LANDMARK CASE
K.M. Nanavati v. State of Maharashtra
AIR 1962 SC 605 · Supreme Court of India · Criminal law
At a glance
- Citation: AIR 1962 SC 605
- Court: Supreme Court of India
- Area of law: Criminal law
- In one line: No. The time gap allowed him to cool down, so the act was premeditated murder.
1 Facts
A naval officer shot his wife's lover after learning of the affair. A jury acquitted him, but the High Court convicted.
2 Issue
Was it a case of grave and sudden provocation reducing murder?
3 What the court decided
No. The time gap allowed him to cool down, so the act was premeditated murder.
4 Why it matters
It shaped the law on provocation and is linked to the end of jury trials in India.
5 Think about it
Why does a 'cooling off' period matter in provocation?
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
- Abhayanand Mishra v. State of Bihar AIR 1961 SC 1698
- 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
- Basdev v. State of PEPSU AIR 1956 SC 488
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A short teaching summary for students. Educational content only, not legal advice.