Criminal Law
Criminal law, fair trial, bail, and procedure.
Case analysis and practical legal writing on criminal trials, bail, appeals, sentencing, fair-trial safeguards, and the Code of Criminal Procedure.
55 articles in Criminal Law
01Criminal LawSection 295-C and Digital Evidence: Qaiser Ayub’s Death Sentence Upheld, Amoon AcquittedSupreme Court upholds Qaiser Ayub’s death sentence but acquits Amoon: digital attribution, shared internet accounts, knowledge and benefit of doubt. Judgment PDF.02Criminal Law · EvidenceArticle 122 QSO: Wife’s Death at Home Cannot Replace Proof, Supreme Court HoldsIn Salman v. The State, the Supreme Court acquitted a husband after unreliable evidence failed to prove murder. Article 122 QSO could not replace proof.03Criminal LawPOCSO Acquittal: Identification Doubts and Missing Teacher Evidence in Charming RuponSupreme Court of India acquits Charming Rupon: identification doubts, missing teacher evidence, unfair medical cross-examination and a credible alibi. Judgment PDF.04Evidence · Criminal Law · Legal ProfessionCross-Examining a Witness Who Says ‘I Don’t Remember’: Memory, Documents and ContradictionsHow to cross-examine a forgetful witness: practical questions, prior statements and Qanun-e-Shahadat Articles 140 and 155–157, with original source downloads.05Criminal LawBrutality Alone Cannot Justify Death Penalty: Mohinder Singh and the Rarest of Rare TestMohinder Singh v State of Punjab explains mitigation, reform and the rarest of rare test. India's Supreme Court commuted death to life. Download the judgment.06Criminal Law · EvidenceFIA Visa Fraud Bail: Supreme Court on Digital Evidence, Further Inquiry and ConsistencyThe Supreme Court granted bail in an FIA visa-document case on further inquiry, co-accused consistency and non-prohibitory offences, leaving digital evidence for trial.07Criminal Law · EvidenceIndian Supreme Court Upholds Acquittal: DNA Match Could Not Fill Gaps in Murder EvidenceIndia’s Supreme Court upheld Anchla’s acquittal: an accepted DNA match did not prove when she was at the scene, while unreliable witnesses and investigation gaps left the chain incomplete.08Criminal Law · Constitutional LawSection 197 CrPC Sanction Is Not Needed Before FIR or Investigation: Supreme Court Explains Section 156(3)India's Supreme Court held in Sri Anumandala Rajesh Reddy v State of Karnataka (2026 INSC 1039) that sanction under Section 197 CrPC operates at cognizance, not at the FIR or Section 156(3) investigation stage.09Criminal Law · Constitutional LawPMLA Cognizance After the BNSS Began: Supreme Court Requires a Hearing for the AccusedIn Parvinder Singh v Directorate of Enforcement (2026 INSC 519), India's Supreme Court set aside cognizance taken after 1 July 2024 without hearing the accused, although the PMLA complaint had been filed earlier.10Criminal Law · Human RightsJudges Cannot Use Personal Moral Views to Refuse Bail: Supreme Court of IndiaThe Supreme Court of India granted bail in a POCSO case, rejected reliance on the victim family's 'morals', and considered prolonged custody and trial delay.11Criminal Law · Constitutional Law · Human RightsLife-Sentence Remission in Pakistan: Fifteen Years of Actual Imprisonment Remains MandatoryThe Federal Constitutional Court held that ordinary and special remissions cannot reduce a life convict's actual imprisonment below fifteen years unless the sentence is lawfully altered through competent constitutional or statutory power.12Criminal Law · EvidenceIndia’s Supreme Court: Accused May Inspect Unrelied Documents and Seek Specific Records at TrialIn CBI v Anil Dixit (2026 INSC 1064), the Supreme Court allowed inspection of voluminous seized records, with specific documents to be identified and produced at the appropriate trial stage; unavailable records could not be ordered from the CBI.13Commercial Law · Criminal Law · Constitutional LawLahore High Court: Tax Assessment Is Not a Precondition for an AMLA Money-Laundering InvestigationThe Lahore High Court held that an AMLA investigation based on scheduled income-tax offences may proceed without waiting for final assessment of tax liability, while the prosecution must still