LegalAware
LegalAware.ai
EMPOWERING LEGAL AWARENESS

Premchand vs The State of Maharashtra

Criminal Appeal · 2023 INSC 207Decided 3 Mar 2023
Criminal Appeal No. 211 of 2023
S. Ravindra Bhat · Dipankar Datta

Background

On 26 September 2013, the appellant, then aged 58, allegedly stabbed Nandkishor Korde to death and caused stab injuries to three others during an altercation. He was convicted of murder under Section 302 IPC and of attempted murder under Section 307 IPC by the trial court, with sentences of life imprisonment and rigorous imprisonment respectively; the Bombay High Court (Nagpur Bench) upheld the conviction. The appellant challenged this before the Supreme Court, arguing that key eyewitnesses present at the scene were never examined and that his advanced age made the prosecution's version of events improbable.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court found that the prosecution had failed to examine independent witnesses who were reportedly present at the scene, and held that the circumstances made it improbable that the appellant, then in his late fifties, single-handedly overpowered several younger men without provocation. The Court concluded the trial court had not properly considered whether the appellant may have acted in the reasonable apprehension of danger to himself, and held he was entitled to the benefit of Exception 4 to Section 300 IPC (sudden fight, no premeditation, heat of passion, no undue advantage taken). Accordingly, the murder conviction and life sentence were set aside, and the appellant was instead convicted under Section 304 Part II IPC (culpable homicide not amounting to murder). Since he had already served over nine years in custody, that period was treated as adequate punishment and he was ordered released forthwith. The Court also noted, without issuing a formal direction given the lapse of time, that the police ought to have investigated the injuries suffered by the appellant himself.

Lesson Learnt

A murder conviction can be downgraded on appeal where the circumstances suggest a sudden fight without premeditation rather than a calculated killing, and courts must weigh the absence of key eyewitnesses and the plausibility of the prosecution's version rather than accepting it at face value.

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