LANDMARK CASE
Basdev v. State of PEPSU
AIR 1956 SC 488 · Supreme Court of India · Criminal law
At a glance
- Citation: AIR 1956 SC 488
- Court: Supreme Court of India
- Area of law: Criminal law
- In one line: No. A drunk person is presumed to have the knowledge of a sober person, and he was guilty of murder.
1 Facts
A drunk retired soldier shot a boy at a wedding over a seat.
2 Issue
Does voluntary intoxication reduce murder?
3 What the court decided
No. A drunk person is presumed to have the knowledge of a sober person, and he was guilty of murder.
4 Why it matters
A leading case on intoxication.
5 Think about it
Why does the law treat knowledge and intention differently for intoxication?
6 Analyse it yourself
Read the full judgment from an official source or a law database, then brief it in seven steps: facts, issues, arguments, decision, ratio, obiter and significance. Always check the citation before you rely on it.
7 More cases on Criminal law
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- Amish Devgan v. Union of India (2021) 1 SCC 1
- Bachan Singh v. State of Punjab (1980) 2 SCC 684
- Balwant Singh v. State of Punjab (1995) 3 SCC 214
- Barendra Kumar Ghosh v. Emperor AIR 1925 PC 1
- Bodhisattwa Gautam v. Subhra Chakraborty (1996) 1 SCC 490
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A short teaching summary for students. Educational content only, not legal advice.