prove the predicate offence, proceeds of crime and every element of money laundering.14Criminal Law · Human RightsSupreme Court: Failure to Produce an Undertrial Cannot Defeat Statutory Bail Under Section 497 Cr.P.C.The Supreme Court held that an undertrial cannot be blamed for delay caused by jail or prosecution authorities, and that mere involvement in other cases does not by itself exclude statutory bail.15Criminal Law · EvidenceSupreme Court Sets Aside Rape Conviction: Contradictory Testimony Cannot Be Selectively AcceptedIn 2026 INSC 1054, the Supreme Court of India held that a rape conviction could not stand where the prosecutrix's materially contradictory account was rejected for the intertwined abduction charge but selectively accepted under Section 376 IPC.16Criminal Law · Commercial Law · EvidenceSupreme Court: Section 489-F Cannot Be Used to Recover Disputed Business Debt Through Security ChequesThe Supreme Court confirmed pre-arrest bail where the cheque amount materially exceeded the liability found in investigation, supporting the defence that the cheques secured ongoing business dealings rather than a fixed debt.17Criminal Law · Evidence · Human RightsSupreme Court: Medical Bail Cannot Be Rejected Without Assessing Treatment Available in JailThe Supreme Court granted post-arrest bail where the alleged firing role was joint and unspecified, the forensic circumstances required further inquiry, and lower courts had not determined whether a seriously ill 78-year-old accused was receiving adequate treatment in custody.18Criminal Law · EvidenceRelated Witnesses in Murder Cases: Supreme Court Explains When Family Testimony Can Sustain ConvictionThe Supreme Court maintained a murder conviction where related eyewitnesses were natural, consistent and promptly reported the occurrence, while medical, ballistic and circumstantial evidence corroborated their account.19Criminal Law · EvidenceChance Witnesses and Medical Evidence in Murder Trials: Supreme Court Explains Proof Beyond Reasonable DoubtThe Supreme Court acquitted two murder convicts after finding the chance witnesses' presence unexplained, their detailed firing account unnatural, the physical recoveries inconsistent and medical evidence incapable of identifying the assailants.20Criminal Law · EvidenceBenefit of Doubt in Joint Murder Trials: Supreme Court on Co-Accused Acquittal and Contradictory EvidenceThe Supreme Court acquitted a murder convict where the same materially contradictory eyewitness account had already been disbelieved for co-accused and no independent evidence distinguished his case.21Criminal Law · EvidenceMistake of Fact in Criminal Law: Supreme Court Explains Good-Faith Protection Under Sections 76 and 79 PPCThe Supreme Court acquitted a former deputy jail superintendent who acted on apparently genuine but forged court orders, explaining when a good-faith mistake of fact attracts sections 76 and 79 PPC.22Criminal Law · EvidenceBenefit of Doubt in Murder Cases: Supreme Court Explains Chance Witnesses, Ballistic Evidence and Unproved MotiveThe Supreme Court acquitted a murder convict after finding unexplained chance witnesses, an improbable firing account, an unmatched weapon, forensic inconsistencies, a defective site plan and an unproved motive.23Criminal Law · EvidenceSection 34 PPC and Common Intention in Murder Cases: Supreme Court Says Mere Presence Is Not EnoughThe Supreme Court acquitted a man sentenced to life imprisonment for murder after holding that presence at the scene, relationship with the alleged assailants and a subsidiary role did not prove shared intention under section 34 PPC.24Criminal Law · EvidenceNarcotics Recovery From a Vehicle: Supreme Court Explains Conscious Possession and Benefit of DoubtThe Supreme Court acquitted two passengers where the alleged open retention of narcotics during a police chase was inherently improbable, but maintained the driver's conviction because control of the vehicle, flight and recovery near his feet proved conscious possession.25Criminal Law · Constitutional Law · Human RightsMedical Bail in Pakistan: Supreme Court Restates Test for Serious Illness and Specialized TreatmentThe