Legally Sane

On 05.09.2023, Justice PV Kunhikrishna of the High Court of Kerala at Ernakulam in Criminal Miscellaneous No. 7421 of 2022 titled Aneesh Vs. The state of Kerala has decided on a very interesting and substantial question of law relating to the criminality of watching porn videos in private time without exhibiting it to others , wherein, the Petitioner/Accused was seen standing on the roadside by the Police/Complainant, watching obscene videos in his mobile phone hence he was arrested and his mobile phone was seized. Thereafter, the police filed a charge sheet, alleging offence punishable under Section 292 of the IPC, before the concerned Magistrate and the learned Magistrate took cognizance of the offence based on the Final Report. The Petitioner/Accused approached the High Court praying for the quashing of FIR and the Charge Sheet. Justice Kunhikrishna held that “ 6. I am of the considered opinion that, watching of an obscene photo by a person in his privacy by itself is not an offenc...

On 27th August 2001, a Division Bench of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Criminal Appeal No. 858 of 2001 titled Bhaskar Industries Ltd. V. Bhiwani Denim & Apparels Ltd . reported as (2001) 7 SCC 401 has decided a substantial question of law relating to exemption from personal appearance/attendance in criminal cases, wherein, an accused in an offence punishable under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instrument Act of 1881 submitted an application for exemption from personal appearance mainly on two grounds:  The offence under Section 138 of the NI Act is not a serious offence;  The insistence on the physical presence of the accused in the case would cause substantial hardships and sufferings to him as he is a resident of Haryana and the case is pending in Bhopal. The application was allowed by the trial court. However, the said order granting exemption from personal appearance was set aside by the Sessions Judge and the order setting aside the order passed by the trial court was...

On 16.01.2023, A division bench of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Criminal Appeal No. 37 of 2023 titled The State Through Central Bureau of Investigation Vs. T. Gangi Reddy @ Yerra Gangi Reddy has decided a substantial question of law relating to the cancelation of default bail, wherein, Y.S. Vivekananda Reddy, a former M.L.A.; former Member of Lok Sabha; former Member of A.P. Legislative Council; and holding other posts was found dead in his house in 2019. A case under Section 302 read with Section 120-B of the IPC was registered. The State constituted an SIT. During the course of the investigation, the Respondent (Accused1) was arrested. On the expiration of 90 days, Respondent was released on default bail under Section 167(2) of the Cr.P.C. Investigation into the above crime was entrusted to the Appellant(CBI). The CBI filed the initial/first chargesheet and named A1 to A4. Thereafter, the CBI filed an application before the Special Court under Section 439(2) Cr.P.C. for the cancelati...

On 13.09.2022, A division bench of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Criminal Appeal No. 1317 of 2022 titled Chherturam @ Chainu Vs. State of Chhattisgarh has decided on a case of patricide, wherein, on the intervening night of 26th and 27th July 2010, between 10.00 PM and 12.30 AM, a quarrel broke out between the father and son(appellant) while they were drinking together. The informant (neighbour), on reaching their house found the appellant(son) assaulting his father with Nagar Wood. the deceased fell to the ground and died. During the investigation, the appellant made a disclosure statement, and pursuant to his statement a lungi as well as Nagar Wood were discovered. On an internal examination of the dead body, alcohol was found present inside the deceased’s stomach. The cause of death was stated to be haemorrhage shock caused by fatal injuries to the vital organs and the death was homicidal in nature. The appellant was charged under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code to which he ple...

On 12/09/2022, A division bench of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in Writ Petition (Criminal) No. 121 of 2022 titled Vinod Katara Vs. The State of Uttar Pradesh has reiterated principles related to the age determination of an accused person under the Juvenile Justice Act, wherein, the petitioner along with other co-accused persons was charged and held guilty of committing offences punishable under Section 302/34 of the Indian Penal Code and sentenced to life imprisonment. The appeal preferred by the Petitioner against the aforesaid conviction was dismissed by the Allahabad High Court and thereafter petition was filed before the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India seeking special leave to appeal which was also dismissed. The question of the juvenility of the Petitioner was never raised before any court. The Allahabad High Court in (PIL) Misc. WP No. 855 of 2012 directed the Juvenile Justice Boards to hold inquiries to determine the age of prisoners languishing in jails who claimed to ha...

On 19/05/2022, A Full Bench of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in Criminal Appeal No. 135 of 2010 titled Bhudadev Karmaskar Vs. The State of West Bengal & Ors., issued directions, through an order exercising powers conferred under Article 142 of the Constitution of India, relating to the rehabilitation measures in respect of sex workers and other connected issues wherein pursuant to an order passed by the Supreme Court on 19.07.2011, a Panel was constituted. The terms of reference made to the panel are:  (1) Prevention of trafficking,  (2) Rehabilitation of sex workers who wish to leave sex work, and  (3) Conditions conducive for sex workers who wish to continue working as sex workers with dignity. In 2016, the panel made several recommendations with respect to the abovesaid references and thereafter Government of India informed the Court that the recommendations made by the panel were considered by the GoI and draft legislation was published incorporating the reco...