State Can’t Block SARFAESI Sale by Late Revenue Entries: Secured Creditor’s Charge Prevails Over Tax Dues: Punjab & Haryana High Court Slams Sub-Registrar’s Refusal Providing SIM Card Without Knowledge of Its Criminal Use Does Not Imply Criminal Conspiracy: P&H High Court Grants Bail in UAPA & Murder Case Importer Who Accepts Enhanced Valuation Cannot Later Contest Confiscation and Penalty for Undervaluation: Madras High Court Upholds Strict Liability under Customs Act "Allegations Are Not Proof: Madras High Court Refuses Divorce Without Substantiated Cruelty or Desertion" When FIR Is Filed After Consulting Political Leaders, the Possibility of Coloured Version Cannot Be Ruled Out: Kerala High Court Mere Allegations of Antecedents Without Conviction Can't Defeat Right to Anticipatory Bail: Kerala High Court Section 106 Of Evidence Act Cannot Be Invoked In Vacuum – Prosecution Must First Lay Foundational Facts: Karnataka High Court Acquits Wife And Co-Accused In Husband’s Murder Case Parity Cannot Be Claimed When Roles Are Different: Karnataka High Court Refuses Bail to Youth Accused of Brutal Killing Injured Wife Would Not Falsely Implicate Her Husband: Gauhati High Court Upholds Conviction in Domestic Stabbing Case Disputed Bids, Missing Evidence and No Prejudice: Delhi High Court Refuses to Intervene in Tender Challenge under Article 226 License Fee on Hoardings is Regulatory, Not Tax; GST Does Not Bar Municipal Levy: Bombay High Court Filing Forged Bank Statement to Mislead Court in Maintenance Case Is Prima Facie Offence Under Section 466 IPC: Allahabad High Court Upholds Summoning Continued Cruelty and Concealment of Infertility Justify Divorce: Chhattisgarh High Court Upholds Divorce Disguising Punishment as Simplicity Is Abuse of Power: Delhi High Court Quashes Dismissals of Civil Defence Volunteers for Being Stigmatic, Not Simpliciter Marriage Cannot Be Perpetuated on Paper When Cohabitation Has Ceased for Decades: Supreme Court Invokes Article 142 to Grant Divorce Despite Wife’s Opposition Ownership of Trucks Does Not Mean Windfall Compensation: Supreme Court Slashes Inflated Motor Accident Award in Absence of Documentary Proof Concealment of Mortgage Is Fraud, Not a Technical Omission: Supreme Court Restores Refund Decree, Slams High Court’s Remand State Reorganization Does Not Automatically Convert Cooperative Societies into Multi-State Entities: Supreme Court Rejects Blanket Interpretation of Section 103 Indian Courts Cannot Invalidate Foreign Arbitral Awards Passed Under Foreign Law: Madhya Pradesh High Court Enforces Texas-Based Award Despite Commercial Court’s Contrary Decree Sudden Quarrel over Mound of Earth — Not Murder but Culpable Homicide: Allahabad High Court Eligibility Flows from Birth, Not a Certificate Date: Delhi High Court Strikes Down Rule Fixing Arbitrary Cut-Off for OBC-NCL Certificates in CAPF (AC) Recruitment Bar Under Order II Rule 2 CPC Cannot Be Invoked Where Specific Performance Was Legally Premature Due To Statutory Impediments: P&H High Court Once a Court Declares a Department an Industry Under Section 2(j), State Cannot Raise the Same Objection Again: Gujarat High Court Slams Repetitive Litigation by Irrigation Department “How Could Cheques Issued in 2020 Be Mentioned in a 2019 Contract?”: Delhi High Court Grants Injunction in Forged MOA Case, Slams Prima Facie Fabrication Calling Wife by Her Caste Name in Public Just Before Suicide is Immediate Cause of Self-Immolation: Madras High Court Upholds Husband’s Conviction Under Section 306 IPC Sole Testimony of Prosecutrix, If Credible, Is Enough to Convict: Delhi High Court Upholds Rape Conviction Cheque Issued as Security Still Attracts Section 138 NI Act If Liability Exists on Date of Presentation: Himachal Pradesh High Court 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 Auction Purchaser Has No Vested Right Without Sale Confirmation: Calcutta HC Upholds Borrower’s Redemption Right Under Pre-Amendment SARFAESI Law Mere Breach of Promise to Marry Doesn’t Amount to Rape: Delhi High Court Acquits Man in False Rape Case Father Is the Natural Guardian After Mother’s Death, Mere Technicalities Cannot Override Welfare of Child: Orissa High Court Restores Custody to Biological Father Assets of Wife and Father-in-Law Can Be Considered in Disproportionate Assets Case Against Public Servant: Kerala High Court Refuses Discharge