Supreme Court granted post-arrest bail where severe hypertension and cardiac disease required specialized treatment unavailable in jail and continued detention threatened the prisoner's health and life.26Criminal Law · EvidenceCCTV and USB Evidence Must Be Properly Authenticated, LHC RulesThe Lahore High Court ruled that CCTV and USB evidence must be authenticated through proof of source, originality, identification and safe custody before reliance.27Criminal Law · Evidence · Service LawLHC: Criminal Breach of Trust Requires Dishonest Intent, Not Mere NegligenceThe Lahore High Court held that negligence or inefficiency alone cannot establish criminal breach of trust or corruption without proof of dishonest or fraudulent intent.28Criminal Law · Evidence · Human RightsDelayed FIR: Supreme Court Warns Police of Section 201 PPC and ContemptThe Supreme Court upheld a murder conviction but ruled that deliberate police delay in registering an FIR may attract Section 201 PPC, departmental action and contempt proceedings.29Criminal Law · Evidence · Constitutional LawSupreme Court: New Section 540 Witness Does Not Automatically Require De Novo TrialThe Supreme Court held that a witness may be summoned under Section 540 Cr.P.C. without a prior Section 161 statement, while disclosure, preparation and effective cross-examination must protect the accused.30Commercial Law · Criminal LawSupreme Court: US$40,000 at Final Airport Check Was Attempted SmugglingThe Supreme Court held that carrying undeclared US$40,000 through immigration to the final airport security check crossed preparation and amounted to attempted smuggling.31Criminal Law · Evidence · Human RightsWife's Death at Home: Supreme Court Explains Article 122 QSOIn Habib Ullah v State, the Supreme Court upheld a husband's conviction and explained Articles 122 and 129 QSO in a wife's domestic homicide.32Criminal LawLHC: Driving a Bus Without a PSV Licence Can Attract Section 322 PPCIn 2026 LHC 5349, the Lahore High Court treated driving a bus without the required PSV entitlement as an unlawful act and refused post-arrest bail under section 322 PPC.33Constitutional Law · Criminal Law · Human RightsFCC: Article 199 Cannot Bypass Statutory LimitationThe Federal Constitutional Court held that a litigant cannot avoid a missed statutory remedy and its limitation period merely by recasting the dispute as an Article 199 fundamental-rights case.34Criminal Law · Civil Law · Service LawFCC Explains When Criminal Proceedings Must Wait for Civil LitigationThe Federal Constitutional Court held that criminal and departmental proceedings must await a civil court where liability depends on the genuineness of disputed documents.35Constitutional Law · Criminal Law · Human RightsIHC Forms JIT to Recover Missing Minor Esha FatimaIn W.P. No. 2664 of 2026, the Islamabad High Court formed a DIG-led JIT to trace Esha Fatima and required concrete progress reports on every hearing.36Criminal Law · Constitutional LawPunishment Without Learning: Why Pakistan Must Interview Convicted Child-Sex OffendersPakistan should interview convicted child-sex offenders to identify offence pathways, warning signs and prevention points without weakening punishment.37Constitutional Law · Criminal LawModel Town Tragedy: Najafi Report and State AccountabilityTwelve years after 14 deaths, the Najafi Report, stalled JIT and unfinished trial expose a continuing failure of State accountability in Model Town.38Criminal Law · EvidenceAppeal Against Acquittal in Pakistan: The Supreme Court TestA judgment-based guide to double presumption of innocence, the two-view rule, material record errors, and Sections 249-A and 265-K Cr.P.C.39Criminal Law · EvidenceAppeal Against Acquittal: Lessons from PLD 2019 SC 261A practical guide to using Khadija Siddiqui v. Shah Hussain to prove material misreading, answer double innocence, and defend an acquittal.40Criminal Law · Constitutional LawInfirmity Is an Independent Ground for Bail under Section 497 Cr.P.C.: Lahore High CourtThe Lahore High Court granted post-arrest bail to a prisoner with Parkinsonism, holding that infirmity is distinct from an ordinary medical-treatment plea.41Criminal