Section 217 CrPC Not A Mere Formality; Trial Court Must Judicially Decide Plea To Recall Witnesses Upon Alteration Of Charges: Madras High Court First Appellate Court Must Address Suspicious Circumstances Surrounding Execution Of Will; Adverse Inference To Be Drawn If Propounder Fails To Testify: Himachal Pradesh High Court Passing Contrary Orders On Identical Land Acquisition Cases Violates Public Policy, Equal Treatment: Madhya Pradesh High Court Municipal Authorities Cannot Adjudicate Title Disputes While Granting Building Permissions: Telangana High Court Statutory Insurance Companies Can’t Be Treated As Illiterate Litigants; Procedural Red Tape No Ground To Condone Delay: Orissa High Court Section 22 Hindu Succession Act Applies To Agricultural Land; Right Of Pre-Emption Is An Incident Of Succession: Supreme Court Proceedings Under Senior Citizens Act Extinguish On Death Of Applicant, Civil Remedies Apply For Property Disputes: Punjab & Haryana High Court Being A Woman Not A Ground For Bail In Heinous Crimes Against Minors: Gujarat High Court Rejects Bail In Flesh Trade Case Woman Not Entitled To Maintenance Under Section 125 CrPC If First Marriage Subsists; Illegitimate Child Entitled: Allahabad High Court

"CRIMINAL LAW" Digest

Criminal Law – Murder – Section 302 IPC – Conviction Set Aside – Appellant accused of killing his wife by pressing her mouth; conviction primarily based on testimony of child witness (PW2) and complainant – Evidence riddled with contradictions; complainant not present at incident; FIR delayed; inquest report and immediate family gave no suspicion of foul play; recover...

Criminal Law - Murder  – Conviction under Section 302/34 IPC – Reversal – Trial Court convicted appellants for double murder based on testimony of a single eyewitness (PW-1 Nanmoon) – High Court held testimony unreliable due to contradictions on weapons, manner of assault, FIR lodging, and recovery – Implausibility of sparing sole eyewitness while killing two oth...

Anticipatory Bail – Delay in FIR – Allegations of Mutation on Forged Documents – FIR lodged in 2019 regarding mutation entries based on sale deed dated 18.05.1996 executed on forged powers of attorney in names of deceased landowners – Appellants (A5 and A6), Circle Officer and Talathi at the time, certified mutation entries Nos. 15177 and 15180 in 1996, which were later can...

Criminal Procedure – Joint vs. Separate Trial – Sections 218–223 Cr.P.C. – Segregation of MLA’s trial quashed – The trial court, affirmed by the High Court, ordered a separate charge-sheet and segregated trial for the appellant (a sitting MLA) to facilitate “day-to-day” hearing relying on Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay – Held: Segregation solely due to...

Criminal Law – Murder Conviction – Delay in Death – Appellant along with three co-accused dragged the deceased to the terrace, flung him down, and assaulted him with sticks and fists – Victim survived for about nine months before dying of septicemia, pneumonia, and paraplegia caused by spinal cord injury – Trial Court convicted under Section 302 IPC – High Court...

Bail – Modification of Conditions – Maintainability – Section 528 BNSS – Petition challenging onerous bail conditions restricting foreign travel and requiring deposit of passport – Respondents argued modification impermissible once bail granted – Held: Bail order interlocutory; conditions not final judgment; Court retains inherent jurisdiction under Section 528 ...

Murder  – Section 302/149 IPC – Eyewitness Testimony and Medical Evidence – Benefit of Doubt – Prosecution alleged deceased Charan Singh was shot dead while ploughing a field; FIR lodged promptly—Trial Court convicted appellants—On appeal, contradictions noted: direction of gunshot injuries inconsistent with claim that deceased was seated on tractor, unexpl...

Criminal Revision – Revisional Jurisdiction – Sections 397 & 401 CrPC – Scope of interference is extremely limited – Revisional Court cannot act as appellate forum or reappreciate evidence – Interference only if order of trial court is grossly erroneous, perverse, or without material – Framing of charge is an interlocutory/intermediate order not to be quashe...

Matrimonial Law - Maintenance – Criminal Revision – Section 125 Cr.P.C. – Order of Family Court quashed – Petitioner-husband challenged order directing him to pay ₹20,000 per month – High Court found Family Court failed to consider suppression of material facts, income and assets of parties, and mandatory guidelines in Rajnesh v. Neha – Held: impugned order su...

Criminal Revision Against Rejection Of Discharge Plea - Loan Fraud – Advocate’s Attestation of False Declaration – Prima Facie Conspiracy Established – Revision Dismissed – Accused lawyer (A8) attested affidavit declaring impersonator (A5) as personally known to him, enabling fraudulent sanction of ₹44 lakh loan – Held: Unlike erroneous legal opinion (as in CB...