Section 138 NI Act | Cheque Bounce Complaint Cannot Be Dismissed At Threshold Merely For Non-Production Of Postal Track Report: Madhya Pradesh High Court Departmental Dismissal Based On Identical Evidence Discarded By Criminal Court Amounts To 'No Evidence': Orissa High Court Kerala Lok Ayukta Amendment Upheld: High Court Rules Lok Ayukta Is Not A Court, Its Declaration Can Be Changed To Recommendation Subsidized Industrial Plots Are Meant To Generate Employment, Allottees Must Strictly Adhere To Timebound Project Schedules: Supreme Court Allottees Cannot Keep Subsidised Land Unutilised: Supreme Court Upholds Cancellation Of Piaggio's UP Industrial Plot CAG Audit Cannot Substitute Criminal Investigation To Trace Money Trails: Supreme Court Supreme Court Directs CBI To Probe Arunachal Pradesh Public Contracts, Says Constitutional Violation Not Diluted By Statistics Common Intention Under Section 34 IPC Cannot Be Presumed Merely Because Multiple Accused Participated In A Sudden Fight: Supreme Court Mere Use Of Abusive Word 'Bastard' Does Not Amount To Obscenity Under Section 294(b) IPC: Supreme Court Independent Medical Board's Opinion Crucial To Prevent Harassment Of Doctors In Consent Disputes: Supreme Court Quashes Criminal Case High Court Can Examine Questions Of Fact Under Section 482 CrPC To Prevent Abuse Of Process: Supreme Court Quashes Criminal Case Against Surgeon 'Every Link Must Be Conclusively Established': Supreme Court Acquits Constable In Murder Case, Reiterates Strict Standard For Circumstantial Evidence Murder Conviction Cannot Rest Solely On Voice Identification In Darkness: Supreme Court Acquits Police Constable After 12 Years CCTV Footage Belies Assault Claims: Supreme Court Quashes Criminal Case Against Neighbours

"CRIMINAL LAW" Digest

Criminal Law – Acquittal Appeal – Scope of Appellate Review – Acquittal Upheld - Appeal by the State – The State of Gujarat preferred an appeal under Section 378(1)(3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, challenging the acquittal of the accused for offenses punishable under Sections 323, 504, 506(2) IPC, and Section 3(1)(10) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes...

Criminal Law - Challenging the judgment of acquittal - Abetment to Suicide – Definition under Section 107 IPC – Mens Rea Essential – Acquittal Upheld - The appellant alleged that the respondent-accused took money and gold ornaments from the deceased on the pretext of securing bail for her husband and refused to return them – It was claimed that the respondent's refusal ...

Criminal Law - Quashing of FIR – Scope of Section 482 CrPC – Prima Facie Case Established – The petitioner sought quashment of the FIR on the grounds that the allegations were of civil nature, that there was delay in lodging the complaint, and that the allegations were false and motivated by malice – However, the father of the petitioner had already challenged the same FIR ...

Criminal Law – Bail – Section 439 CrPC – Grant of Bail Despite Serious Charges – The petitioner was accused of criminal conspiracy in a murder that occurred inside jail premises – The prosecution alleged that he facilitated the attack by preventing the closing of a crucial gate – The Court noted that the petitioner did not directly participate in the assault and...

Matrimonial Law - Wife’s Maintenance – Temporary Employment – Entitlement to Maintenance – The Family Court denied maintenance to the wife on the ground that she was employed on a temporary basis as a Data Entry Operator and earned ₹21,175/- per month – Held: Temporary employment and meagre earnings do not disentitle a wife from claiming maintenance under Section 12...

Bail Application – PMLA – Right to Speedy Trial under Article 21 – The applicant, accused of money laundering under Section 3 of the PMLA, sought bail citing prolonged incarceration of more than 3 years and 10 months – The applicant has already served more than half of the maximum punishment prescribed under the PMLA (7 years) – The Bombay High Court held that prolong...

Criminal Law – Quashing – Loan Dispute - Criminal Proceedings – Civil Dispute – Proceedings Quashed – The petitioners challenged the issuance of process in a loan-related dispute where non-payment was alleged as cheating and criminal breach of trust – The Court observed that mere failure to repay a loan does not constitute a criminal offence unless fraudulent in...

Bail - Money Laundering – Double Jeopardy – Applicant contended that he cannot be prosecuted in India after conviction in the United States—Held: Prosecution in India is permissible if the offences are distinct—Foreign conviction does not create an absolute bar on domestic prosecution—Bail denied [Paras 7, 20]. Money Laundering – Admissibility of Foreign Conv...

Bail in NDPS Cases – Section 37 NDPS Act – Prolonged Pre-Trial Custody – Bail Granted - The petitioner was accused of supplying narcotic drugs based on the disclosure statement of co-accused and call detail records – The prosecution failed to produce independent corroborative evidence such as recovery from the petitioner – The Supreme Court has granted bail in similar...

Criminal Law – Murder – Appeal against conviction - Reliability of Eyewitness Testimony – The conviction of the appellant was primarily based on the statements of two eyewitnesses (PW-4 and PW-5) – Both witnesses made material omissions in their testimonies regarding the stabbing incident – Their statements contradicted each other and were not supported by independent...