LegalAware
LegalAware.ai
EMPOWERING LEGAL AWARENESS

Prabhu Dayal v. The State of Rajasthan

Criminal Appeal · 2018 INSC 579Decided 4 Jul 2018
Criminal Appeal No. 2324 of 2014
Justice L. Nageswara Rao · Justice Mohan M. Shantanagoudar

Background

In a village in Rajasthan in 1997, the appellant and several others allegedly armed themselves with firearms and an axe, shot one man dead, and injured a woman at the scene. Ten persons were originally tried; the trial court convicted five, including the appellant, under Sections 302/149 (murder by an unlawful assembly) and related IPC provisions, and the High Court later acquitted one co-accused but confirmed the conviction of the appellant and two others. The appellant alone pursued a further appeal to the Supreme Court, arguing that eyewitnesses had not named the accused when first reporting the incident, that their accounts changed over time, and that the forensic and scene evidence was unreliable.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court examined the eyewitness testimony, the first information report, and forensic ballistic reports showing that the seized country-made pistols were capable of firing the recovered ammunition, and found the prosecution's evidence consistent and credible despite minor inconsistencies. The Court held that even though it could not be pinpointed exactly which shot caused the fatal injury, all five convicted persons were members of an unlawful assembly sharing the common object of murder, making each individually liable under Section 302 read with Section 149 IPC. The appeal was dismissed and the life sentence imposed on the appellant was confirmed.

Lesson Learnt

Where a group of people act together with a shared criminal purpose (an "unlawful assembly" with a "common object"), each member can be held fully liable for a murder committed by the group, even if it cannot be proven exactly which individual's act directly caused death.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

More rulings in Criminal Law

Criminal LawSupreme Court of India

Charming Rupon v. State of Meghalaya

The Supreme Court acquitted the accused, finding the prosecution's case riddled with serious doubt. Both the victim and her cousin (a key witness) admitted in cross-examination that they could not identify the accused and that his name had been supplied to them by the victim's mother, raising a strong suspicion of tutoring, especially since the victim admitted she had been coached by the public prosecutor before testifying. The mother's own conduct (not reacting urgently despite being told of the assault, and material facts missing from the belated FIR) was found "unnatural." A crucial witness, the school teacher whose disclosure triggered the FIR, was never examined, without explanation, warranting an adverse inference against the prosecution. The Court also noted that two medical witnesses were never meaningfully cross-examined because the defence counsel was absent on the relevant dates, and that the trial court had wrongly brushed aside credible alibi evidence led by the accused.

Decided 9 Oct 2026Read case
Criminal LawSupreme Court of India

Ramkrushna Prahllad Dongardive v. The State of Maharashtra

The Supreme Court restored the trial court's acquittal. It found that the prosecution never produced the original cashbooks, daily registers, or audit reports that would have actually proven the appellant was entrusted with and misappropriated the money: the investigating officer himself admitted these documents were never shown to him despite being asked for. The department also failed to produce records the appellant had specifically sought in his own defence. Separately, the search and seizure of documents from the appellant's house was legally doubtful, since both independent witnesses to the seizure turned hostile and denied knowing its contents, and the mandatory procedural safeguards for such a seizure were not followed. The Court also flagged that the High Court convicted the appellant for the very first time on appeal without ever hearing him on the question of sentence, which the law required it to do.

Decided 8 Oct 2026Read case
Criminal LawDelhi High Court

Gurpreet Singh vs. State (NCT of Delhi)

The Court accepted that the order recalling the proclaimed offender status be placed on record. Noting that the complainant was untraceable and the prosecution itself raised no serious objection to anticipatory bail, the Court found no reason to deny the applicant liberty. It granted anticipatory bail, directing release on a personal bond of Rs. 20,000 with one surety in the event of arrest.

Decided 7 Oct 2026Read case
Criminal LawDelhi High Court

Mukesh Rani vs. Narcotics Control Bureau

The Court noted the investigation was complete, the chargesheet was filed, the co-accused had already been granted bail, and the combined quantity recovered (1.976 kg) still fell short of the "commercial quantity" threshold under the NDPS Act. With ten witnesses yet to be examined and no indication the trial would conclude quickly, the Court found continued detention unnecessary and granted regular bail on a personal bond of Rs. 50,000 with standard conditions.

Decided 7 Oct 2026Read case
Criminal LawDelhi High Court

Aakash vs. State Govt. of NCT of Delhi and Anr.

The Court noted that all prosecution witnesses, including the complainant and the guest house manager, had already been examined, and that a co-accused in the same FIR had already been granted bail. Given the complainant's own testimony about voluntary association with the petitioner and the completed trial evidence, the Court found the overall facts favoured bail. It granted regular bail on a personal bond of Rs. 50,000 with standard conditions (reporting to police weekly, not influencing witnesses, providing address/mobile details).

Decided 7 Oct 2026Read case
Criminal LawDelhi High Court

Kundan Kumar vs. State NCT of Delhi & Anr.

The Court relied on earlier Delhi High Court rulings holding that whether a broken promise of marriage was "false" from the outset (criminal) or a mere "breach" (not criminal) is a question for trial, not something requiring custodial interrogation. Noting the investigation was complete and the applicant had no prior criminal record, the Court granted regular bail on a personal bond of Rs. 25,000 with conditions, clarifying the order was not an opinion on the merits.

Decided 7 Oct 2026Read case