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Criminal Justice

Comprehensive coverage, analysis, and breaking news on criminal justice.

The Sambhal violence case reaches a legal crossroads

The Sambhal violence case reaches a legal crossroads

Editor's Pick•17 Feb 2026

The Sambhal violence case reaches a legal crossroads

Following a bold order by a CJM to register FIRs against police officers accused of killing civilians in the 2024 Sambhal violence, questions linger around a transfer, a High Court stay, and the tensions of criminal procedure.

Tanishka Shah

Staff Writer

Latest in Criminal Justice

Judgment Summary: Supreme Court’s split verdict on constitutionality of Section 17A of Prevention of Corruption Act

Criminal Justice•18 Jan 2026

Judgment Summary: Supreme Court’s split verdict on constitutionality of Section 17A of Prevention of Corruption Act

In their differing verdicts earlier this week on prior government approval to investigate corruption by public servants, Justices K.V. Viswanathan and B.V. Nagarathna explored to what extent reading down an unconstitutional statutory provision was permissible.

Is the Delhi High Court’s suspension of Kuldeep Sengar’s sentence a de facto appellate adjudication?

Criminal Justice•6 Jan 2026

Is the Delhi High Court’s suspension of Kuldeep Sengar’s sentence a de facto appellate adjudication?

A close reading of the Delhi High Court’s suspension of sentence in the Unnao rape case highlights the risks of resolving statutory meanings at the interim stage.

Supreme Court notes right to speedy trial not eclipsed by the nature of the offence

Leaflet Reports•6 Jan 2026

Supreme Court notes right to speedy trial not eclipsed by the nature of the offence

In its judgement, coming only a day after its decision in the Delhi riots case, the Court noted that prolonged incarceration of undertrials converts pretrial detention into a form of punishment.

Madhya Pradesh’s new police law comes under Supreme Court scrutiny for provisions discriminating against DNT communities

Leaflet Reports•25 Dec 2025

Madhya Pradesh’s new police law comes under Supreme Court scrutiny for provisions discriminating against DNT communities

The application seeking provisions of the Madhya Pradesh Sudharatmak Sevayen Evam Bandigrah Adhiniyam, 2024 to be struck down argues that it contravenes the Sukanya Shantha (2024) decision.

Judgment Summary: Surendra Koli’s acquittal in Nithari killings after 16 years on death row, and why curative jurisdiction remains crucial

Supreme Court•12 Nov 2025

Judgment Summary: Surendra Koli’s acquittal in Nithari killings after 16 years on death row, and why curative jurisdiction remains crucial

The acquittal brings to fore the immense significance of the Supreme Court-innovated extraordinary jurisdiction of curative, specifically in cases concerning life and liberty and death penalty.

Judgment Summary: SC rules written grounds of arrest ‘must’ be furnished if police already in possession of documentary material establishing cogent basis for arrest

Criminal Justice•7 Nov 2025

Judgment Summary: SC rules written grounds of arrest ‘must’ be furnished if police already in possession of documentary material establishing cogent basis for arrest

The Bench held that if the time frame for supplying the grounds of arrest in writing is not adhered to, the arrest would be rendered illegal, entitling the release of the arrestee.

Supreme Court’s Zainul judgement evolves the standards of conviction under Unlawful Assembly

Criminal Justice•6 Nov 2025

Supreme Court’s Zainul judgement evolves the standards of conviction under Unlawful Assembly

With 947 hate-related incidents reported between June 2024 and June 2025, Indian courts have increasingly faced the challenge of separating genuine perpetrators from innocent bystanders in cases of collective violence.

A complete judgment summary: Supreme Court lays down safeguards against summoning lawyers representing accused by investigating agencies

Due Process•3 Nov 2025

A complete judgment summary: Supreme Court lays down safeguards against summoning lawyers representing accused by investigating agencies

Our summary of the Supreme Court's 78 page judgment, which practitioners have claimed "has far-reaching implications for the future".

A snapshot of how India treats juveniles accused of criminal offences

Explainer•30 Oct 2025

A snapshot of how India treats juveniles accused of criminal offences

In India, there are limited options for children in conflict with the law. The lack of structured support and care for children is resultantly a prevailing issue.

