Commander Kawas Nanavati, a naval officer, shot dead Prem Ahuja, his wife's lover, in April 1959. A Bombay jury acquitted him 8:1, but the sessions judge referred the case to the High Court as a perverse verdict; the High Court convicted him of murder, and the Supreme Court upheld the conviction in 1961. In a separate case the Supreme Court held that the Governor could not suspend his sentence while his appeal was pending before it. He was pardoned in 1964. The case is often said to have ended jury trials in India; in fact juries were phased out over the following years, and the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 made no provision for them.
Jury verdict 8:1 for acquittal, overturned.
Pardoned by Governor Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit in 1964.
The tabloid Blitz campaigned for Nanavati.
Quick check: In the Nanavati case, the jury's verdict was:
8:1 for acquittal
5:4 for acquittal
Unanimous for conviction
Hung
Answer: A.
1930s–1946
The Bhawal Sannyasi Case
The prince who came back
Kumar Ramendra Narayan Roy, the second prince of the Bhawal estate in East Bengal, was reported dead and cremated in Darjeeling in 1909. In 1921 an ash-smeared sannyasi appeared in Dacca and was recognised by many as the prince. He sued for his share of the estate; the Dacca court found in his favour in 1936, the Calcutta High Court affirmed it in 1940, and the Privy Council upheld the decision in 1946. He died days later.
The Privy Council upheld his identity in 1946.
He died soon after the final verdict.
Quick check: Which court gave the final decision in the Bhawal Sannyasi case (1946)?
The Privy Council
The Calcutta High Court
The Supreme Court of India
The Federal Court
Answer: A.
1984 onwards
The Bhopal Gas Tragedy Litigation
The world's worst industrial disaster
On the night of 2–3 December 1984, methyl isocyanate leaked from the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, killing thousands. Parliament passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster (Processing of Claims) Act 1985, making the government the sole representative of the victims. In February 1989 the Supreme Court approved a settlement of US$470 million. In 2010 a Bhopal court convicted seven Indian officials of causing death by negligence, with two years' imprisonment. Union Carbide's chairman, Warren Anderson, never faced trial in India. In March 2023 a Constitution Bench dismissed the government's curative petition seeking more compensation.
Settlement: US$470 million (1989).
Curative petition dismissed in 2023.
Quick check: What was the settlement amount approved by the Supreme Court in the Bhopal case (1989)?
US$100 million
US$1 billion
US$470 million
US$3 billion
Answer: C.
1984–1989
The Indira Gandhi Assassination Case
Kehar Singh v. Union of India
Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was shot by two of her bodyguards on 31 October 1984. Satwant Singh and Kehar Singh were convicted and hanged in January 1989. In Kehar Singh v. Union of India (1989) the Supreme Court held that the President's power of pardon is open to judicial review on limited grounds and that the President may examine the evidence afresh.
Kehar Singh (1989): scope of the pardon power.
1991–2022
The Rajiv Gandhi Assassination Case
From 26 death sentences to release
Former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was killed by an LTTE suicide bomber at Sriperumbudur on 21 May 1991. A TADA court sentenced all 26 accused to death in 1998; the Supreme Court (1999) upheld the death sentences of four and reduced or set aside the rest. After decades of litigation over mercy petitions, A.G. Perarivalan was released under Article 142 in May 2022, and the remaining six convicts, including Nalini Sriharan, in November 2022.
TADA court sentenced 26 to death in 1998.
Perarivalan released in May 2022 under Article 142.
Quick check: Under which article did the Supreme Court order the release of A.G. Perarivalan in 2022?
Article 161
Article 32
Article 142
Article 72
Answer: C.
29 more entries under this heading
The Harshad Mehta Securities Scam · Banks, stocks and a special court
The Jessica Lall Case · "No One Killed Jessica"
The Priyadarshini Mattoo Case · A law student's murder
The Uphaar Cinema Fire · Fifty-nine dead at a Delhi cinema
Bilkis Bano · Remission quashed
The Hashimpura Massacre Case · Justice after 31 years
The Ayodhya Title Dispute · From a civil suit to the Supreme Court
The 2G Spectrum Case · Cancelled licences, acquitted accused
The Coal Block Allocation Case · 214 allocations cancelled
The Satyam Fraud · India's Enron
Justice for 1984: Sajjan Kumar · Thirty-four years later
The Aarushi–Hemraj Case · A murder mystery in Noida
The Salman Khan Hit-and-Run Case · Conviction and acquittal
The Mundhra Affair · India's first major financial scandal
The Nagarwala Case · A voice on the phone and ₹60 lakh from the State Bank
The Shah Commission · Inquiry into the excesses of the Emergency
The Bofors Case · Kickbacks in the purchase of Swedish howitzers
The Jain Hawala Case · Led to the Vineet Narain judgment on CBI independence
The Fodder Scam · Embezzlement from Bihar's animal husbandry department
The Tandoor Murder Case · A political worker convicted of killing his wife
The Graham Staines Murder · A missionary and his two sons burned alive in Odisha
The Sanjay Dutt Arms Case · An actor jailed under the Arms Act
The Shakti Mills Case · First death sentences for repeat rape offenders
The Sohrabuddin Encounter Case · All accused acquitted
The Kathua Case · Trial moved out of Jammu and Kashmir
The Unnao Rape Case · A sitting MLA convicted of rape
The Samjhauta Express Blast Case · All accused acquitted
The Malegaon Blast Case · All accused acquitted after 17 years
The Naroda Patiya Case · Maya Kodnani acquitted on appeal
PlusAll 34 entries, and every heading in the LibraryYours from ₹1,499, till CLAT 2028See Plus
