Criminal Law – Appeal against conviction - Murder Trial – Contradictory Eyewitness Testimony – Conviction Reversed – Appellant convicted of murder of Zahid Khan alias Guddu— Prosecution relied on four eyewitnesses, but their testimonies conflicted on key facts such as presence, cause of death, and medical disclosure— Delay in recording statements, absence of blo...
Anticipatory Bail – Bank Fraud – Section 438 Cr.P.C. – Accused Alleged to Have Withdrawn Rs.1.5 Crores – Petitioner added as A20 in large-scale financial fraud involving bank employees and misuse of overdraft and fixed deposit schemes – Court held that custodial interrogation necessary due to non-recovery of funds and lack of explanation – Bail denied [Paras 3&n...
Murder Trial – Circumstantial Evidence – Identity of Body Unproven – Acquittal Upheld – Trial Court acquitted respondents citing prosecution’s failure to establish identity of the deceased through DNA or credible testimony – Postmortem report relied solely on name mentioned in inquest – No direct evidence linking accused to crime – Acquittal not foun...
Criminal Law – Appeal against acquittal - Disproportionate Assets – A1 Accused of Amassing Wealth 443% Over Known Income – Acquittal Set Aside – The trial court acquitted the accused holding that A1 and A2 had satisfactory explanations for their income and assets – High Court found that many sources claimed by defense were uncorroborated and erroneously accepted &ndas...
Criminal Law - Rape – Consent Based on Promise to Marry – Victim Major – Conviction Set Aside – Alleged victim engaged in consensual relationship with appellant under belief of future marriage – High Court found from ossification test (PW6) that victim was approximately 25 years old at time of incident – No evidence to show that promise was false from inception ...
Criminal Law – NI Act – Territorial Jurisdiction – Rejection of Complaint Reversed – Post-Dasharath Jurisdiction Clarified – Trial Court rejected complaint on grounds that the cheque dishonour occurred outside its territorial jurisdiction – High Court held complaint maintainable since accused had appeared and pleaded “not guilty” before Dasharath Roo...
Criminal Law – Quashing - Cheque Dishonour – Section 138 NI Act - Suppression of Material Facts by Complainant – Complaint Quashed – Respondent filed complaint without disclosing crucial letters from accused requesting documents to respond to statutory notice – SC held: Suppression of relevant facts amounts to abuse of legal process – Complaint and cognizance qu...
Criminal Law - Transition to BNSS – Interpretation of Section 531 – Date of Incident and FIR Crucial – Applications Maintainable Under CrPC Even If Filed After 01.07.2024 - High Court held that where the offence was committed and FIR registered prior to 01.07.2024, petitions filed under CrPC post this date are maintainable – Legislative intent and ejusdem generis rule suppo...
Criminal Law – Quashing - Prevention of Corruption Act – Disproportionate Assets – Quashing Set Aside – Prima Facie Case Found – Respondent charged for possessing assets disproportionate to known sources of income (Rs. 26.88 lakhs) during 2001–2008 – Discharge and revision applications dismissed on merits – Supreme Court held quashing petition under ...
Criminal Law - Quashing of FIR – Statement of Co-Accused – Not Grounds for Quashing at Initial Stage – Petition Dismissed – FIR against petitioner was based on statement of a co-accused regarding illegal liquor transport – Court held that though such statements are inadmissible at trial, they can form basis for initiating investigation – Held: At FIR stage, admi...