Law · EvidenceAbdul Razzaq Acquitted: Supreme Court Tests Kidnapping-for-Ransom EvidenceThe Supreme Court acquitted Abdul Razzaq after finding the eyewitness account, unmarked cash, call data, recoveries and confinement evidence unsafe.42Criminal Law · Evidence · Constitutional LawNoor Mukadam Case: Zahir Jaffar Review Dismissed by Supreme CourtThe Supreme Court dismissed Zahir Jaffar's review, maintained the murder death sentence, and explained section 510 Cr.P.C., mental incapacity and fair trial.43Criminal Law · Constitutional LawJalat Khan v. State: Bail under the Foreigners Act and the Section 14A BarThe Supreme Court held that section 14A's bail bar applies to knowing illegal entry under section 14(2), not a tentative section 14(1) overstay case.44Criminal LawQisas and Ta’zir in Murder Cases: The Rule in Zahid Rehman v. The StatePLD 2015 SC 77 holds that Qisas and Ta’zir are mutually exclusive regimes. It confines sections 306–308 and section 311 PPC to Qisas cases and explains why compromise in a Ta’zir case must be approached differently.45Criminal LawSuccessive Bail Applications: Supreme Court Clarifies Fresh Grounds and Withdrawal SimpliciterPLD 2014 SC 241 explains when a successive bail or suspension-of-sentence application needs a genuinely fresh ground, why a withdrawal after merits arguments is not a reset, and how prior bail history must be disclosed.46Criminal Law · EvidenceBasharat Ali Chaudhry v. Sabir Ali: Secret Recordings, Privacy and Electronic EvidenceThe Supreme Court of Pakistan maintained an acquittal and explained that a clandestine audio or video recording requires lawful procurement, reliable authentication, and respect for privacy before it can be relied upon in a criminal case.47Criminal LawWhen Can a Child Accused of Murder Be Tried as an Adult? Supreme Court Clarifies the Legal TestIndia’s Supreme Court explains when a 16-year-old accused of murder may be tried as an adult and how Juvenile Justice Boards must assess the child.48Criminal LawSamleti Bus Blast: Supreme Court Sets Aside Death Sentence for Denial of Legal RepresentationSupreme Court of India set aside Dr Abdul Hameed’s death sentence and ordered a de novo trial after denial of effective legal representation.49Criminal LawSection 561-A CrPC: Quashing After CognizanceIn Aurangzaib Alamgir v. Muhammad Sajid, the Supreme Court held that cognizance alone does not justify dismissing a Section 561-A CrPC petition without examining whether the record discloses abuse of process.50Constitutional Law · Criminal Law · Civil Law · EvidenceSher Azam v. State: Supreme Court Rejects Chamber Review Without HearingThe Supreme Court held that dismissing a review in chambers without hearing violated Articles 4 and 10-A, with implications for criminal and civil review cases.51Criminal Law · EvidenceCircumstantial Evidence: Pakistan and India Supreme CourtsCompare 2025 SCMR 1558 with 2025 INSC 793: why Pakistan's Supreme Court acquitted while India's upheld a murder conviction on circumstantial evidence.52Criminal Law · Evidence · Constitutional LawSection 249-A Acquittal: Conflicting Supreme Court ViewsA critical comparison of Pakistani judgments on whether an acquittal under Section 249-A or 265-K Cr.P.C. carries a double presumption of innocence.53Constitutional Law · Criminal LawSection 17(3) Contempt Hearing Is Mandatory: Supreme CourtIn Hira Rauf, the Supreme Court held that Section 17(3) requires a preliminary hearing before cognizance or framing a contempt charge.54Criminal Law · EvidencePakistan Acid Attack Law: Supreme Court Upholds Life SentenceThe Supreme Court maintained life imprisonment under Section 336-B PPC, ordered Rs1 million compensation, and urged stronger acid control and survivor rehabilitation.55Criminal Law · EvidenceWhen a Written Deposition Differs from the Video Record: Supreme Court Clarifies Section 360 Cr.P.C.In Mst. Nayab v. The State, the Supreme Court held that courts must address material differences between video-recorded testimony and the written deposition. The ruling connects Section 360 Cr.P.C. with Article 10-A and explains how the record should be corrected through a judicial memorandum.