COURSE MANUAL

LAW OF CRIMES

Fall 2022
(AY 2022-23)

Name of Faculty:

Prof Aditi
Prof Arushi Bajpai
Prof Amit Bindal
Prof Avaantika Chawla
Prof Ashiv Choudhary
Prof Santwana Dwivedy
Prof Hamsini Marada
Prof Ishita Sharma
Prof Joshika Saraf
Prof Konina Mandal
Prof Abhinav Mehrotra
Prof Ruchika Rao
Prof Kriti Sharma
Prof Malika Galib Shah
Prof Gayatri Virmani
Format approved by the Academic Review Board, JGLS

CONTENTS

PART I
General Information…………………………………………………………………………Page 3

PART II

a. Course Description……………………………………………………………………… Page 4

b. Course Aims……………………………………………………………………………….. Page 4

c. Intended Learning Outcomes……………………………………….……........... Page 5

d. Grading of Student Achievement……………………………………………....... Page 6

PART III
a. Keyword Syllabus……………………………………………………………………… Page 8
b. Course Policies………………………………………………………………………….. Page 8

PART IV

a. Weekly Course Outline ……………………………………………………........... Page 10

b. Readings………………………………………………………………………………… Page 17

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PART I

General Information

Course Title LAW OF CRIMES

Course Number LW1603

Course Duration One Semester

No. of Credit Units 4

Level LL.B. 2022, BALLB 2021, BBALLB 2021, B.Com LLB 2021

Medium of Instruction ENGLISH

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PART II

a. Course Description
This course is a mandatory course for 5yr BA.LLB, BBA LLB and LLB- students and
will serve as an introduction to law of crimes. It will seek to provide a basic overview of
the Indian Penal Code and the basic concepts in understanding law of crimes so as to
equip the students with an understanding of the fundamental problems of Indian and
comparative criminal law.

b. Course Aims

This course is
 An introductory course on criminal law.
 An elementary course aiming at developing the capabilities to understand and apply the
general principles of criminal law to factual life situations.
 It will cover certain selected principles and relevant sections primarily of the Indian Penal
Code, 1860 (IPC) in order to provide an insight of the criminal legal system.
 Focus on substantive criminal law. Procedural law will be dealt with in the Cr.P.C course
and Law of Evidence in the subsequent semesters.
 An endeavor to make you realize that how the skill of interpreting, what is known as, the
black letter law as a lawyer can lead to various different outcomes in a real life criminal
cases.
 Structured in a fashion so as to encourage the students to take up criminal law later in
their higher studies. The course serves a dual purpose- One, to technically equip students
to be able to read the legal text and apply the same in actual cases. Second, the course
aims to scrutinize certain areas of crimes critically so as to infuse the spirit of questioning
and law reforms.
 By no means exhaustive in its scope and reach of crimes. It only covers certain selected
principles and relevant sections primarily, but not only, of the Indian Penal Code, 1860
(IPC) so as to provide a taste of criminal law to strengthen your basics for your future
legal career.
 Only dealing with substantive criminal law. Dealing with the issue of what and how one
becomes liable in criminal law. The other issues of what is the quantum of punishment to
be given or what are the procedures that trigger the criminal justice process is beyond the
scope of this course and will be offered to you later.
 Due to the limitation of time certain topics are added to be discussed only elementarily in
the class. The purpose for this is an attempt to at least cover maximum possible areas that
may accost the students in their professional career.

