After Admitting Lease, Defendant Cannot Turn Around and Call It Forged—Contradictory Stand at Advanced Trial Stage Impermissible: Punjab & Haryana High Court Dismisses Revision Against Rejection of Amendment Plea Dismissed Employee Has No Right to Leave Encashment Under Statutory Rules: Punjab and Haryana High Court Section 13 of Gambling Act Is Cognizable — Magistrate Can Take Cognizance on Police Report: Allahabad High Court Clarifies Surveyor’s Report Not Sacrosanct, Arbitral Tribunal Has Jurisdiction to Apply Mind Independently: Bombay High Court Dismisses Insurer’s Challenge to Award in Fire Damage Dispute Anti-Suit Injunction in Matrimonial Dispute Set Aside: Calcutta High Court Refuses to Stall UK Divorce Proceedings Filed by Wife Res Ipsa Loquitur Not a Substitute for Proof of Negligence: Delhi High Court Affirms Acquittal in Fatal Road Accident Case NSA Detention Doesn’t Bar Framing of Charges If Prima Facie Evidence Exists: Punjab & Haryana High Court Upholds Charges in Ajnala Police Station Violence Case Continued Contractual Service Despite Sanctioned Posts Is Unfair Labour Practice: Orissa High Court Orders Regularization Of ECG Technicians After 15 Years Will Duly Proved Even If Witnesses Forget Details After Eight Years: Madras High Court Validates Bequest, Sets Aside Partition Decree Writ Petition Not Maintainable Where Commercial Appeal Remedy Exists: Karnataka High Court Dismisses Petition, Permits Conversion Under Commercial Courts Act Circumstantial Evidence Must Be Cogent, But Caste-Based Offences Demand Specific Intent: Supreme Court Draws Line Between Heinous Crimes and Caste Atrocities Court Must Step into Testator’s Shoes, Not Substitute His Intent: Supreme Court Upholds Will Excluding One Daughter Production of Arbitration Clause is Enough - Not Conduct Mini-Trials on Capacity or Consortium Structure: Supreme Court Title to Property Must Be Proven by Evidence, Not Just Claimed by Deed: Supreme Court Strikes Down Injunction Order Rejecting Police Investigation Is Not Interlocutory Where It Affects Complainant’s Right to Fair Probe in Murder Case: Madhya Pradesh High Court Restores Revision in 156(3) Application Rejection Conviction Cannot Rest On Contradictions, Hostility And Conjecture: Supreme Court Acquits Seven Accused In 2010 Village Murder Power to Lower NEET Percentile Lies Only With Centre - States Can’t Dilute NEET by Administrative Letters: Supreme Court Imposed 10 Crore Cost On Private Dental College Identification Without TIP, Electronic Records Without 65B Certificate – Conviction Set Aside: Patna High Court Nothing Inflicts A Deeper Wound On Our Constitutional Culture Than A State Official Running Berserk Regardless Of Human Rights: Jharkhand High Court Orders ₹1.5 Lakh Interim Compensation Identification Vitiated, Diamonds Not Produced, Last Seen Theory Unreliable: Bombay High Court Acquits Two in 2011 Diamond Courier Murder Dishonour Due to ‘Account Blocked’ Not Attributable to Drawer—No Offence Under Section 138 NI Act: Delhi High Court Quashes Criminal Proceedings Presumption Under Section 139 NI Act Cannot Be Rebutted By Mere Assertions: Delhi High Court Affirms Conviction In 32-Year-Old Cheque Bounce Case Accused Cannot Demand Documents During Investigation Merely to Assist in Answering Queries: Delhi High Court Upholds Dismissal of S.91 CrPC Plea in Bank Fraud Probe Once a Person is a Major, They Are Free to Choose Their Partner – Absence of Marriage No Ground To Deny Protection: Allahabad High Court Connivance Can’t Be Washed Away by Exoneration: P&H High Court Upholds Penalty on Forest Guard Despite Enquiry Clean Chit Disciplinary Authority Cannot Override Enquiry Officer’s Clean Chit Without Hearing the Employee: Madhya Pradesh High Court Remands Termination for Procedural Lapse Appointment Secured by Misstating Marks Is Void Ab Initio; Human Error No Excuse Where Advantage Gained: Allahabad High Court Appeal Maintainable Despite Modified MACT Award — Kerala High Court Clarifies Scope of Appellate Review in Motor Accident Claims Signature Alone Doesn’t Prove Debt: Kerala High Court Upholds Acquittal in Cheque Bounce Case, Rejects Blanket Presumption Under Section 139 NI Act

