Leading Murder Cases decided by the Supreme Court of India – A Criminological Study

The heinous crime of murder has been dealt with in detail by Indian law throughout the years – redefining the field of criminal law in various ways. The judiciary in India has made great progress with its approach to punishing murder in the country by developing tests and other criteria to make the law as efficient and just as possible. But in the Supreme Court’s own words: “extremely uneven application of Bachan Singh case has given rise to a state of uncertainty in capital sentencing law which clearly falls foul of constitutional due process and equality principle”. The court has also acknowledged erroneous imposition of the death sentence in contravention of Bachan Singh case guidelines. Therefore, the constitutional regulation of capital punishment attempted in Bachan Singh has failed to prevent death sentences from being arbitrarily and freakishly imposed”. In this paper, we attempt to understand the basics of the crime of murder in India by studying the various relevant sections under the Indian Penal Code, review several literature pieces on the matter published in reputed databases and journals and, by analysing the landmark cases ruled by the courts of law throughout the years. The purpose of the study is to provide essential background information on the matter as it is vital for any thorough understanding on the current situation regarding this issue.