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c. Intended Learning Outcomes

Course Intended Learning Weightage Teaching Assessment

Outcomes and Tasks/
Learning Activities
Activities
By the end of the course, students
should be able to: TBA
 Demonstrate a basic TBA TBA
understanding of general
principles and concepts of
criminal law.
 Demonstrate comprehensive
knowledge of the key elements
in the area of law of crimes.
 Understand the dynamic nature
of this subject and keep abreast
with emerging developments.
 Exhibit the ability to read the
Indian Penal Code, 1860 and
appreciate the nuances of
textual interpretation of the
code.
 Critically evaluate judgments,
norms, principles, disputes and
conflicts.
 Synthesize materials from a
variety of sources and develop
a better understanding of the
subject link to other branches of
law.
 Demonstrate an understanding
of the relevant legislations and
conventions.
 Make written presentations
which are original, coherent,
logically structured and give an
insight into the topics at hand.
 Develop and demonstrate
appropriate research skills

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Course Intended Learning Weightage Teaching Assessment

Outcomes and Tasks/
Learning Activities
Activities
(including referencing).
 Equip the students with
working knowledge and
technical-know-how of law of
crimes
 Aspires to create soldiers of
justice who can critique, reform
and further study criminal law
in their legal career.

d. Grading of Student Achievement

To pass this course, students must obtain a minimum of 40% in the

cumulative aspects of coursework, e.g. moot, and final examination. End of
semester exam will carry 50 marks out of which students have to obtain a
minimum of 15 marks to fulfil the requirement of passing the course.

The details of the grades as well as the criteria for awarding such grades are provided
below.

Letter Percentage Grade Definitions

Grade Of marks
O 80% and above Outstanding Outstanding
work with strong
evidence of
knowledge of the
subject matter,
excellent
organizational
capacity, ability
to synthesize and
critically analyse
and originality in
thinking and
presentation.
A+ 75 to 79.75% Excellent Sound knowledge
of the subject
matter, thorough

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understanding of
issues; ability to
synthesize
critically and
analyse
A 70 to 74.75% Good Good
understanding of
the subject
matter, ability to
identify issues
and provide
balanced
solutions to
problems and
good critical and
analytical skills.
A- 65 to 69.75% Adequate Adequate
knowledge of the
subject matter to
go to the next
level of study and
reasonable
critical and
analytical skills.
B+ 60 to 64.75% Marginal Limited
knowledge of the
subject matter,
irrelevant use of
materials and
poor critical and
analytical skills.
B 55 to 59.75% Poor Poor
comprehension
of the subject
matter; poor
critical and
analytical skills
and marginal use
of the relevant
materials.
B- 50 to 54.75% Pass “Pass” in a pass-
fail course. “P”
indicative of at
least the basic
understanding of
the subject
matter.

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NEW COURSE LETTER GRADES AND THEIR INTERPRETATION

Letter Percentag Grade
Interpretation
Grade e of Marks Points
Pass 1: Pass with Basic understanding of
P1 45 - 49 2
the subject matter.
Pass 2: Pass with Rudimentary
P2 40 - 44 1
understanding of the subject matter.
Fail: Poor comprehension of the subject
matter; poor critical and analytical skills
F Below 40 0 and marginal use of the relevant
materials. Will require repeating the
course.
Extenuating circumstances preventing
the student from completing coursework
assessment, or taking the examination; or
where the Assessment Panel at its
I Incomplete discretion assigns this grade. If
an "I" grade is assigned, the Assessment
Panel will suggest a schedule for the
completion of work, or a supplementary
examination.

PART III

a. Keyword Syllabus
IPC, codification, offence – mental and physical element, causation, omissions and acts
Homicide, murder, provocation, death penalty, rape-General & special exceptions, private
defence, insanity -Penology and punishment, negligence, culpable, exculpate
Inchoate offence, conspiracy

b. Course/Class Policies

Cell Phones, Laptops and Similar Gadgets

The Course Instructor will announce their policy regarding gadgets in the first lecture.

