LANDMARK CASE
Nandini Satpathy v. P.L. Dani
(1978) 2 SCC 424 · Supreme Court of India · Criminal procedure
At a glance
- Citation: (1978) 2 SCC 424
- Court: Supreme Court of India
- Area of law: Criminal procedure
- In one line: Yes. Article 20(3) applies at the investigation stage, and the person may have a lawyer present.
1 Facts
A former chief minister was questioned by police and refused to answer certain questions.
2 Issue
Does the right against self incrimination apply during police interrogation?
3 What the court decided
Yes. Article 20(3) applies at the investigation stage, and the person may have a lawyer present.
4 Why it matters
It extended protection against compelled testimony.
5 Think about it
What counts as compulsion during questioning?
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 procedure
- Arnab Manoranjan Goswami v. Union of India (2020) 14 SCC 12
- Arnesh Kumar v. State of Bihar (2014) 8 SCC 273
- D.K. Basu v. State of West Bengal (1997) 1 SCC 416
- Gian Singh v. State of Punjab (2012) 10 SCC 303
- Gideon v. Wainwright 372 U.S. 335 (1963)
- Gurbaksh Singh Sibbia v. State of Punjab (1980) 2 SCC 565
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