Drugs and Cosmetics Act – Sale of Spurious Drug – Dealer Acquitted – Conviction set aside – Appellant, a licensed medical store owner, convicted for stocking and selling substandard chloroquine tablets – High Court held that appellant had discharged his burden under Section 19(3) by disclosing full chain of purchase from licensed dealer (M/s Bhuvan Pharma) and license...
Criminal Law – Quashing of Proceedings – Inordinate Delay – Article 21 Constitution of India – Context of the 19.02.2009 clash between lawyers and police in the Madras High Court campus – FIR registered in 2009, Charge Sheet filed in 2010, but Cognizance taken only in 2025 (16 years delay) – Held: Right to speedy trial is an inalienable fundamental right. The de...
Cybercrime – Bail Denied – Elderly Victims – Digital Arrest – Accused impersonated Cyber Police officials and placed 84-year-old couple under illegal 'digital arrest' – Extorted ₹2.02 crore between 30.04.2025 and 08.05.2025 – Petitioners received ₹45 lakh – Bail applications rejected due to gravity and corroborated financial trail – Court...
Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 – Section 12 – Bail to Child in Conflict with Law (CCL) – Gravity of Offence vs. Statutory Mandate – Held: While the alleged offence (RPG attack on Police Station) is grave, Section 12 mandates bail as a rule for juveniles, irrespective of the nature of the offence (bailable or non-bailable) – Bail can only be denied if there are reasonable ...
Criminal Law – Murder – Circumstantial Evidence – Benefit of Doubt – Appellants convicted under Sections 120B, 302, 364, 404 & 201 IPC for kidnapping, murdering, dismembering, and disposing of body in river – Trial court imposed concurrent life sentences – On appeal, High Court found major inconsistencies and missing links in chain of circumstantial evidence...
Criminal Law – Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 – Sanction for Prosecution – Effect of Departmental Exoneration – Held: Exoneration in departmental proceedings does not automatically lead to discharge in criminal cases, especially trap cases, due to different standards of proof; matter remitted to trial court to determine the competent sanctioning authority for the accuse...
Criminal Law – Bail under UAPA – Section 43D(5) – Prima Facie Case – Held: The proviso to Section 43D(5) of the UAPA creates an embargo on granting bail if the Court, on perusal of the case diary or Section 173 CrPC report, is of the opinion that there are reasonable grounds for believing the accusation is prima facie true. In this case, the recovery of explosive material (...
Criminal Law – Prohibitory Order – Section 163 BNSS (erstwhile Section 144 Cr.P.C.) – Legality of ex-parte order restricting a Pontiff's entry into a district – Held: Order quashed for being disproportionate, lacking emergent justification for its ex-parte nature, and violating fundamental rights, especially when based on a prior order clarified by the Apex Court not to...
Criminal Law – Assault – Section 325 IPC – Section 324 IPC – Appellant Lalit Mahto assaulted the victim on the head with a spade causing grievous injury – Appellant Titu Mahto hit the victim on his back with the blunt side of the spade causing simple injury – Conviction under Sections 325 and 324 IPC respectively held proper – Trial court rightly acquitted...
Criminal Law – Identification of Accused – Dock Identification vs. TIP – Held: Dock identification of an accused, who is a stranger to the witness, without a prior Test Identification Parade (TIP), is a weak piece of evidence. Where the complainant failed to identify the appellant in the TIP proceedings but identified him in Court after a gap of more than 3 years, such identifica...