Academic Integrity and Plagiarism

Learning and knowledge production of any kind is a collaborative process. Collaboration

demands an ethical responsibility to acknowledge who we have learnt from, what we
have learned, and how reading and learning from others have helped us shape our own
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ideas. Even our own ideas demand an acknowledgement of the sources and processes
through which those ideas have emerged. Thus, all ideas must be supported by citations.
All ideas borrowed from articles, books, journals, magazines, case laws, statutes,
photographs, films, paintings, etc., in print or online, must be credited with the original
source. If the source or inspiration of your idea is a friend, a casual chat, something that
you overheard, or heard being discussed at a conference or in class, even they must be
duly credited. If you paraphrase or directly quote from a web source in the examination,
presentation or essays, the source must be acknowledged. The university has a
framework to deal with cases of plagiarism. All form of plagiarism will be taken
seriously by the University and prescribed sanctions will be imposed on those who
commit plagiarism.

Disability Support and Accommodation Requirements

JGU endeavours to make all its courses accessible to students. In accordance with the
Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act (2016), the JGU Disability Support Committee
(DSC) has identified conditions that could hinder a student’s overall well-being. These
include physical and mobility related difficulties, visual and hearing impairment, mental
health conditions and intellectual/learning difficulties e.g., dyslexia, dyscalculia.
Students with any known disability needing academic and other support are required to
register with the Disability Support Committee (DSC) by following the procedure
specified at https://jgu.edu.in/disability-support-committee/

Students who need support may register any time during the semester up until a month
before the end semester examination begins. Those students who wish to continue
receiving support from the previous semester, must re-register within the first month of
a semester. Last minute registrations and support might not be possible as sufficient
time is required to make the arrangements for support.

The DSC maintains strict confidentiality about the identity of the student and the nature
of their disability and the same is requested from faculty members and staff as well. The
DSC takes a strong stance against in-class and out-of-class references made about a
student’s disability without their consent and disrespectful comments referring to a
student’s disability.

All general queries are to be addressed to

disabilitysupportcommittee@jgu.edu.in

Safe Space Pledge

This course may discuss a range of issues and events that might result in distress for
some students. Discussions in the course might also provoke strong emotional
responses. To make sure that all students collectively benefit from the course, and do
not feel disturbed due to either the content of the course or the conduct of the
discussions. Therefore, it is incumbent upon all within the classroom to pledge to
maintain respect towards our peers. This does not mean that you need to feel restrained
about what you feel and what you want to say. Conversely, this is about creating a safe

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space where everyone can speak and learn without inhibitions and fear. This
responsibility lies not only with students, but also with the instructor.

P.S. The course instructor, as part of introducing the course manual, will discuss the
scope of the Safe Space Pledge with the class.

PART IV

a. Weekly Course Outline

CRIMINAL LAW: CONCEPTS

 What is a crime?
 Criminalization (briefly): ‘Harm’ principle and individual
autonomy, harms warranting punishment versus harms
warranting compensation; Classification of conduct as criminal:
mala in se and mala prohibita
 Scope of criminal law: Limits of criminalization and over
criminalization
 Nature of liability: Strict Liability in criminal law; Public welfare
and criminal law
 Motive and its role in determination of criminal guilt/ culpability.

CASES & READINGS

o State of Maharastra v. M. H. George AIR 1965 SC 722

o Nathulal v. State of M.P AIR 1966 SC 43

Suggested Readings:
 GRANT LAMOND, ‘What is a crime?’ (2007) 27 Oxford Journal of
Legal Studies 609
 RICHARD A. WASSERSTROM, ‘Strict Liability in Criminal Law’,
Stanford Law Review Vol. 12, p. 731.
 JEROME HALL, Nulla Poena Sine Lege, The Yale Law Journal
(1937) Vol. 47 No. 2.
 J Chalmers and F Leverick, ‘Fair Labelling’ (2008) 71 MLR 217
 HLA Hart, Law, Liberty & Morality, Stanford University Press
(1963).
Week 1

Week 2

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DEFINITIONS & FOUNDATIONAL ELEMENTS OF CRIME

ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF A CRIMINAL OFFENCE UNDER

COMMON LAW
 Actus Non Facit Reum Nisi Mens Sit Rea
 Actus Reus (physical element): - Legal distinction between act
and omission
 Causation: and Criminal law: Novus actus Interveniens and
concerned debates on causation
 Mens rea (mental element)
 Intention
 Foresight
 Negligence
 Recklessness

