Verma v State of Uttarakhand

Preliminary Inquiry Before FIR: A Panacea for Malicious Prosecution?

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-By Saisha Singh Earlier this year the Delhi High Court, in the process of hearing a case about registering FIRs against BJP Leaders, who have delivered alleged hate speeches, which are being said as being instrumental in inciting violence in NCR, was seen reminding the police to follow guidelines as established by the case of … Continue reading Preliminary Inquiry Before FIR: A Panacea for Malicious Prosecution?

Analysing the exactitude of the acquittal in the Babri-Masjid demolition case

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-By Kshitij Goyal and Kunal Gupta Introduction The Ram Janmabhoomi case has become a cause célèbre,a case which has garnered unprecedented public attention. The last part of the controversy got resolved on 30th Sept 2020 when the special court of CBI acquitted all the 32 accused in criminal dispute due to lack of evidence.What needs … Continue reading Analysing the exactitude of the acquittal in the Babri-Masjid demolition case

Aghnoo Nagesia v State of Bihar: analysing section 25 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872

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By Somyajit Mohanty Introduction “There is a great deal of laziness in it. It is far pleasanter to sit comfortably in the shade rubbing red pepper into a poor devil’s eyes than to go about in the sun hunting up evidence.”[1] A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court of India, in the case of Aghnoo … Continue reading Aghnoo Nagesia v State of Bihar: analysing section 25 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872

Running Roughshod Over Legislative Concerns and Entrenching the Public- Private Dichotomy- Scrutinizing the Inherent Powers of the High Court Under S.482 of the CrPC – Part II

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By Keshab Roy Choudhury Introduction In the first part of this two part piece, we saw that the Court’s use of its inherent powers under S.482 of the CrPC in allowing the settlement of non-compoundable offences frustrated the statutory scheme of the CrPC and the policy considerations of the Legislature. In this part, I shall … Continue reading Running Roughshod Over Legislative Concerns and Entrenching the Public- Private Dichotomy- Scrutinizing the Inherent Powers of the High Court Under S.482 of the CrPC – Part II

Running Roughshod Over Legislative Concerns and Entrenching the Public- Private Dichotomy- Scrutinizing the Inherent Powers of the High Court Under S.482 of the CrPC – Part I

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By Keshab Roy Choudhury Introduction The Supreme Court of India (‘SC’), in some legal and academic circles, is regarded as ‘the world’s most powerful Supreme Court'. However, it can easily be argued that the High Courts (HC’s) have equal, if not more, power vis-à-vis the SC. First, the jurisdiction of the HC under A.226 of … Continue reading Running Roughshod Over Legislative Concerns and Entrenching the Public- Private Dichotomy- Scrutinizing the Inherent Powers of the High Court Under S.482 of the CrPC – Part I

The Supreme Court, 65-B Certificates, and Electronic Evidence

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By Abhinav Sekhri A Three Justices' Bench of the Supreme Court delivered a much-awaited decision in Arjun Panditrao Khotkar v. Kailash Kushanrao & Ors. [Civil Appeal Nos. 20825-26 of 2017, decided on 14.07.2020 ("Arjun Panditrao")]. The issue referred to the Three Justices was an apparent conflict that had emerged in the position of law on the … Continue reading The Supreme Court, 65-B Certificates, and Electronic Evidence