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

Criminal Law – Corruption – Sections 120-B, 420 IPC and Section 13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act – Allegations of conspiracy and wrongful loss – Held, the prosecution alleged that the applicants conspired to manipulate tender procedures and awarded contracts for substandard Digital Display Boards for the SAFAR project, causing a loss of ₹2.50 crores to IITM. However...

Criminal Law – Additional Evidence at Revision Stage – Section 401 CrPC – Whether additional evidence can be admitted at the revision stage – Held, the High Court can permit additional evidence even during revision if it is relevant and necessary to prevent miscarriage of justice. Documents proving illegal detention of the petitioner were allowed as additional evidence &nda...

Criminal Law – Rape – Acquittal Appeal – Application for leave to appeal against acquittal – Delay in filing condoned – Facts involve alleged rape of a 13-year-old girl by the respondent – Prosecutrix’s testimony graphic but lacked corroboration from medical evidence – MLC recorded as assault, not sexual assault – Benefit of doubt granted to ac...

Criminal Law – Maintenance – Section 125 CrPC – Enhancement of Maintenance – Whether the monthly maintenance of ₹5000 awarded under Section 125 CrPC should be enhanced – Held, the Court considered the financial status of both parties, inflation rates, and the prevailing standard of living, ruling that the ₹5000 awarded by the Family Court was insufficient – ...

Criminal Law – Preventive Detention – COFEPOSA Act – Detention order quashed due to procedural violations – The appellant, wife of the detenu (Shaji A.K.), challenged the preventive detention of her husband under COFEPOSA for allegedly engaging in illegal foreign exchange transactions – Detention based on statements, WhatsApp chats, and documents linking the detenu to...

Criminal Law – Overstaying by foreign nationals – Conviction under Foreigners Act and Passports Act challenged – Petitioners, foreign nationals from Kenya and Senegal, entered India on valid visas but overstayed beyond the permitted period – Prosecution alleged offenses under Sections 14(a), 14A of the Foreigners Act, 1946, and Sections 12(1)(C), 12(1A) of the Passports Act...

Criminal Law – Change of Investigative Agency – Sections 452, 376, 313, 506, 323, 427 IPC – Whether a court can direct a change of the investigating agency upon the request of the accused – Held, the accused cannot choose or demand a change in the investigating agency unless clear evidence of bias or partiality is demonstrated – [Paras 12-16]. Writ of Mandamus &nda...

Rape and Criminal Intimidation – Conviction of Grandson for Raping Grandmother – Appellant challenged conviction for rape and criminal intimidation – Prosecution provided consistent evidence from the victim and corroboration from her daughter and neighbors – Appellant’s history of substance abuse considered – Delay in filing FIR deemed justified due to familial ...

Criminal Law – Acquittal in Rape Case – Contradictions in Prosecution's Case – Appeal against Acquittal under Sections 376, 506 IPC and Sections 4, 12 of POCSO Act dismissed by the High Court – The appellant, a minor victim, and her father challenged the acquittal of the accused (respondent no. 2) by the Trial Court in a case alleging rape and criminal intimidation &nda...

Drugs and Cosmetics Act – Quashing of Criminal Proceedings due to Delay in Drug Analysis Report – Violation of Statutory Rights – Right to Challenge the Government Analyst’s Report Nullified Due to Delay – Petitioners challenged the prosecution initiated under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, alleging that the delay of more than 20 months in testing the drug sample depriv...