Criminal law

Abetment of suicide can be charged against a person only when the alleged harassment should be of such nature that it leaves the victim with no other alternative but to end their life, says the Supreme Court (SC) in Mahendra Awase v The State of Madhya Pradesh [2025 INSC 76], and Ayyub & Others v State of Uttar Pradesh & Another [2025 INSC 168].

A person aggrieved by a cognizable offence committed by someone else must first inform the officer in charge of a police station, who is required to record it in writing, read it back to the informant, and obtain their signature, under Section 154(1) of the Code of Criminal Proceedure,1967 (CrPC), says the Supreme Court ( SC) in Ranjit Singh Bath & Anr. v Union Territory Chandigarh & Anr.

The Sections 239 and 240 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) deal with discharge and framing of charge. The discharge of the accused arises when "the Magistrate considers the charge against the accused to be groundless.”

The High Court of Kerala (HCK), in Noushad K  v State of Kerala and Another [2025:KER:16338], says merely because the complainant is a lady, there is no presumption that her version is the gospel truth. Nowadays, there has been a tendency to make serious allegations of sexual assault against innocent people.

A suicide note alone is not sufficient to establish abetment unless it is corroborated by other evidence, says the Supreme Court (SC) in Patel Babubhai Manohardas & Others v State of Gujarat [ 2025 INSC 322].

A law made by the legislature is always prospective in nature unless it has been specifically stated in the statute itself about its retrospective operation. But the reverse is true for the law which is laid down by a Constitutional Court, or law as it is interpretated by the court. The judgment of the court will always be retrospective in nature unless the judgment itself specifically states that the judgment will operate prospectively, says the Supreme Court (SC) in Kaniskh Sinha v State of West Bengal [2025 INSC 278].

The Supreme Court (SC) reaffirms that basing a conviction solely on the opinion of a handwriting expert’s evidence without substantial corroboration would be hazardous, in C. Kamalakkannan v State Of Tamil Nadu [2025 INSC 309].

BNSS has the concept of deemed sanction The Bhartiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS), unlike the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC), provides for the concept of deemed sanction for prosecuting a public servant.

Informing an arrested person clearly and effectively of the grounds for his/her arrest is a fundamental right under Article 22(1) of the Constitution and the right to live with dignity is a part of the rights guaranteed under Article 21, says the Supreme Court (SC) in Vihaan Kumar v The State of Haryana & Another [2025 INSC 162].

The Supreme Court (SC), in Ramesh (deceased) v The State of Kerala, says if the accused-appellant dies during the pendency of a criminal appeal against a composite sentence of imprisonment and fine, the appeal does not abate. The Section 394 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) deals with abatement of appeals.

The Supreme Court (SC), in Union of India & Another v Tarsem Singh & Others has declared Section 3J of the National Highways Act 1956, to the extent it excludes solatium and interest as per Land Acquisition Act 1894 to acquisitions done under the National Highways Act (NH Act), to be unconstitutional.

Prior sanction under Section 197 of Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) is not needed to prosecute a public servant for perjury under Section 340 read with 195 of the CrPC, says the High Court of Kerala in K.K. Krishnan v State of Kerala and Others [2024/KER/12203].