Criminal law

A complaint case is a case filed before a Magistrate, orally or in writing, by a complainant alleging commission of an offence by a known or unknown person, with a view to taking an action by him, under Section 190 (1) (a) of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC). A complaint is a statement of facts which constitutes an offence.

When a criminal case is instituted against a person on a police report the accused has the right to get a copy each of the First Information Report (FIR), statements of witnesses recorded by the police, the police report and other records filed along with the police report. This is an obligation of the Magistrate under Section 207 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC).  

In a recent judgement in Md. Asfak Alam v The State of Jharkhand, the Supreme Court (SC) re-issues directions to all courts in the country reiterating the directions already issued in Arnesh Kumar v State of Bihar and Another.

Challans or Charge Sheets filed by police under Section 173 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) cannot be put on public domain or website, says the Supreme Court in Sarav Das v Union of India [2023 (1) KHC 451 (SC)].

An accused has the right to get copies of (or examine) the unmarked and unexhibited documents, which are not being relied on by the prosecution, in a criminal proceeding, as per the Supreme Court ( SC) judgement in V K Sasikala v State Rep. By Superintendent Of Police and some other related judgements.

The trial judge usually cannot examine any material produced by the accused at the time of charge framing or discharge of the accused, says the Supreme Court (SC) in State of Orissa v Debendra Nath Padhi.

The Supreme Court in Teesta Atul Setalvad v State of Gujarat states that the factors, which are essentially considered at the stage of granting of bail under Sections 437 and…

On a reference for confirmation of sentence of death, the High Court is required to proceed in accordance with Sections 367 and 368 respectively of the CrPC and the provisions of these Sections make it clear that the duty of the High Court, in dealing with the reference, is not only to see whether the order passed by the Sessions Judge is correct, but to examine the case for itself and even direct a further enquiry or the taking of additional evidence if the Court considers it desirable in order to ascertain the guilt or the innocence of the convicted person.

Default bail under Section 167(2) of the Criminal Procedures Code, 1973 (CrPC) can be granted to an accused based on an oral application alone, and no physical copy or written application is needed for seeking default bail, says High court of Kerala in a judgement in Akshay v State of Kerala [ 2023(1) KLT SN 44 (C No 38)].

After the dismissal of anticipatory bail application by the High Court (HC), a petitioner cannot file a subsequent anticipatory bail application, pointing out changes in circumstances, before the Sessions Court (SC). This is what the High Court of Kerala directs in Bipin Sunny v State of Kerala [ 2023 (5) KHC 125].

The Narcotic Drugs & Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS Act) is a complete code of legal provisions, to control and regulate operation of Narcotic Drugs & Psychotropic substances in India. It has been formulated by consolidating the then existing Opium Act, 1878 and The Dangerous Drugs Act, 1930. It applies to all persons in India and outside, and on ships and aircrafts registered in India.