CASES & READINGS

o Public Prosecutor v. MS Moorthy (1912) 22 MLJ 333

o R. v. Blaue [1975] 3 All ER 446
o R. v. Kennedy [2007] UK HL 38

Suggested Reading:
 G Williams, ‘Oblique Intent’ (1988) 46 CLJ 417
 A. Norrie, Subjectivism, Objectivism and the limits of criminal
recklessness (1992) 12 OJLS 45.

Week 3
COMPLICITY & JOINT LIABILITY IN CRIMINAL LAW
 Conceptual discussion on the idea of complicity; when, why and
how are we complicit in violence around us?
 Complicity and criminal law: mass violence and criminal
liability: liability for omission in criminal law (section 32)
 Broader notion of complicity under section 149 as opposed to
limited scope under section 34; Mass psychology and expansion
of joint responsibility
 Abetment (Conceptual understanding)

 CASES & READINGS

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o Priya Patel v. State of M.P. (2006 CrLJ 3627)

o Barendra Kumar Ghosh v. Emperor (AIR 1925 PC 1)
o Mahboob Shaw v. Emperor (AIR 1945 PC 118)
o Mathew v. State of Travancore-Cochin (AIR 1956 SC 241)
Hari & Another v. State of U.P. 2021 (14) SCALE 270

INCHOATE OFFENCES

 Attempt
o Punishing attempt to commit a crime- section 511
o Stages of crime: distinguishing attempt from preparation &
mere thoughts
o Impossible attempts- a comparative analysis

 Conspiracy- Sections 120A, 120B

 CASES & READINGS

o Emperor v. Asgar Ali Pradhania AIR 1933 Cal 893
o State of Maharashtra v Mhd. Yakub (1980) SCR (2) 1158
o Abhayanand Mishra vs The State of Bihar AIR 1961 SC 1698
o R. v. Robinson [1915] 2 K.B. 342
o Anderton v. Ryan [1985] AC 560
o R. v. Shivpuri [1987] AC 1

Suggested Reading:
o Glanville Williams, ‘The Lords and Impossible Attempts’ 33-83
Cambridge Law Journal, Vol. 45, No. 1 (March 1986).
o Lary Alexander, ‘Mens Rea and Inchoate Crimes’, Journal of
Criminal Law and Criminology (1997) Volume 87, Issue 4 (pp.
1138-1193)
o B.B. Pande, ‘An Attempt on "Attempt"- The case of State v.
Mohd. Yakub’ (1984) 2 SCC (Jour) 42
o CMV Clarkson, ‘Attempt: The Conduct Element’ (2009) 29 OJLS 25

Week 4
Week 5
GENERAL EXCEPTIONS

 Mistake of Fact and Law

 Insanity/ Unsoundness of mind: McNaughton Rules and beyond
 Infancy

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 Trifles (de minimis non curat lex)

 Necessity
 Private Defence of Body (Ss. 96-101)

 CASES & READINGS

o Vishwanath v. State of U.P. (AIR 1960 SC 67)
o Amjad Khan v. State (AIR 1952 SC 165)
o R v. Dudley and Stephen 14 Q.B.D. 273 (1884)
o Mrs. Rupan Deol Bajaj & Anr vs Kanwar Pal Singh Gill 1995
SCC (6) 194
o Basdev v State of Pepsu (1956 AIR SC 488)
o The State v. Oscar Leonard Carl Pistorious (CC113-2013) South
Africa.

Suggested Readings:

 Jacqueline Rose, ‘Bantu in the Bathroom’, 35 Lond. Rev. of Books

(2015).

