Precedent - Law of Precedent

Application of Precedents in criminal cases

Law of Precedent

The Supreme Court in Parsaraja Manikyala Rao v. State of A.P. AIR 2004 SC 132, held that each criminal case depends on its own facts. Thus one should avoid the temptation to decide cases by matching the colour of one case against the colour of the other.

To render speedy and effective justice, it is required to avoid the tendency to refer to and rely upon precedents to arrive at findings of fact in criminal cases.

[See: Naib Singh v. State of Punjab, AIR 1986 SC 2192; Megh Singh v. State of Punjab (2003) 8 SCC 666; and Gian Chand v. State of Haryana (2013) 14 SCC 420]