Legally Sane

Article 32 of the Constitution of India gives power to the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India to issue certain writs in the process of protecting and upholding the fundamental rights of any person or citizen, as the case may be, enshrined under Part - III of the Constitution. In the celebrated case of State of Haryana & Ors. Vs. Ch. Bhajan Lal & Ors., 1992 AIR 604, Hon'ble Supreme Court has held that High Courts, in the exercise of the extra-ordinary powers under Article 226 of the Constitution or the inherent powers under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, may quash the FIR and subsequent criminal proceedings emanated therefrom in certain cases either to prevent abuse of the process of any Court or otherwise to secure ends of justice. It is a settled position of law that Hon'ble High Courts can exercise such powers without any restriction and limitation but can Hon'ble Supreme Court also exercise such powers under Article 32 of the Constitution? In a re...

On 28/05/2021, a division bench of the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India in Criminal Appeal No. 1735-1736 of 2010, titled Satbir Singh & Anr. Vs. State of Haryana, has laid down principles of conduction of trial of the cases relating to dowry death Under Section 304-B of IPC, wherein, the prosecution's case was that the deceased committed suicide by setting herself ablaze just after one year of her marriage and that soon before her death she was subjected to cruelty and harassment on account of bringing less dowry by both the accused. The trial court convicted the appellants for offences Under Sections 304-B and 306 of IPC. The appellants preferred an appeal to High Court challenging the conviction and sentence passed by the trial court but the High Court upheld the conviction and sentence of the appellants and dismissed the appeal. Two issues were to be decided by the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India in the instant case: I. Whether the trial court, and the High Court, was c...

  On 28/05/2021, a full bench of Hon'ble Supreme Court of India in Criminal Appeal No. 1731 of 2010, titled Gurmeet Singh Vs. State of Punjab has reiterated the guidelines issued by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Satbir Singh Vs. State of Haryana relating to trial Under Section 304-B of IPC and decided a substantial question of law with regard to presumption Under Section 113-B of the Evidence Act and essential ingredients for the offence of dowry death Under Section 304-B of IPC, wherein, father of the deceased stated that he was informed by the deceased that she was subjected to cruelty and harassment on the part of her husband, father-in-law and mother-in-law in connection with dowry demand and it was further alleged that therefore she consumed poison and died. The trial court convicted the husband, father-in-law and mother-in-law for the commission of offence Under Section 304-B of IPC. The High Court acquitted the father-in-law and mother-in-law but upheld the conviction and...

  On 28/05/2021, a full bench of Hon'ble Supreme Court of India in Criminal Appeal Nos. 522-523 of 2021, titled Nathu Singh Vs. State of Uttar Pradesh & Ors. and Ompal Singh Vs. State of Uttar Pradesh & Ors., has decided a substantial question of law relating to anticipatory bail Under Section 438 of CrPC, wherein, Hon'ble Allahabad High Court dismissed the applications for anticipatory bail but granted 90 days relief from any coercive action. Appeals were preferred before Hon'ble Supreme Court of India assailing the impugned orders of Hon'ble High Court granting 90 days relief from any coercive action. It was argued on behalf of the appellants that once the High Court declined the final relief of pre-arrest to the respondents, it could not grant them any further protection. Further, Section 438 of CrPC does not contemplate the grant of any such protection on the dismissal of the application filed by an accused. Rather, the proviso to Section 438(1) of CrPC spec...