Week 6 – Week 8
OFFENCES AGAINST HUMAN BODY

 Homicide and killing

 A close study of sections relating to Culpable Homicide (s. 299/
304) and Murder (s. 300/ 302) and distinction between the two
sections conceptually
 Distinction between various clauses of sections inter se as well as
distinction between the two sections
 ‘Negligence’ and ‘Rash’ as criminal category and its juristic
interpretation (s. 304-A)
 Exceptions to Murder with detailed study only of Exception I:
‘provocation’
 Provocation under IPC and English Common Law
 Kidnapping, abduction, wrongful restraint
 Criminal force, Hurt, Assault

 CASES & READINGS

o In Re Sreerangayee (1973) 1 MLJ 231

o Virsa Singh v. State of Punjab (AIR 1958 SC 465)

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o Gudar Dusadh v. State of Bihar (AIR 1972 SC 952)

o Emperor v. Mt. Dhirajia AIR 1940 All 486
o Gyarsibai v. State AIR (1953 CrLJ 558)
o Cherubin Gregory v. State of Bihar (AIR 1964 SC 205)
o Bhagwan Singh v. State of Uttarkhand (2020) 14 SCC 184.
o KM Nanavati v. State of Maharashtra (AIR 1962 SC 605)
o B.D. Khunte v. Union of India and others (2015) 1 SCC 286
o Muthu v. State (2007) 12 SCALE 795
o Dr. Suresh Gupta v. State of NCT (2004) 6 SCC 422
o Varadarajan v. state of Madras, (1965) AIR 942
o R. v. Ahluwalia (1993) 96 Cr App Reports 133

Suggested Reading:
 B.B. Pande, “Limits on Objective Liability for Murder” JILI, Vol. 16
Issue 4 (1974), pp. 469-482
 ALISON YOUNG, IMAGINING CRIME (1992) [Chapter 3 pp. 60-67]
 Stanley Yeo, ‘Recklessness under the Indian Penal Code’ JILS (1998)
 J Horder, ‘Re-thinking Non-Fatal Offences against the Person’ (1994)
14 OJLS 335

Week 9– Week 11
OBSCENITY & SEXUAL OFFENCES

 Offence of rape, outraging and insulting the modesty under IPC

 Common law notion of ‘sexual intercourse’ and its transformation
post 2013 amendments
 Consent: Age of consent controversy, Fraudulent consent, False
promise to marry as fraudulent consent
 Exception: marital rape/ spousal exception.
 Rape within marriage and outside marriage- - sections 375-376, Ss.
376A-D
 Critical analysis of landmark amendments in sexual offences: 1983 &
2013
 Section 377 (without going into the aspect of constitutionality of the
section)
 Notion of ‘Obscenity’ under IPC (Ss. 292-294) – Hicklin test,
Community Standard test – Sexuality and obscenity

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 Criminal law as instrument of regulation of sexuality? (Briefly)

 CASES & READINGS

o Rao Harnarayan Singh v. State AIR 1958 P & H 123
o Tukaram v. State of Maharashtra (1979) 2 SCC 143
o Mahmood Farooqui v State (Govt of NCT of Delhi) 243 (2017) DLT
310
o Suresh Kumar Koushal & Anr vs Naz Foundation (2014) 1 SCC 1
o Anurag Soni v State of Chhattisgarh AIR 2019 SC 1857
o RIT Foundation v. Union of India (2022) High Court of Delhi W.P.
(C) 284/2015 & CM Nos.54525-26/2018,
o Independent Thought vs Union of India (2018)
o Craig Jaret Hutchinson v Her Majesty the Queen & Others (2014) 1
S.C.R. 346
o Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India (2018) 1 SCC 791
o Regina v. Hicklin, L.R.3 Q.B. 360
o Kherode Chandra Roy Chowdhury vs Emperor (1912) ILR 39 Cal
377
o Ranjit D. Udeshi vs State of Maharashtra AIR 1965 SC 881
o Rahul Mookerji vs. State (NCT) of Delhi CRL.M.C. 283 of 2009
o Aveek Sarkar v. State of West Bengal (2014) 4 SCC 257
o Habeus Corpus Petition.No.2182 of 2022 (Optional)

