Criminal cases that become viral usually have a sensational element to them. On the other hand, some situations are simply weird, while others are so awful that people are stunned for decades. This article lists some of the country’s most renowned and contentious criminal trials. These are the most popular cases that demonstrate certain significant facets of India’s criminal law.
In this article we will highlight the five most controversial legal cases in India,
1. The Ayodhya Cases
The Ayodhya dispute is one of the most contentious in Indian constitutional history. The first case, filed by Mahant Raghubir Das in January 1885, asking approval to construct a temple on the chabutara (a raised platform) outside the Babri Masjid, was dismissed. The mandir-masjid controversy was then put on hold until the night of December 22, 1949, when intruders stormed into the Babri Masjid and placed an idol of Ram. As a result, the city magistrate attached the property. Four title cases followed in the next 12 years (all still pending before the courts).
2. ADM Jabalpur v Shivakant Shukla Case, 1976
One of the important instances in Indian constitutional history is ADM Jabalpur v Shivkant Shukla. Its decision was issued on April 28, 1976. This is regarded as the darkest day in India’s constitutional history. A presidential order suspended the right to petition any court for enforcement of any right guaranteed by Articles 14, 21, and 22 during the 1975 emergency. In this case, the order’s viability was called into question. Several high courts ruled that it was not maintainable, but the Supreme Court’s four judges out of five ruled that it was sustainable long term and lawful under the emergency provisions of the Indian constitution.
Anyone suspected of being a political threat was imprisoned without trial and imprisoned under the MISA, a preventative detention statute, on the grounds of safeguarding the country’s internal security. This was situation when an attorney general of India wrote, Even if life was taken away illegally, courts remain helpless. H. R. Khanna J missed his chance to become the Chief Justice of India despite being the senior most person qualified for the position. Instead, his Junior Beg J. became. After 30 years, P.N. Bhagwati J. enters a guilty plea in this case.
3. Himmat Lal Shah v. Commissioner of Police, 1973
This case was recently mentioned in the Anna Hazare anti-corruption campaign when the Delhi Police imposed Section 144 of the IPC (unlawful assembly) and the lawyer team of Shanti and Prashant Bhushan successfully argued in the Supreme Court against the unconstitutionality of this action. The original case addressed the right of ordinary citizens to hold public assemblies on the streets and the extent to which the state might restrict this freedom. Freedom of expression and assembly is a necessary component of any democratic system. The right of residents to meet face to face to debate social, religious, or political issues is at the heart of this system. In this case, this right was upheld.
4. Kesavananda Bharati vs State of Kerala, 1973
This case has come to be known as the case that preserved Indian democracy. On April 24, 1973, Chief Justice Sikri and 12 Supreme Court justices convened to deliver the Supreme Court’s most important decision in its history. The amount of effort that had gone into preparing this case was astounding. Hundreds of cases had been referenced, and the then-Attorney-General had created a comparative chart evaluating the provisions of 71 various countries’ constitutions..
The decision revealed a court that was deeply divided, and it was decided by a razor-thin majority of 7-6 that Parliament could revise any provision of the Constitution as long as it did not alter or amend “the core structure or essential elements of the Constitution.” This was the inherent and implied constraint on Parliament’s modifying ability. As subsequent events demonstrated (Indira Gandhi attempting to steal Indian democracy), this basic structure philosophy rescued Indian democracy, and Kesavananda Bharati will always hold a special position in our constitutional history.
5. K M. Nanavati vs State of Maharashtra, 1959
Kawas Manekshaw Nanavati, a Naval Commander, was imprisoned for the murder of Prem Ahuja, his wife’s lover, in this high-profile upper-class crime of passion. The incident got extraordinary media coverage, and Nanavati received a massive outpouring of public and community support. Nanavati was found not guilty by a jury 8-1, but the verdict was overturned on appeal by the Bombay High Court, and the case was retried as a bench trial. Nanavati was found guilty of criminally negligent homicide and was given a life sentence.
As a result of the case, the government abolished jury trials, and this was the last case held as a jury trial in India. Many regard this as a positive step forward in our justice system, as jury decisions are frequently influenced by societal values and standards. Aside from that, Ram Jethmalani, today a prominent lawyer and BJP leader, was the prosecutor in one of his first high-profile cases.