Supreme Court seeks response from all States, UTs on ‘digital arrest’ scams; mulls CBI probe

Leaflet Reports•27 Oct 2025

Supreme Court seeks response from all States, UTs on ‘digital arrest’ scams; mulls CBI probe

The top Court had, on October 17, 2025, taken suo motu cognisance of a complaint filed by a senior citizen couple from Ambala, Haryana, who were defrauded of ₹1.05 crore.

75 years on, India’s long standing silence on preventive detention is echoing loudly today

Life and Liberty•23 Oct 2025

75 years on, India’s long standing silence on preventive detention is echoing loudly today

More than seven decades after independence, the State and its institutions appear strikingly detached from the ethos of transformative constitutionalism—nowhere more evident than in their continued reliance on and justification of the preventive detention regime.

Book review: Anand Teltumbde’s memoir shows why prison is a mirror image of society, except the delusion of freedom

Book Review•18 Oct 2025

Book review: Anand Teltumbde’s memoir shows why prison is a mirror image of society, except the delusion of freedom

Acquitted in the 7/11 Mumbai blasts case, a prison rights activist reviews the prison memoir of another - a searing reading on intellectual stifling, of loosening faith in the judiciary, and why the Bhima Koregaon case is a landmark indeed.

Supreme Court adjourns Sonam Wangchuk detention plea to Oct. 29; allows Gitanjali Angmo to amend petition to challenge grounds of detention

Leaflet Reports•16 Oct 2025

Supreme Court adjourns Sonam Wangchuk detention plea to Oct. 29; allows Gitanjali Angmo to amend petition to challenge grounds of detention

Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal submitted that the amendment was necessary as the authorities had only recently provided the grounds of detention.

Supreme Court issues notice to Centre, ECI on plea seeking voting rights for undertrials

Leaflet Reports•12 Oct 2025

Supreme Court issues notice to Centre, ECI on plea seeking voting rights for undertrials

The petition seeks judicial guidelines to ensure that voting restrictions apply only under defined and proportionate circumstances.

‘The weight of a false confession’: Abdul Wahid Shaikh on the regime of horrors of Maharashtra’s Organised Crime Act

Criminal Justice•3 Oct 2025

‘The weight of a false confession’: Abdul Wahid Shaikh on the regime of horrors of Maharashtra’s Organised Crime Act

Acquitted after nine years in prison in the 2006 Mumbai train blasts case, a prison rights activist reflects on the one piece of evidence that stood above all else: confession under Section 18 of MCOCA, and all that was taken from him.

A deep-dive into India’s legal regime on political accountability and the 130th Constitution Amendment Bill

Explainer•26 Sept 2025

A deep-dive into India’s legal regime on political accountability and the 130th Constitution Amendment Bill

Almost half of our legislators have criminal records. But can the solution to this be a constitutional amendment that potentially erodes constitutional safeguards? In this explainer, we break down the debate in the simplest terms.

Supreme Court questions delay in trial of Surendra Gadling in 2016 Surjagarh mine arson case

Leaflet Reports•25 Sept 2025

Supreme Court questions delay in trial of Surendra Gadling in 2016 Surjagarh mine arson case

“Why is the trial not going on, and for how many years can a person be kept in custody without trial?” the bench asked.

‘The time has come to decriminalise defamation law’, mulls Justice Sundresh while hearing The Wire’s plea

Leaflet Reports•23 Sept 2025

‘The time has come to decriminalise defamation law’, mulls Justice Sundresh while hearing The Wire’s plea

Justice Sundresh questioned whether defamation involving private individuals can legitimately be classified as a crime when it serves no broader public purpose. In 2016, the Court had upheld the constitutionality of the criminal defamation law.

At NUJS Kolkata, student exasperation with Vice Chancellor accused of sexual harassment reaches a crescendo

Leaflet Reports•20 Sept 2025

At NUJS Kolkata, student exasperation with Vice Chancellor accused of sexual harassment reaches a crescendo

Financial impropriety, administrative breakdown and a Supreme Court order noting that a sexual harassment case “must haunt the [Vice-Chancellor] forever” - students at the national law university say that their assertion is against “persistent apathy”.

Killed in Poonch shelling, Qari Iqbal was branded a terrorist. Four months on, his family continues the legal struggle to reclaim dignity

Leaflet Reports•19 Sept 2025

Killed in Poonch shelling, Qari Iqbal was branded a terrorist. Four months on, his family continues the legal struggle to reclaim dignity

In the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack in May earlier this year, a Quran teacher was killed protecting children in Kashmir’s Poonch by Pakistan’s shelling. News 18, Republic TV and Zee News called him a terrorist who was eliminated. With little to lose, his family now seeks reparations.

