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State of U.P. v. Damodar & Anr.

Criminal Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Criminal Appeal No. 714 of 2009)Decided 6 May 2015
Criminal Appeal No. 714 of 2009
Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose · Justice Uday Umesh Lalit

Background

This order sends the case back; it does not decide the dispute. The trial court acquitted the respondents of a dowry death charge. The Allahabad High Court summarily rejected the State's application for leave to appeal against the acquittal.

Decision Breakdown

This is not a final decision on the dispute. The Court found the rejection of leave completely incorrect because the High Court had not engaged with the evidence. It set aside the High Court's order and sent the question of leave to appeal back to the High Court to be considered afresh. The Court said it should not be taken to have expressed any opinion on the merits.

Lesson Learnt

A High Court must engage with the evidence before refusing the State leave to appeal against an acquittal. There is no final ruling yet on whether leave should be granted in this case.

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

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