Suggested Reading:

 JOHN SABASTIAN, “The opposite of unnatural intercourse:

understanding Section 377 through Section 375” (2017) Indian Law
Review Volume 1, Issue 3 232-249
 Mrinal Satish, ‘The Farooqui Judgment’s Interpretation of Consent
Ignores Decades of Rape-Law Reform and Catastrophically Affects
Rape Adjudication’, The Caravan (2017, Oct).
 Latika Vashist, ‘Disgust for the sexual: the emotional side of
obscenity law in India’, Oxford Univ. Comm. L. J. 22 (2022) 150.
 Report of the Committee on the Amendments to Criminal Law
(Verma Committee Report), January 23, 2013

Week 12
OFFENCES AGAINST MARRIAGE (1 Class)

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 Section 497 and its semantics

 CASES & READINGS

o Joseph Shine v. Union of India AIR 2018 SC 4898 (Briefly)

Suggested Reading:
 Radhika Singha, A Despotism of Law: Crime and Justice in early
Colonial India (1998)

OFFENCES AGAINST PROPERTY

 Theft- sections 378/ 379 of IPC

 Extortion- sections 383/ 384 of IPC
 Robbery as aggravated form of theft or extortion- sections 390,
391, 392 & 395
 Misappropriation of property- section 403
 Criminal breach of trust- sections 405/ 406
 Cheating- Sections 415, 416 & 420

 CASES & READINGS

o K.N. Mehra v. State (AIR 1957 SC 369)
o Pyare Lal Bhargava vs State of Rajasthan AIR 1963 SC 1094

Suggested Reading:

o G. Fletcher, ‘The Metamorphosis of Larceny (1976) 89 Harvard Law

Review 469.

Week 12

Week 13 Punishment and Sentencing

o Philosophical foundations of punishment.

o Punishment & ideology: role of ‘motive’ in punishment.
o Principle of proportionality (Just Desserts)

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o Ius Talinonis
o Introductory reflections on the debate concerning abolition of Death
Penalty
o Distinction between guilt and sentencing.
o Fair sentencing and sentencing guidelines
o Mandatory minimum sentences and discretion in sentencing

o Section 53 of IPC and relevant conceptions like meaning of

imprisonment for life, descriptions of punishment etc.,

o Cases
o Satish Kumar Jayanti Lal Dabgar v. State of Gujarat (2015) 7 SCC
359.
o Bachchan Singh v. State of Punjab (1982) 3 SCC 24.

Suggested Readings:
o Judith Butler, ‘On Cruelty’, 36:4 Lond. Rev. of Books (2014).
o Patrick Olivelle, Penance and Punishment: Marking the Body in
Criminal Law and Social Ideology of Ancient India 4 (2011) The
Journal of Hindu Studies, 23.
o Henrique Carvalho & Anastasia Chamberlen, ‘Why punishment
pleases: Punitive feelings in a world of hostile solidarity’ 20
Punishment and Society (2017).
o Howard Zehr, The Little Book of Restorative Justice pp. 3-13.

Week 14 REVISION

b. Readings

WEEK 1

CASES & READINGS

o State of Maharastra v. M. H. George AIR 1965 SC 722

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o Nathulal v. State of M.P AIR 1966 SC 43

Suggested Readings:
 GRANT LAMOND, ‘What is a crime?’ (2007) 27 Oxford Journal of Legal Studies 609
 RICHARD A. WASSERSTROM, ‘Strict Liability in Criminal Law’, Stanford Law Review
Vol. 12, p. 731.
 JEROME HALL, Nulla Poena Sine Lege, The Yale Law Journal (1937) Vol. 47 No. 2.
 J Chalmers and F Leverick, ‘Fair Labelling’ (2008) 71 MLR 217
 HLA Hart, Law, Liberty & Morality, Stanford University Press (1963).

