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Criminal Procedure Code, 1973: Witness Protection Program (Leading Case law: Mrs. Neelam Katara v. Union of India)

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Mrs.Neelam Katara filed the present petition pertaining to the tragic homicidal death of her son, Nitish. Respondent No.6, the son of a sitting Member of the Rajya Sabha came to be a suspect in the homicidal death of Nitish Katara. The petitioner sought various reliefs. From time-to-time various directions and orders were passed in the present petition resulting in the petition, as far as the petition was concerned as having become infructuous. However, one aspect of the matter of general public importance survives and counsel for the parties stated that in public interest certain directions pertaining to witness protection need to be issued. Ratio Decidendi: The edifice of administration of justice is based upon witness coming forward and deposing without fear or favour, without intimidation or allurement in Courts of Law. If witnesses are deposing under fear or intimidation or for favour or allurement, the foundation of administration of justice not only gets weakened, but in cases i...
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Criminal Procedure Code, 1973: Section 319, Power to proceed against other persons appearing to be guilty of offence (Leading Case law: Hardeep Singh v. State of Punjab )

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Facts: On June 24, 2004, Hardeep Singh was ploughing the land. The accused persons went there with deadly weapons and caused injuries to Hardeep Singh as well as other prosecution witnesses. First Information Report (FIR) was lodged against many of the accused for commission of offences punishable under Sections 307, 326, 336 and 427 read with Sections 120B, 148 and 149 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) as also for offences punishable under Sections 25, 27, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act, 1959. Accused were arrested. Vijay Preet Singh (respondent No. 2) was one of them but the father of Vijay Singh interfered in investigation. Hence, he was discharged before framing of the charges. Moreover, Jagtar Singh (respondent No.3) whose name was not mentioned in the FIR, but as per witnesses also involved. The appeal is brought before the constitutional bench of Supreme Court because the division bench came onto differing opinion as to the additions of the respondent 2 and 3 to the case using sec...
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Criminal Procedure Code, 1973: Section 321, Withdrawal of Prosecution (Leading Case law: PETITIONER: ABDUL KARIM ETC. ETC. Vs. RESPONDENT: STATE OF KARNATAKA & OTHERS)

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Facts A man named Veerappan a criminal who is alleged to be guilty of the most heinous crimes, including the murder of 119 persons, among them Police and Forest Officers, and kidnapping. One Veerappan abducted from a film actor named Rajkumar, and three others. As of today, Rajkumar and Nagesh remain in Veerappans custody. At the time of the kidnapping, Veerappan handed over to Rajkumars wife an audio cassette to be delivered to the Chief Minister of the State of Karnataka. The audio cassette required that he send an emissary to Veerappan. The Chief Ministers of the States of decided to send as an emissary one Gopal, to Veerappan. Later Gopalsent an audio cassettee to Chennai which, in the voices of Veerappan and an associate, set out ten demands for the release of Rajkumar. There were 10 demands, but the one to be considered is: DEMAND : 6. Innocent persons languishing in Karnataka Jails should be released.  RESPONSE : TADA charges will be dropped immediately facilitating release ...
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Criminal Procedure Code, 1973: Section 235 (Leading Case law: Ajay Pandit @ Jagdish Dayabhai Patel & Anr Appellant (s) Versus State of Maharashtra)

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Facts: Death sentence has been awarded by the High Court of Bombay to Ajay Pandit @ Jagdish Dayabhai Patel for double murder. The Bombay High Court confirming the order of conviction and enhancing the sentence of life imprisonment to death and ordered to be hanged till death against which this appeal has been preferred. The High Court heard the arguments of the advocate for the accused as well as the prosecutor on the point as to whether the High Court could enhance the sentence of the accused from life to death. Having noticed that the High Court has the power to enhance the sentence from life imprisonment to death, the High Court issued a notice on 1.12.2005 to the accused to show cause why the sentence of life imprisonment be not enhanced to death sentence. The operative portion of the order reads as follows: The accused was produced before the Court on but the advocate representing the accused was absent. Consequently, he Court on 13.12.2005 recorded the following statement of the ...
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Criminal Procedure Code, 1973: Section 212, Framing of Charge (Leading Caselaw: Mohan Singh and ors(Appellant) V State of Bihar (Re

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Facts: The facts of the case are that the informant Shri Vikas Kumar Jha gave a fardbeyan to the effect that at about 5.00 P.M. on 23.7.2005, he had received a call on his telephone number inquiring about his elder brother Shri Anil Kumar Jha. The informant stated before the police that his elder brother, the owner of a medical store, on the said date had been out of town. He submitted that he had communicated the same to the caller. Upon such reply, the caller disclosed himself as Mohan Singh, the appellant herein, and asked the informant to send him Rs.50,000/-. The informant submitted that he had similar conversations with the caller three to four times in the past. The caller threatened him that since the demand of money had not been fulfilled, the informant should be ready to face the consequences. Upon his elder brother’s return, the informant had narrated the events to him. However, his elder brother did not take the threat seriously. Later, the informants elder brother and thei...
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Criminal Procedure Code, 1973: Section 164, Recording of confessions and statements (Leading Caselaw: Ajay Kumar Parmar V State of Rajasthan)

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  Facts: An FIR was lodged by one Pushpa on 22.3.1997, against the appellant stating that the appellant had raped her on 10.3.1997. In view thereof, an investigation ensued and the appellant was medically examined. The statement of the prosecutrix was recorded under Section 161 of Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, by the Deputy Superintendent, wherein she narrated the incident of how Ajay Parmar raped her and kept her hostage without food and water. Moreover, she then tried to commit suicide but was saved by Prakash Sen and Vikram Sen and then, eventually, after a lapse of about 10 days, the complaint in question was handed over to the SP, Sirohi. Subsequently, she herself appeared before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Sirohi on 9.4.1997, and moved an application before him stating that, although she had lodged an FIR under Section 376/342 IPC, the police were not investigating the case in a correct manner and, therefore, she wished to make her statement under Section 164 Cr.P.C. T...
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Criminal Procedure Code, 1973: Section 156 (3), Leading Caselaw: Sakiri Vasu v. State of U.P.

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  Facts: The son of the appellant was a Major in the Indian Army. His dead body was found on 23.8.2003 at Mathura Railway Station. The G.R.P, Mathura investigated the matter and gave a detailed report on 29.8.2003 stating that the death was due suicide. The claim for suicide was upheld by the domestic servant and gang-man, who said the deceased was never happy. But the appellant alleged the case was of murder because the deceased got to know about corruption in Army, hence, he was killed. The appellant made request to Army Court to look into the matter but they declared it to suicide. Hence, the appeal is filed to order Central Bureau of Investigation (in short “CBI”) to investigate the matter.  Issue: Whether the CBI enquiry can be initiated in the present case? Ratio Decidendi: The court stated that CBI enquiry cannot be conducted by stating, CBI v. Rajesh Gandhi [(1996) 11 SCC 253] that no one can insist that an offence be investigated by a particular agency. An aggrieved p...
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