In Odisha’s courts, bail conditions reek of caste discrimination

Leaflet Reports•10 Sept 2025

In Odisha’s courts, bail conditions reek of caste discrimination

In a string of recent orders by sessions courts and the Orissa High Court, accused from Dalit and Adivasi communities have been directed to engage in forced labour as a condition of their grant of bail. Despite the top Court’s censure of caste-coded impositions in our criminal justice system, courts have not shied in treating life, liberty and dignity malleably.

“Vimukta children continue to be criminalised, face barriers to education access”, notes Justice Anjana Prakash at CPA Project’s lecture

Leaflet Reports•9 Sept 2025

“Vimukta children continue to be criminalised, face barriers to education access”, notes Justice Anjana Prakash at CPA Project’s lecture

Marking 73 years of the repeal of the Criminal Tribes Act, Justice Prakash noted that the barriers faced by children from De-notified Tribe communities needed to be discussed more widely.

“History will absolve me”: What the 130th Constitution Amendment Bill truly purports to achieve

Criminal Justice•26 Aug 2025

“History will absolve me”: What the 130th Constitution Amendment Bill truly purports to achieve

The 130th Constitution Amendment Bill seeks to achieve what was never constitutionally imagined, traps opposition ministers in an absurd cycle of criminalisation and disqualification, and raises the question: if it ever goes through, will our courts be able to do much?

Supreme Court bars magistrate from taking cognizance of chargesheet against Ali Khan Mahmudabad

Leaflet Reports•25 Aug 2025

Supreme Court bars magistrate from taking cognizance of chargesheet against Ali Khan Mahmudabad

Taking note that the Haryana police SIT had seized Mahmudabad’s devices, the Court asked why the SIT was “misdirecting itself” despite earlier order to not expand scope of investigation.

Why Delhi’s bar associations have strongly opposed LG’s designation of video conference rooms in police stations as places to record evidence

Leaflet Reports•23 Aug 2025

Why Delhi’s bar associations have strongly opposed LG’s designation of video conference rooms in police stations as places to record evidence

Speaking to The Leaflet, senior counsel Rebecca John said that cross-examination, by its nature, is meant to be a physical exercise and the LG’s move was a “travesty of justice”.

New Constitution amendment bill to remove PM, CMs detained for 30 days: All that is at stake

Leaflet Reports•20 Aug 2025

New Constitution amendment bill to remove PM, CMs detained for 30 days: All that is at stake

While critics have argued that the amendment can be weaponised against opposition ministers selectively, others have pointed out that it, in fact, enables jailed ministers to remain in power for a month, questioning whether it does enough.

Supreme Court orders SIT probe into collusion between NOIDA officials and builders

Leaflet Reports•13 Aug 2025

Supreme Court orders SIT probe into collusion between NOIDA officials and builders

Allegations in the case include awarding higher compensation to certain landowners who were not entitled to it.

Missing link: How the absence of Nodal Officers under the POSH Act centralises justice for Delhi’s domestic workers

Labour Law•13 Aug 2025

Missing link: How the absence of Nodal Officers under the POSH Act centralises justice for Delhi’s domestic workers

Despite clear legal provisions under the POSH Act, the absence of ward-level Nodal Officers in Delhi has left thousands of women domestic workers without accessible redressal mechanisms.

Supreme Court reserves judgement in suo motu case on summons to advocates over legal advice; Bar bodies suggest magistrate's approval

Leaflet Reports•12 Aug 2025

Supreme Court reserves judgement in suo motu case on summons to advocates over legal advice; Bar bodies suggest magistrate's approval

Bar associations pressed that summons to advocates must be issued only after the approval of a judicial magistrate.

On misuse of criminal proceedings to settle civil disputes: A critical SC verdict from last year that missed our attention

Criminal Justice•11 Aug 2025

On misuse of criminal proceedings to settle civil disputes: A critical SC verdict from last year that missed our attention

When procedural abuse becomes an institutional habit, who ultimately pays the price? The SC’s 2024 decision in Tushar Rajnikantbhai Shah gave some important answers.

