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 Contract Workers Performing Same Duties As Regular Staff Entitled To Minimum Regular Pay Scale Under CLRA Rules: Bombay High Court Power Of Review Is To Correct Mistakes, Not Substitute Views Or Act As 'Appeal In Disguise': Kerala High Court Futile Exercise Of Jurisdiction To Proceed With Contempt For Violating Ex-Parte Order Once It Is Vacated On Merits: Karnataka High Court Threat To Force Wife Into Prostitution Strikes At Core Of Human Dignity: Gujarat HC Denies Anticipatory Bail In Abetment To Suicide Case Injured Victim's Testimony Carries Built-In Guarantee Of Truthfulness, Requires No Corroboration For Conviction: Allahabad High Court Section 138 NI Act Offence Can Be Compounded At Revision Stage Under Section 147 Read With Section 320 CrPC: Punjab & Haryana High Court

"CRIMINAL LAW" Digest

Criminal Law – Quashing of FIR and Criminal Proceedings – Prima Facie Case Made Out – Petition Dismissed – The petitioner, a former UD Clerk in Kerala Water Authority, sought to quash proceedings in C.C. No. 9/2022 alleging inordinate delay and absence of prima facie material – Allegations involved misappropriation of ₹24,755 by forging cheque counterfoils and falsi...

Domestic Violence Act - Limitation – Application under Section 12 DV Act – Not Barred by Limitation – Application Maintainable - Petitioner sought quashing of complaint filed under Section 12 DV Act on the ground that the incident of domestic violence dated back to July 2019 and complaint was filed in February 2022, allegedly beyond the period of limitation under Section 468 CrPC...

Criminal Law - Delay in Judgment – Non-Pronouncement After Hearing – Appeal Allowed - Criminal appeal heard and reserved for orders on 24.12.2021 was not decided even after over a year, causing prejudice and denial of justice to appellant – Supreme Court held that such delay is shocking and unacceptable – Highlighted systemic issue of judicial delay and absence of mechanism...

NDPS Bail – Recovery from Premises – Section 42 NDPS Act – Bail Denied – The petitioner was arrested based on disclosure of co-accused and 30 grams of heroin was recovered from her premises – The Court found prima facie compliance with Section 42 of the NDPS Act, noting that prior information was recorded in the Daily Diary and appropriate permission was obtained for ...

Criminal Law - Rape – Consent under Misconception – No Deceit Proven – Conviction under Section 376 IPC Set Aside – Allegation that appellant concealed existing marriage and had sexual relations with complainant – Evidence showed complainant and her family were aware of appellant's first marriage – Held: Since no concealment occurred, consensual physical rel...

Anticipatory Bail – Maintainability under SC/ST Act – Section 14A(2) Appeal Allowed – The appellant, father of the victim, challenged denial of anticipatory bail on grounds that SC/ST Act provisions did not prima facie apply as both accused and victim belonged to the same community – Held: In light of Shajan Skaria v. State of Kerala, anticipatory bail under Section 438 CrP...

Criminal Bail – Section 302 IPC – Delay in Trial – Bail Granted - The petitioner was accused of murdering the deceased Devinder Kumar with bamboo sticks and had been in custody since 11.04.2023 – Despite filing of the chargesheet on 03.07.2023, only 12 out of 52 witnesses had been examined – Held: Given prolonged incarceration, constitutional guarantee under Article 2...

NDPS Act – Interim Bail on Humanitarian Grounds – Bail Denied – The petitioner sought interim bail for six weeks under Section 22 NDPS Act on the ground that his widowed mother required urgent medical intervention for cardiac issues – Medical certificate indicated surgery was advised but not undertaken – Status report revealed availability of petitioner’s wife a...

Criminal Law - Victim Appeal Right – Substitution of Legal Heir – Proviso to Section 372 CrPC – Substantive Right Recognised – The son of deceased appellant (an injured victim) sought to substitute himself to continue the appeal against acquittal – Held: Under Section 2(wa), legal heirs of victims are also recognised as victims – The right to “prefer an ap...

Environmental Law - Environmental Clearance – Sand Mining – District Survey Report – Supreme Court reiterated that replenishment studies are mandatory for valid DSRs and therefore essential for granting Environmental Clearance (EC) – Following Deepak Kumar v. State of Haryana (2012) 4 SCC 629, and reaffirming Satendra Pandey v. MoEFCC, 2018 SCC OnLine NGT 2388, the Court he...