Criminal Law – Bail Application – Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act – Applicant accused under multiple provisions, including Sections 498-A, 323, 504, 506, 363, 366A, 376(2)(N) IPC, Sections 5(L)/6 of the POCSO Act, and Sections 3/4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act – Allegations include harassment of wife for dowry and engaging in illicit relations with mi...
Criminal Law – Quashing - Retaliatory FIR – Timing of Complaint – Malicious Prosecution Inferred – The husband filed a suit under Section 9 of the Hindu Marriage Act on 18/10/2023, and the wife lodged the FIR shortly thereafter on 27/10/2023. No explanation was provided for the delay in filing the complaint, despite her claim of being driven out of the matrimonial home on 2...
Criminal Revision – Reversal of Acquittal by High Court - Scope of Revisional Jurisdiction – Section 401(3) CrPC – High Court, in exercise of its revisional jurisdiction, reversed the acquittal of the appellants and convicted them for murder under Section 302 IPC—Held: Section 401(3) CrPC expressly prohibits conversion of acquittal into conviction—High Court exceeded ...
Criminal Law – Dishonour of Cheque – Appeal Against Acquittal - Validity of System-Generated Cheque Return Memo – Section 146 of NI Act – The trial court rejected the cheque return memo (Exhibit-2) on the ground that it did not bear an official seal or signature of the bank. However, Section 146 of the NI Act presumes a bank’s slip or memo denoting dishonour to ...
Rape Case – Age Determination – School Records – Standard of Proof – Acquittal – Appeal allowed – The appellant was convicted under Sections 376(1) and 450 of IPC for allegedly committing rape on a prosecutrix aged 12 years – Prosecution relied on the school register to establish the prosecutrix's age – Held: School register entries are inadmissi...
Matrimonial Law - Maintenance – Adequacy of Awarded Amount – Financial Capacity of Husband – Petitioner-wife challenged the maintenance awarded by the Family Court on the ground that the husband earns more than ₹20,00,000 per month from multiple businesses, while she has no independent income—Held: The respondent-husband had suppressed his actual income and financial hold...
Criminal Law - Appeal against conviction under Section 302 IPC - Murder – Reliability of Eyewitness Testimony – Conviction Reversed – The appellant was convicted under Section 302 IPC based on the testimony of two eyewitnesses (PW-4 and PW-5) – Both witnesses made significant omissions and contradictions in their statements, including inconsistencies about the number of sta...
Bail under NDPS Act – Commercial Quantity – Conscious Possession – Applicant sought bail in a case involving seizure of 1880 grams of MDMA, well above the commercial quantity threshold of 10 grams – Prosecution established that the applicant inquired about the parcels containing contraband, attempted to collect them while concealing his identity, and fled upon sensing law e...
Criminal Procedure - Protest Petition Against Final Report – Magistrate’s Discretion – Section 190(1)(b) Cr.P.C. – No Error in Accepting Closure Report – A magistrate has four options when considering a final report: (i) accept and drop proceedings, (ii) take cognizance and issue process, (iii) order further investigation, or (iv) treat the protest petition as a compl...
NDPS - Interim Custody of Seized Vehicle – Confiscation Not Automatic – Section 457 Cr.P.C. – Order Denying Custody Set Aside – The trial court erred in rejecting interim custody of the seized vehicle merely on the ground that it may be confiscated if the offence is proved – Confiscation is subject to trial and can only be ordered upon proof of guilt beyond reasonable...