BSA/Evidence Act
'Mere Telephone Records Can't Prove Illicit Affair' : Supreme Court Upholds Acquittal Of Woman & 2 Men In Husband's Murder Case
Mere production of telephone records cannot substitute substantive proof of an illicit affair leading to murder, the Supreme Court has held while upholding the acquittal of a woman accused of murdering her husband along with her alleged lover and another co-accused in 2007. The Court ruled that the prosecution failed to establish an unbroken chain of circumstances necessary to sustain...
S.8 Evidence Act | From False NCR To Absconding: Allahabad High Court Weighs Man's 'Conduct' To Uphold Conviction For Wife's Murder
The Allahabad High Court (Lucknow Bench) on Wednesday upheld the life sentence of a man convicted of murdering his wife as it found his deceptive actions, like giving false assurances, lodging a false police report and eventually absconding, as “relevant conduct” under Section 8 of the Indian Evidence Act. A bench of Justice Rajnish Kumar and Justice Babita Rani thus dismissed the...
Does Refusal By Family Members To Accept Court Notice Amount To Valid Service? Orissa High Court Answers
The Orissa High Court has reiterated that when an addressee refuses to receive summons/notice and the same is thus affixed to the outer door or some other conspicuous part of his house, the Court can presume its valid and sufficient service upon him as per illustration (f) of Section 114 of the Evidence Act read with Section 27 of the General Clauses Act and Order V Rule 9(5) as well as Rule...
'Rape Is A Legal Conclusion, Not A Medical Condition': Allahabad High Court Relies On Victim's Sole Testimony To Uphold 1985 Conviction
Noting that the offence of rape is a legal conclusion and not a medical one, the Allahabad High Court on Thursday confirmed the conviction of a man in connection with a 1983 rape case. The Court clarified that if the testimony of a prosecutrix is free from any basic infirmity, it is sufficient to sustain a conviction even if the medical evidence doesn't strictly corroborate...
'Intent Is To Wreak Vengeance': Allahabad High Court Discards Dying Declaration, Acquits Husband & In-Laws In Murder Case
The Allahabad High Court last week acquitted a husband and his family members in a 2017 murder and dowry death case while discarding the deceased's dying declaration, after observing that it was made with the intent to “wreak vengeance” rather than state the truth. A bench of Justice Ajay Bhanot and Justice Divesh Chandra Samant thus set aside the trial court's judgment that...
S. 145 Evidence Act | Allahabad High Court Clarifies Procedure To Contradict Witnesses Using Omissions In S. 161 CrPC Statements
The Allahabad High Court last week clarified the exact procedure under Section 145 of the Indian Evidence Act, read with Section 162 of the CrPC, which needs to be adopted for contradicting a witness during a trial based on omissions in his previous statement made to the police u/s 161 of the CrPC. A bench of Justice JJ Munir and Justice Vinai Kumar Dwivedi held that a...
Failure To Explain Wife's Death In Home Completes Chain Of Guilt: Allahabad High Court Affirms Murder Conviction Of Husband, In-Laws
The Allahabad High Court recently observed that if a woman dies an unnatural death within the four walls of her matrimonial home and a strong chain of circumstantial evidence points to the guilt of the accused, the burden lies upon the inmates of the house to explain the circumstances of her unnatural death under Section 106 Evidence Act. A bench of Justice JJ Munir and Justice...
Contents Of FIR Inadmissible, Cannot Be Proved Through Scribe If Informant Dies Natural Death Before Testifying: Allahabad High Court
The Allahabad High Court has held that if a first informant dies a natural death before the commencement of a criminal trial or before testifying, the contents of the FIR cannot be proved through a scribe or an investigating officer. A Bench of Justice J.J. Munir and Justice Saurabh Srivastava clarified that if an informant's death has no connection whatsoever with the complaint lodged,...
'Voice Recording Of Bribe Demand Inadmissible Without S.65B Evidence Act Certificate & Voice Sample Authentication': Chhattisgarh High Court
The Chhattisgarh High Court has acquitted two public servants convicted under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, holding that the prosecution failed to prove the demand of illegal gratification beyond a reasonable doubt. The Court observed that in the absence of a certificate under Section 65-B of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, coupled with the absence of voice samples or any FSL report,...
Renukaswamy Murder Case: Karnataka High Court To Decide Whether Prosecution Can Cross-Examine Own Witness Without Declaring Her Hostile
The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday (June 24) orally remarked that it will consider whether clarificatory questions which are leading in nature can be asked to a prosecution witness in Renuka Swamy murder case, without declaring the witness hostile. The court was hearing State's petition challenging a trial court order that rejected its request to cross-examine a prosecution witness [mother...
Conviction Can't Rest On 'Last Seen' Alone Without Complete Chain Of Circumstances: Allahabad HC Acquits Man In 1986 Murder Case
The Allahabad High Court recently acquitted a man (sole surviving appellant) sentenced to life imprisonment in connection with a 1986 murder case, as it observed that the theory of "last seen together" is a "very weak kind of evidence" and it alone cannot sustain a conviction. A bench of Justice Rajnish Kumar and Justice Babita Rani added that the courts must ensure that the...