Criminal Procedure – Quashing FIR – Co-Accused’s Statement – Premature to Interfere – Applicant named in liquor seizure case solely based on co-accused’s statement – Held: Statement under Section 10 of Evidence Act relevant during investigation though inadmissible at trial – At FIR stage, admissibility not determinative – Court cannot scuttle i...
Criminal Law - Civil Dispute – Not Criminal – Petition for FIR Quashed – No Case for Cheating - Petitioner sought action against uncles who allegedly sold property in Solan despite prior relinquishment in family settlement – Court found the dispute to be civil in nature, not amounting to criminal fraud or misrepresentation – Held: No ingredients of Section 415 IPC mad...
Criminal Law – Rape - Acquittal Appeal – Scope of Appellate Interference in Acquittal – Appellate Court Reiterated Limited Scope to Interfere – The appellate court while re-appreciating the evidence must interfere only when the judgment is perverse or leads to miscarriage of justice – Court found that trial court's judgment was not perverse and based on sound appr...
Regular Bail – Murder - Delay in Trial – Prolonged Incarceration – Bail Granted – Petitioner in custody for over 6 years with only 2 out of 17 witnesses examined since framing of charges in 2021 – Trial likely to take a long time – Held: Continued detention without substantial trial progress violates Article 21 rights – Bail granted subject to conditions [...
Criminal Law – Quashing - Section 138 and 141, Negotiable Instruments Act - Vicarious Liability – Director Not in Management – Complaint Quashed - Petitioner challenged proceedings under Section 138 NI Act, asserting he was neither a Director nor signatory to the cheques of the accused company – Produced Ministry of Corporate Affairs record confirming he was never part of t...
Bail - Rape Allegation – Consensual Relationship – Bail Granted - Alleged victim, a 25-year-old educated woman, claimed she was raped after intoxication and later coerced with a forged marriage – Court noted delays in FIR, consensual travel and cohabitation, and contradictions in victim's statements – Found prima facie indications of a soured relationship rather than cr...
Criminal Law - Murder – Appeal against conviction - Circumstantial Evidence – Benefit of Doubt – Acquittal – Accused convicted of murder under Section 302 read with Section 34 IPC based on circumstances after eyewitnesses turned hostile – Court found that circumstances such as previous enmity, presence near the scene prior to the occurrence, and recovery of bloo...
Anticipatory Bail – Theft of Judicial File – Disclosure Statement by Co-Accused – Bail Granted - FIR was filed alleging theft of a judicial file involving multiple co-accused – Appellant was not named in FIR but implicated through co-accused's disclosure – High Court denied anticipatory bail – Supreme Court noted appellant had joined investigation and that t...
Criminal Law – Bail - PMLA – Sanction under Section 197 CrPC – Cognizance Quashed – Bail Granted - The appellant, a retired civil servant, challenged his arrest under Section 3 of the PMLA citing that cognizance was wrongly taken without sanction as required under Section 197 CrPC – High Court quashed cognizance for lack of sanction – Supreme Court noted that no...
Criminal Law - Attempt to Murder – Intention and Knowledge Sufficient – Conviction under Section 307 Restored - Respondent, a constable, fired multiple shots from an AK-47 rifle at fellow jawans after a mess dispute on Diwali night – One constable sustained four grievous bullet wounds – Supreme Court held that intention and knowledge to cause death can be inferred from weap...