"CRIMINAL LAW" Digest

Criminal Law – Murder Conviction – Acquittal – Appellant convicted for the murder of the deceased by inflicting a fatal knife injury to the neck – High Court upheld conviction under Sections 294(b), 341, and 302 IPC while acquitting the appellant under Section 506(ii) IPC – Appellant challenged the reliance on sole testimony of PW-1, an interested witness – Held...

Criminal Procedure – Quashing of FIR – Multiple FIRs on the same cause of action – Petitioners challenged FIR No. 226 of 2015, citing it was on the same cause of action as an earlier FIR No. 166 of 2009 in which they were not charge-sheeted – Petitioners claimed the subsequent FIR was motivated – High Court examined the responsibility under the development agreement a...

Criminal Law – Hate Speech – Scope of Sections 504 and 505(2) IPC – Quash Petition Allowed – Petitioner accused of making provocative statements against a political leader and remarks regarding religious property management during a YouTube interview – Held: Statements related to the political leader could, at most, give rise to defamation claims and not offences unde...

Abetment of Suicide – Insufficient Evidence – The court examined whether the petitioner’s actions constituted abetment of suicide under Section 306 IPC. The petitioner's actions, including alleged insults and demands for money, did not satisfy the necessary ingredients of abetment, such as instigation or intentional aiding. The court emphasized the need for a proximate and li...

Criminal Law – Murder – Conviction Based on Eyewitness Testimonies – Reliability Questioned – Conviction challenged on the grounds of delay in lodging FIR and inconsistencies in prosecution evidence – Held: Delay of eight hours in filing the complaint and further delay in dispatching FIR to the Magistrate cast significant doubt on the prosecution's case – Co...

Criminal Law – Quashing of FIR – Political Vengeance – Allegation of Favoritism in Tender Allotment – Petitioner challenged the FIR alleging corruption in tender allotment under the amended Punjab Foodgrains Labour & Cartage Policy 2020-21 – Held: FIR quashed as no cognizable offence was disclosed – Allegations against the petitioner were based on conjecture...

Criminal Law – Quashing - Abuse of Process – Multiple FIRs arising from the same incident – Quashing of Police Reports – Allegations of wrongful restraint, injury, and offenses under Sections 354, 354-B, 354-D IPC – FIR No. 20/2024 filed by Ajay Kumar Sareen against Rohit Krishan Bhat alleging assault – FIR No. 24/2024 filed by Ragini Rajput against Ajay Kumar S...

Criminal Law – Circumstantial Evidence – Acquittal – Accused convicted under Sections 363, 302, and 201 IPC for kidnapping and murder of a minor child and concealment of evidence – Prosecution case based entirely on circumstantial evidence – Last seen theory and recovery of skeleton on the accused’s pointing out were pivotal – Chain of evidence found incom...

Criminal Law – Quashing of Criminal Proceedings – Settlement Between Parties – FIR registered against appellants for offenses under Sections 409, 420, 120B IPC, and Section 13(2) r/w Section 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 – Alleged fraud, cheating, and diversion of loan funds causing public exchequer losses – Settlement and closure of DRT proceedin...

Negotiable Instruments Act – Section 138 – Maintainability of Complaint – Complaint Filed by Power of Attorney Holder – Quashing of Summons and Complaint – Sole Proprietor Authorised Manager to File Complaint – Trial Court Issued Summons Based on Sufficient Evidence – High Court Quashed Complaint on Grounds of Lack of Explicit Averments Regarding Personal ...