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...
Criminal Law – Murder - Appeal against Conviction - Murder vs. Culpable Homicide – Exception 1 to Section 300 IPC – Grave and Sudden Provocation – The accused, deceased, and their friend had been drinking alcohol throughout the day. The deceased misbehaved with the accused’s wife in the presence of her family members, leading to a confrontation. In the heat of the mom...
Quashing of Criminal Proceedings – Section 482 CrPC – Summoning Order Lacks Reasons – The appellants were charged with manufacturing and distributing a drug declared as ‘Not of Standard Quality’ – The trial court issued summons without assigning reasons – The Supreme Court reiterated that a summoning order must reflect application of judicial mind and must...
Criminal Law – Quashing of Proceedings – Wrongful Confinement and Human Trafficking – Supreme Court quashes proceedings against Ajay Malik under Sections 343, 370, and 120B IPC – High Court erred in rejecting his quashing petition despite lack of prima facie evidence – Complainant’s statements, no-objection affidavits, and presence of an alternative exit at the ...
Criminal Law – Murder – Rape – Circumstantial Evidence – Death Sentence – Admissibility of Electronic Evidence - Conviction and Death Sentence – Appeal Against High Court Judgment – Appellant convicted for offences under Sections 302, 364, 366, 376(2)(m), 376A, 392 read with 397, and 201 IPC – Sentenced to death for murder (Section 302 IPC) and vario...
Criminal Law – Appeal Against Acquittal – Injuries by Firearm – Trial court acquitted respondents Nos. 2 to 6 of charges under Sections 307/149, 147, 148, 324/149 IPC and Section 27 of the Arms Act – Prosecution proved that Respondent No. 2 (Dilip Singh) fired with a double-barrel gun causing simple injuries to the informant and his son – Medical evidence confirmed mu...
Quashing of FIR – Civil Dispute with Elements of Criminality – FIR Not Quashed – The petitioners sought quashing of the FIR on the ground that the dispute was purely civil in nature and related to non-compliance with contractual obligations – Allegations included siphoning of ₹6.32 crore from complainants under false assurances of timely completion of a real estate projec...
Matrimonial Law - Presumption of Legitimacy – Paternity and Legitimacy under Section 112, Indian Evidence Act – Conclusive Proof – DNA Test Not Ordered – The Supreme Court held that a child born within a valid marriage is conclusively presumed to be legitimate unless non-access between spouses is proved – Mere allegations of an extramarital relationship or an addition...
False Information to Authorities – Section 58(2) of the NDPS Act – Disproportionality in Sentencing – Petitioner accused of providing false information to authorities, leading to the arrest of an innocent woman (Sheela Sunny) under Section 22(c) of the NDPS Act – Held: False implication in NDPS cases can have devastating consequences; penalties for such false accusations mu...