WEEK 2
CASES & READINGS

o Public Prosecutor v. MS Moorthy (1912) 22 MLJ 333

o R. v. Blaue [1975] 3 All ER 446
o R. v. Kennedy [2007] UK HL 38

Suggested Reading:
 G Williams, ‘Oblique Intent’ (1988) 46 CLJ 417
 A. Norrie, Subjectivism, Objectivism and the limits of criminal recklessness (1992) 12
OJLS 45.

WEEK 3

 CASES & READINGS

o Priya Patel v. State of M.P. (2006 CrLJ 3627)
o Barendra Kumar Ghosh v. Emperor (AIR 1925 PC 1)
o Mahboob Shaw v. Emperor (AIR 1945 PC 118)
o Mathew v. State of Travancore-Cochin (AIR 1956 SC 241)
o Hari & Another v. State of U.P. 2021 (14) SCALE 270

WEEK 4

 CASES & READINGS

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o Emperor v. Asgar Ali Pradhania AIR 1933 Cal 893

o State of Maharashtra v Mhd. Yakub (1980) SCR (2) 1158
o Abhayanand Mishra vs The State of Bihar AIR 1961 SC 1698
o R. v. Robinson [1915] 2 K.B. 342
o Anderton v. Ryan [1985] AC 560
o R. v. Shivpuri [1987] AC 1

Suggested Reading:
o Glanville Williams, ‘The Lords and Impossible Attempts’ 33-83 Cambridge Law
Journal, Vol. 45, No. 1 (March 1986).
o Lary Alexander, ‘Mens Rea and Inchoate Crimes’, Journal of Criminal Law and
Criminology (1997) Volume 87, Issue 4 (pp. 1138-1193)
o B.B. Pande, ‘An Attempt on "Attempt"- The case of State v. Mohd. Yakub’ (1984) 2
SCC (Jour) 42
o CMV Clarkson, ‘Attempt: The Conduct Element’ (2009) 29 OJLS 25

WEEK 5

 CASES & READINGS

o Vishwanath v. State of U.P. (AIR 1960 SC 67)
o Amjad Khan v. State (AIR 1952 SC 165)
o R v. Dudley and Stephen 14 Q.B.D. 273 (1884)
o Mrs. Rupan Deol Bajaj & Anr vs Kanwar Pal Singh Gill 1995 SCC (6) 194
o Basdev v State of Pepsu (1956 AIR SC 488)
o The State v. Oscar Leonard Carl Pistorious (CC113-2013) South Africa (Optional)

Suggested Readings:

 Jacqueline Rose, ‘Bantu in the Bathroom’, 35 Lond. Rev. of Books (2015).

WEEK 6 – WEEK 8

 CASES & READINGS

o In Re Sreerangayee (1973) 1 MLJ 231

o Virsa Singh v. State of Punjab (AIR 1958 SC 465)
o Gudar Dusadh v. State of Bihar (AIR 1972 SC 952)
o Emperor v. Mt. Dhirajia AIR 1940 All 486

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o Gyarsibai v. State AIR (1953 CrLJ 558)

o Cherubin Gregory v. State of Bihar (AIR 1964 SC 205)
o KM Nanavati v. State of Maharashtra (AIR 1962 SC 605)
o B.D. Khunte v. Union of India and others (2015) 1 SCC 286
o Muthu v. State (2007) 12 SCALE 795
o Dr. Suresh Gupta v. State of NCT (2004) 6 SCC 422
o Varadarajan v. state of Madras, (1965) AIR 942
o R. v. Ahluwalia (1993) 96 Cr App Reports 133

Essential Reading:
 B.B. Pande, “Limits on Objective Liability for Murder” JILI, Vol. 16 Issue 4 (1974), pp.
469-482
 ALISON YOUNG, IMAGINING CRIME (1992) [Chapter 3 pp. 60-67]

