Supreme Court Annual Digest 2023 -Indian Penal Code 1860

Indian Penal Code 1860Penal Code, 1860 - Constitutional Courts can impose fixed term sentence even in cases where death penalty was not proposed - "Even in a case where capital punishment is not imposed or is not proposed, the Constitutional Courts can always exercise the power of imposing a modified or fixed-term sentence by directing that a life sentence, as contemplated by “secondly” in Section 53 of the IPC, shall be of a fixed period of more than fourteen years, for example, of twenty years, thirty years and so on. (Para 13) 2023 LiveLaw (SC) 252Penal Code, 1860 - Distinction between murder and the culpable homicide not amounting to murder – Explained. (Para 54) 2023 LiveLaw (SC) 279Penal Code, 1860 - That the accused has no antecedents, is no consideration by itself for deciding whether the accused will fall in the category of the 'rarest of the rare' cases. It all depends on several factors. The Court, while considering the possibility of reformation of the accused, must note that showing undue leniency in such a brutal case will adversely affect the public confidence in the efficacy of the legal system. The Court must consider the rights of the victim as well. (Para 15) 2023 LiveLaw (SC) 252Penal Code, 1860 - Trial Court has no jurisdiction to sentence the accused to life imprisonment for the remainder of their life, or life imprisonment without entitlement to remission for a fixed term, in serious crimes which carry the death penalty apart from life sentence as a sentencing option - The court took note that the Apex Court in Union of India vs Sriharan @ Murugan & Ors., [2015] 14 SCR 613, has approved a special category of sentence for serious crimes where death sentence is substituted with life imprisonment for a fixed number of years which may be longer than the minimum sentence specified in Section 433A of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC) and may extend to considerably long periods, such as 30 years. However, Sriharan (2015) reserves the power to impose such special or fixed term sentences only with the High Courts and the Supreme Court. 2023 LiveLaw (SC) 336Section 34 - Acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intentionPenal Code, 1860; Section 34 - for applying Section 34 IPC there should be a common intention of all the co-accused persons which means community of purpose and common design. Common intention does not mean that the co-accused persons should have engaged in any discussion or agreement so as to prepare a plan or hatch a conspiracy for committing the offence. Common intention is a psychological fact and it can be formed a minute before the actual happening of the incidence or as stated earlier even during the occurrence of the incidence. (Para 13) 2023 LiveLaw (SC) 1036Penal Code, 1860; Sections 34 and 149 - Distinction between 'common intention' and 'common object' – A clear distinction is made out between common intention and common object in that common intention denotes action in concert and necessarily postulates the existence of a prearranged plan implying a prior meeting of the minds, while common object does not necessarily require proof of prior meeting of minds or preconcert. Though there is a substantial difference between the two sections, they also to some extent overlap and it is a question to be determined on the facts of each case whether the charge under Section 149 overlaps the ground covered by Section 34. Thus, if several persons numbering five or more, do an act and intend to do it, both Section 34 and Section 149 may apply. If the common object does not necessarily involve a common intention, then the substitution of Section 34 for Section 149 might result in prejudice to the accused and ought not, therefore, to be permitted. (Para 17) 2023 LiveLaw (SC) 870Penal Code,1860; Section 34 - In the absence of any incriminating material or other corroborative evidence pointing to the participation of appellants in the incident, the conviction of appellants under Section 323 read with Section 34 of IPC cannot be sustained. (Para 12) 2023 LiveLaw (SC) 546Section 53 - PunishmentsPenal Code, 1860; Section 53 - The majority view in the case of Union of India v. V. Sriharan @ Murugan & Ors., 2016 (7) SCC 1 cannot be construed to mean that power to impose fixed term sentence cannot be exercised by the Constitutional Courts unless the question is of commuting the death sentence - When a Constitutional Court finds that though a case is not falling in the category of 'rarest of the rare' case, considering the gravity and nature of the offence and all other relevant factors, it can always impose a fixed-term sentence so that the benefit of statutory remission, etc. is not available to the accused. (Para 12) 2023 LiveLaw (SC) 252Section 80 - Accident in doing a lawful actPenal Code, 1860; Section 80 - Defence of Accident rejected - The Trial Court and the High Court held that the defense of accidental firing cannot be accepted and that the act of firing...

Supreme Court Annual Digest 2023 -Indian Penal Code 1860

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Supreme Court Annual Digest 2023 -Indian Penal Code 1860

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