"CRIMINAL LAW" Digest

Bail - Murder – Mens Rea and Use of Safety Shoes as a Weapon – Section 302 IPC – Bail Denied - Petitioner accused of kicking the deceased, Hiralal, with safety shoes during a wedding altercation after a sudden provocation – Petitioner argued that the cause of death was unrelated to the kicks, citing the postmortem report and lack of external injuries – Court held: Kic...

Criminal Conspiracy – Section 120(B)(2) IPC – Arms Seizure – Section 25(1-B)(a) of the Arms Act – Prosecution’s Failure to Prove Recovery Beyond Doubt – Conviction Set Aside – The petitioner was convicted under Section 25(1-B)(a) of the Arms Act and Section 120(B)(2) of IPC for illegal possession of firearms based on evidence of a confessional statement an...

Criminal Law – Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 – Conviction under Section 18 – Appellant convicted for possessing 1.75 kg of opium – Trial Court sentenced him to 10 years rigorous imprisonment and fine – High Court affirmed conviction – Appeal to Supreme Court raising issues of incomplete link evidence and non-examination of independent witn...

Criminal Law – Conspiracy and Corruption – Appellant, a former Director of Mines and Geology in Karnataka, sought discharge from charges of conspiracy and corruption – High Court set aside Magistrate's order granting discharge – Supreme Court examines evidence and legal principles under Section 227 of Cr.P.C. – Held that sufficient material existed to frame charge...

Criminal Law – Murder – Appellants convicted for causing death of Sher Singh by setting him on fire – Trial Court and High Court relied on two dying declarations made by the deceased – Supreme Court examines the reliability and validity of the dying declarations – Conviction upheld [Paras 1-30].   Dying Declarations – Reliability and Evidentiary Value...

Criminal Law – Suspension of Sentence – Appeal against the decision of the Punjab and Haryana High Court upholding the vacation of suspension of sentence due to non-compliance with the condition of deposit – Court finds Additional Sessions Judge acted within jurisdiction in declaring suspension vacated for non-compliance with deposit condition – Upholds mandatory deposit co...

Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) – Section 66 – Sharing of Information – Whether the ED exceeded its jurisdiction under Section 66(2) by sending a questionnaire to customers and compelling them to file complaints – Held, the ED's action of soliciting information was within its powers under the PMLA, and the questionnaire aimed to gather information about the pr...

Preventive Detention – Allegations of Mala Fide Action – The petitioner, a local journalist, was detained under the Jammu & Kashmir Public Safety Act, 1978, based on a dossier alleging his involvement in repeated criminal acts – The petitioner contended that the detention was mala fide, with the authorities portraying him falsely as a habitual offender by selectively referrin...

Criminal Law – POCSO Act – Charge Framing – Petition Allowed – Juvenile Justice – Impact of Juvenility on Prosecution - The petitioner argued that the period of alleged offenses, as per the prosecution, covered his period of juvenility - Annexure A8 (birth certificate) showed his date of birth as 23.09.1996, making him a juvenile until 23.09.2014 - Held: The court dir...

Juvenile Justice – Heinous Offences – Interpretation of 'heinous offences' under Section 2(33) of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 – Offences with maximum sentence more than 7 years but no minimum sentence or minimum sentence less than 7 years do not qualify as 'heinous offences' – Such offences are to be treated as 'serious offences' – Offences ...