Suggested Reading:
 Stanley Yeo, ‘Lessons on Provocation from the Indian Penal Code’ 615-631 The
International and Comparative Law Quarterly, Vol. 41, No. 3 (Jul., 1992)
 J Horder, ‘Re-thinking Non-Fatal Offences against the Person’ (1994) 14 OJLS 335

WEEK 9 – WEEK 11

 CASES & READINGS

o Rao Harnarayan Singh v. State AIR 1958 P & H 123
o Tukaram v. State of Maharashtra (1979) 2 SCC 143
o Mahmood Farooqui v State (Govt of NCT of Delhi) 243 (2017) DLT 310
o Suresh Kumar Koushal & Anr vs Naz Foundation (2014) 1 SCC 1
o Anurag Soni v State of Chhattisgarh AIR 2019 SC 1857
o RIT Foundation v. Union of India (2022) High Court of Delhi W.P.(C) 284/2015 & CM
Nos.54525-26/2018,
o Independent Thought vs Union of India (2018)
o Craig Jaret Hutchinson v Her Majesty the Queen & Others (2014) 1 S.C.R. 346
o Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India (2018) 1 SCC 791
o Regina v. Hicklin, L.R.3 Q.B. 360
o Kherode Chandra Roy Chowdhury vs Emperor (1912) ILR 39 Cal 377
o Ranjit D. Udeshi vs State of Maharashtra AIR 1965 SC 881
o Rahul Mookerji vs. State (NCT) of Delhi CRL.M.C. 283 of 2009
o Aveek Sarkar v. State of West Bengal (2014) 4 SCC 257

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o Habeus Corpus Petition.No.2182 of 2022 (Optional)

Suggested Reading:

 JOHN SABASTIAN, “The opposite of unnatural intercourse: understanding Section 377

through Section 375” (2017) Indian Law Review Volume 1, Issue 3 232-249.
 Elizabeth Kolsky, ‘The Body Evidencing the Crime’: Rape on Trial in Colonial India,
1860–1947, 22 Gender and History (2010) 109.
 Mrinal Satish, ‘The Farooqui Judgment’s Interpretation of Consent Ignores Decades of
Rape-Law Reform and Catastrophically Affects Rape Adjudication’, The Caravan (2017,
Oct).
 Latika Vashist, ‘Disgust for the sexual: the emotional side of obscenity law in India’,
Oxford Univ. Comm. L. J. 22 (2022) 150.
 Report of the Committee on the Amendments to Criminal Law (Verma Committee
Report), January 23, 2013

WEEK 12

 CASES & READINGS

o Joseph Shine v. Union of India AIR 2018 SC 4898 (Briefly)

Suggested Reading:
 Radhika Singha, A Despotism of Law: Crime and Justice in early Colonial India (1998)

WEEK 12

 CASES & READINGS

o K.N. Mehra v. State (AIR 1957 SC 369)
o Pyare Lal Bhargava vs State of Rajasthan AIR 1963 SC 1094

Suggested Reading:

o G. Fletcher, ‘The Metamorphosis of Larceny (1976) 89 Harvard Law Review 469.

WEEK 13

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 CASES AND READINGS

o Satish Kumar Jayanti Lal Dabgar v. State of Gujarat (2015) 7 SCC 359.
o Bachchan Singh v. State of Punjab (1982) 3 SCC 24.

Suggested Readings:
o Judith Butler, ‘On Cruelty’, 36:4 Lond. Rev. of Books (2014).
o Patrick Olivelle, Penance and Punishment: Marking the Body in Criminal Law and Social
Ideology of Ancient India 4 (2011) The Journal of Hindu Studies, 23.
o Henrique Carvalho & Anastasia Chamberlen, ‘Why punishment pleases: Punitive
feelings in a world of hostile solidarity’ 20 Punishment and Society (2017).
o Howard Zehr, The Little Book of Restorative Justice pp. 3-13.

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