Bail Application – Delay in Disposal – Personal Liberty – Supreme Court Displeasure – Petition for bail pending in Punjab & Haryana High Court since August 2023 adjourned over a dozen times, mainly at the instance of complainant or State – By impugned order, matter adjourned again after recusal by Judge – SC reiterated that courts must be sensitive in matter...
Maintenance Claim – Second Marriage with Deceased Husband’s Brother – Section 125 Cr.P.C. – Dismissal Set Aside – Revision Allowed – Trial court dismissed maintenance claim of widow and her two minor children on ground that her marriage with deceased husband’s brother (respondent) was not proved – Departmental inquiry in police service found responde...
Criminal Law - Murder – Benefit of Doubt – Appeal Allowed – Acquittal - Appellant convicted with husband under Section 302 IPC for beating victim with sticks following land dispute—Supreme Court noted contradictions between medical evidence and prosecution’s timeline, unexplained injuries on victim’s parents, admitted family enmity over partition, an...
Family Law - Maintenance under Senior Citizens Act – Definition of "Relative" – Legal Heir Requirement – Liability Set Aside - The appellant, wife of the deceased nephew of the senior citizen, came into possession of property through a gift deed executed in 1992 in favour of her late husband – The senior citizen, being childless, claimed maintenance from the appel...
Criminal Law - Seizure of Vehicles – Supardari - Jurisdiction of District Collector – Validity Upheld – Petitioners challenged the orders of District Collector Banswara releasing vehicles seized under the Rajasthan Bovine Animal Act and Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, contending lack of jurisdiction and necessity of approaching Magistrate – Held: District Collector is...
Civil Writ - Public Appointment – Managing Director – Section 20 of Warehousing Corporations Act – Interim Appointment Quashed – State Government appointed retired police officer as Managing Director without effective consultation with Board of Directors – Held: Appointment violative of Section 20(1)(c) which mandates consultation with Board before such appointment &n...
Matrimonial Law - Section 2(s), Section 17, and Section 19 of the DV Act - Shared Household – Definition under Section 2(s) DV Act – Under-Construction Flat Not Covered – The petitioner sought orders under Section 19(d) and (e) of the DV Act for payment of pending installments towards a jointly booked flat claiming it as “shared household” – Held: Shared househo...
Criminal Law – Revision Against Charge - Criminal Conspiracy and Corruption in Educational Appointments – Sections 7, 13(2) r/w 13(1)(d) P.C. Act, and Sections 120B, 477A, 471, 417, 420, 201 IPC – Charges Upheld – The petitioner, President of Dakshin Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha, challenged the trial court’s order rejecting discharge and framing charges under P.C. Act a...
Criminal Law - Suspension of Sentence – Parameters under Section 389 CrPC – Grant of Bail after Conviction under POCSO Act – Order Set Aside – The appeal by the father of the prosecutrix challenged the High Court's order suspending the sentence of Respondent No.2, convicted under Section 3/4(2) POCSO Act and Section 376(3) IPC – The Supreme Court held that the Hig...
Criminal Law - Murder – Conviction Based Solely on Circumstantial Evidence – Standards of Proof – Supreme Court Orders Acquittal – Appeal against concurrent conviction under Section 302 IPC for alleged drowning of minor children by their mother – The Court found that the prosecution’s case rested solely on the testimony of a single witness (PW-2), whose evidence...