Wife Is Absolute Owner Of Streedhan, Taking It Away Does Not Attract Criminal Breach Of Trust Under Section 406 IPC: Allahabad High Court Government Need Not Adjudicate If Employee Is 'Workman' Before Referring Dispute To Labour Court: Gujarat High Court Bidder Cannot Be Disqualified For Submitting Certificate From Unspecified Agency If Tender Document Is Silent: Delhi High Court Driver Clicking Selfies With Licensed Firearm Doesn't Make Owner Liable Under Arms Act: Punjab & Haryana High Court Quashes FIR High Court Imposes Blanket Ban On Tree Felling In Haryana, Cites Impending Ecological Catastrophe Due To Dismal Forest Cover No Fresh Summons Needed For Legal Heirs If Suit Was Already Proceeding Ex-Parte Against Deceased Defendant: Allahabad High Court Serving Judicial Officer's Anticipatory Bail Denied in Theft From Deceased Judge's Home: "No Person, Whatever His Rank, Is Above Law" Missing Murder Weapon Not Fatal When Eyewitnesses Are Reliable - Brother Stabs Brother: Tripura High Court Advocate and Cop Conspired to Frame Innocent Witness in Fake Gang Rape Case: Delhi High Court Upholds Conviction, Calls It "Clear Abuse of Process of Law" Direction To 'Act In Accordance With Law' Does Not Determine Substantive Rights, Non-Impleadment Not A Ground For Review: Chhattisgarh High Court State Cannot Grab Citizen's Land For Road Construction Pleading Delay And Laches: Himachal Pradesh High Court "Bail Is Rule, Jail Is Exception" Principle Does Not Apply Post-Conviction: Jharkhand High Court Failure To Furnish Written Grounds Of Arrest Renders Arrest Illegal, Entitles Accused To Bail In NDPS Case: Supreme Court Medical Certificate On Reverse Side Of Dying Declaration Does Not Affect Its Sanctity: Supreme Court Supreme Court Directs All State Capitals To Conduct Inquiry Into Misuse Of Residential Areas For Commercial Purposes Tolls Collected By NHAI On National Highways Fall Exclusively Under Union List: Supreme Court Family Courts Lack Jurisdiction To Transfer Cases Inter-Se Under Section 24 CPC: Rajasthan High Court 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 Chief Minister's Press Conference Assurance Not Legally Enforceable Without Formal Executive Order: Delhi High Court Irretrievable Breakdown Of Marriage Amounts To Cruelty, Court Cannot Grant Permanent Alimony Suo Motu: Calcutta High Court Minor Contradictions In Wife's Evidence Are Usual In Cruelty Cases, Do Not Vitiate Prosecution Under Section 498A: Kerala High Court

"CRIMINAL LAW" Digest

Criminal Law – Conviction for Murder – Acquittal – Appellants convicted under Section 302/34 IPC for the murder of Hari @ Bhaggu – Trial court sentenced them to life imprisonment – Prosecution based its case on circumstantial evidence alleging that the appellants administered poison to the deceased and staged a suicide – Key witnesses (P.W. 1, P.W. 2, P.W. 7) we...

Criminal Law - Juvenile Justice – Bail Application – Expedited Consideration Sought – Interim Measures Permissible - The petitioner, a juvenile, sought a direction to the Juvenile Justice Board to decide his bail application on the same day of surrender – Held: A juvenile should not be unnecessarily detained in an observation home pending a bail decision – As per Sect...

Matrimonial Law - Enhancement of maintenance - Exercise of Inherent Powers – Section 482 CrPC – Scope and Application - The High Court dismissed the appellant's petition under Section 482 CrPC for enhancement of interim maintenance, citing the availability of an alternative remedy under Section 397 CrPC. The Supreme Court reiterated that the nomenclature of a petition is immaterial...

Criminal Procedure – Anticipatory Bail – Section 438 Cr.P.C. – Application for Anticipatory Bail Post-Cancellation of Bail – Maintainability Challenged – The petitioner sought anticipatory bail after the addition of a graver offence (Section 376 I.P.C.) during investigation. The State challenged the maintainability of the petition, arguing that the petitioner should h...

  Criminal Law - Murder – Section 302 IPC – Circumstantial Evidence – Conviction Reversed – Prosecution alleged the appellants murdered the deceased, Hamida Parween, to usurp property – Trial Court and High Court convicted based on circumstantial evidence, including motive and last seen theory – Supreme Court held: Chain of incriminating circumstances no...

Criminal Procedure – Restoration of Complaint – Petitioners challenged restoration of complaint dismissed for non-appearance of the respondent – High Court ruled that once a complaint is dismissed for non-prosecution, the trial court becomes functus officio and cannot restore the complaint – No provision in Cr.P.C. allows such restoration – Reference made to Supreme C...

Criminal Procedure – Discharge Application – Prima Facie Case Established – Rejection Upheld – The petitioner, an advocate, sought discharge in a case involving forgery, conspiracy, and transfer of government land based on disputed mutation entries. Both the Magistrate and Sessions Judge rejected the discharge application, citing prima facie evidence of the petitioner&rsquo...

Conviction Based on Dying Declaration – Omnibus Accusations – Reversal of Conviction – The trial court convicted accused Nos. 1 and 2 under Section 302 IPC based on the sole reliance on the dying declaration of the deceased. The dying declaration (Ex.P8) attributed a vague and omnibus accusation to both the accused for pouring kerosene and setting the deceased on fire – Hel...

Territorial Jurisdiction – Application under Section 482 Cr.P.C. – Cause of Action Partially Arising in Lucknow – Application Dismissed – The applicant challenged the cognizance order and chargesheet on the grounds that no part of the cause of action arose in Lucknow, where the case was filed – Held: Part cause of action arose within the territorial jurisdiction of Lu...

Bail Application – Opportunity to Present Case – Violation of Section 45 PMLA – Directorate of Enforcement (ED) contended that they were not given a proper opportunity to oppose the bail application – Vacation Judge denied oral prayer for stay of bail – Failure to fulfill mandatory twin conditions of Section 45 PMLA [Para 2(i), 5].  Vicarious Liability –...