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

"CRIMINAL LAW" Digest

Negotiable Instruments Act – Dishonour of Cheque – Appellant/complainant alleged issuance of cheque for payment of goods supplied – Cheque dishonoured due to insufficient funds – Trial court convicted accused – Sessions court acquitted accused, citing lack of reliable evidence and procedural lapses – High Court upheld acquittal [Paras 1-16].   Section...

NDPS Act – Section 67 Statements – Admissibility – The applicant’s role was primarily established through statements recorded under Section 67 of the NDPS Act – Following Toofan Singh v. State of Tamil Nadu, such statements are inadmissible as confessions under the Evidence Act – Held: Section 67 statements cannot sustain a prima facie case for continued detenti...

  Criminal Law – Rape and Murder – Conviction and Acquittal – Appellant convicted of raping and murdering a ten-year-old girl and concealing her body under haystack at a tubewell cabin – Trial Court imposed the death penalty, which was commuted to life imprisonment by the High Court – Supreme Court finds deficiencies in evidence and procedural lapses, includin...

Criminal Law - Electricity Theft – Prima Facie Evidence and Proceedings – Revision Against Charge-Sheet – The petitioner challenged the proceedings under Section 135(1)(a) of the Electricity Act, claiming that he was a legitimate consumer of the West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd., paying regular bills, and that no submersible pump or unauthorized connections ...

Defamation – Issuance of Summons – Petition challenging the order of the Judicial Magistrate First Class-III, Mandi, H.P., issuing summons to the petitioners in a defamation case filed by the complainant – The complaint alleged defamatory publications in newspapers with mala fide intention to defame the complainant – Trial court issued summons without properly considering t...

Criminal Law - Quashment of FIR - Prevention of Corruption Act – Grant of Building Permissions – The petitioners, including municipal officers and a company director, were accused of granting and benefiting from building permissions in contravention of municipal laws – The charge sheet alleged that permission for a commercial-cum-residential building was granted improperly, bypas...

SARFAESI Act – Jurisdiction of Consumer Forum – Interim order by District Consumer Redressal Commission under Consumer Protection Act, 2019 challenged – Consumer forum lacks jurisdiction over actions under SARFAESI Act – Overriding provisions of SARFAESI Act emphasized – Consumer Commission’s interim stay on auction quashed [Paras 14-16, 22, 28].   Co...

Criminal Law – Bail in Murder Case – No Direct Involvement or Presence at Crime Scene – Petitioner sought bail, claiming no involvement in the murder of the victim and that she was implicated due to her relation with the main accused, Rahul Rai, her brother – Court noted that the petitioner neither participated in the crime nor was present at the scene, and her implication ...

Medical Termination of Pregnancy – Petition for Termination Beyond 24 Weeks – Petitioner, a rape survivor, seeks termination of 25+ weeks pregnancy – Medical Board denied termination citing risks and possibility of live birth – Court considers autonomy, health risks, and viability of the fetus – Directions for re-examination by PGIMER – Conditions imposed if ter...

Motor Accident Claims – Contributory Negligence – Compensation – The insurance company contested the award of compensation to the claimants on the grounds of contributory negligence by the driver of the deceased’s vehicle – The Court held that the insurance company failed to provide sufficient evidence to substantiate the claim of contributory negligence – Affir...