The nuns, the State, and the machinery of suspicion: An account

Due Process•7 Aug 2025

The nuns, the State, and the machinery of suspicion: An account

The recent arrest of two nuns in Chhattisgarh under anti-conversion and NIA laws reveals the fictional limits of the Indian State’s persecution of religious freedom, all at the cost of due process.

Innocent until forgotten: How India’s POCSO Act is criminalising young love

Criminal Justice•30 Jul 2025

Innocent until forgotten: How India’s POCSO Act is criminalising young love

Thirteen years since its enactment, the POCSO Act has emerged as a double-edged sword, punishing young men for consensual relationships. Now a Supreme Court challenge has ushered a chance for reform.

‘More than 97 percent ‘untouchability’ cases remain pending, majority result in acquittal’, claims Social Justice Ministry’s data

Leaflet Reports•23 Jul 2025

‘More than 97 percent ‘untouchability’ cases remain pending, majority result in acquittal’, claims Social Justice Ministry’s data

A recent central government report finds, abysmally, that registration of cases under the Protection of Civil Rights Act fell down to only 13 in 2022, as several states said they had ‘NIL’ information of the law’s implementation.

Supreme Court orders CBI probe into brutal custodial torture of police constable; awards 50 lakhs compensation

Leaflet Reports•22 Jul 2025

Supreme Court orders CBI probe into brutal custodial torture of police constable; awards 50 lakhs compensation

The Court noted that the severity of the torture shocked its conscience, and the case exposed deep institutional bias within the police institution.

A High Court directive curbing automatic remand for social media posts lays bare the persistent gaps in law and enforcement

Criminal Justice•17 Jul 2025

A High Court directive curbing automatic remand for social media posts lays bare the persistent gaps in law and enforcement

The Andhra Pradesh HC’s recent circular, which directs judicial magistrates to comply with the SC decisions in Pratapgarhi and Arnesh Kumar, is a welcome move, but exposes faultlines.

“Struggle will go on. Repression is doomed!”: On Fr. Stan Swamy’s fourth martyrdom day, a declaration of a hunger strike

Leaflet Reports•5 Jul 2025

“Struggle will go on. Repression is doomed!”: On Fr. Stan Swamy’s fourth martyrdom day, a declaration of a hunger strike

Editor’s note: Exactly four years ago today, Fr. Stan Swamy died in judicial custody due to medical negligence in what many objectively term as an ‘institutional killing.’ Recalling his life and legacy dedicated to the Dalit and Adivasi rights movements, fifteen friends, warped themselves in the Bhima Koregaon case, some released, some still incarcerated, are today observing a one day hunger strike. Activist and poet P. Varavara Rao, ailing through ill health, also stands in solidarity and spirit. Below are their reasons.

A Muslim ragpicker’s lynching in Karnataka post-Pahalgam raises questions on laxity, delays in investigation: New PUCL, ACPR, AILAJ report calls to enforce Tehseen Poonawalla directive

Leaflet Reports•4 Jul 2025

A Muslim ragpicker’s lynching in Karnataka post-Pahalgam raises questions on laxity, delays in investigation: New PUCL, ACPR, AILAJ report calls to enforce Tehseen Poonawalla directive

A new fact-finding report by PUCL, ACPR and AILAJ Karnataka finds crucial lapses in investigation into the mob lynching of Mohd Ashraf. In Dakshin Kannada’s communally volatile atmosphere, the demand for a fair enforcement of the SC’s mob-lynching guidelines becomes crucial.

World Organization Against Torture flags India as “high risk” country for police torture: Some reflections

Explainer•26 Jun 2025

World Organization Against Torture flags India as “high risk” country for police torture: Some reflections

On the UN’s International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, we reflect on a recent report by a global alliance of anti-torture organisations which scored India as ‘high risk’ overall. Between India’s refusal to ratify the Convention Against Torture and the downgrading of the NHRC, the country is facing a critical moment in its human rights stature.

‘Subjecting advocate in a case to beck and call of investigating agency untenable’: SC slams practice of investigation agencies summoning lawyers, notes threat to justice administration

Leaflet Reports•25 Jun 2025

‘Subjecting advocate in a case to beck and call of investigating agency untenable’: SC slams practice of investigation agencies summoning lawyers, notes threat to justice administration

The Court’s observations come amidst widespread condemnation of ED summoning two senior advocates. The bench framed two primary issues and also sent the matter to the CJI's bench for appropriate orders.