TRAI Issuing Directions To Enforce Regulations Is Not 'Adjudication' Of Dispute, Does Not Usurp TDSAT's Jurisdiction: Supreme Court Candidate Can Challenge Selection Process After Participating If Arbitrariness Is Writ Large Or Rules Changed Mid-Way: Supreme Court Selection Committee Cannot Superimpose Additional Cut-Off Marks Not Prescribed In Rules: Supreme Court Litigants Must Ordinarily Approach High Court First For Quashing FIRs, Article 32 Is For Exceptional Circumstances: Supreme Court Supreme Court Refuses To Club Multiple FIRs In Cyber Fraud Case, Says Similar Modus Operandi Does Not Constitute 'Same Transaction' Layman Borrowers Not Liable For Forgery If Even Bank's Legal Experts Failed To Detect Fabrication In Title Deeds: Allahabad High Court Kerala High Court Orders Travancore Devaswom Board To Digitise Sabarimala Asset Inventory, Says Current Records Resemble 'Betel Shop' Ledger Second Husband In Void Marriage Cannot Be Prosecuted For Dowry Death Under Section 80 BNS: Allahabad High Court Cohabitation Of Barely 3 Months Insufficient To Trigger Presumption Of Live-In Relationship For Maintenance: Bombay High Court SC/ST Act Case Filed By Suspended Head Constable To 'Wreck Vengeance' Against Investigating Officers Quashed: Andhra Pradesh High Court Non-Compliance With Order For Production Of Documents Under O.11 R.14 CPC Cannot Warrant Striking Off Defence: Calcutta High Court Omission To Put Dying Declaration To Accused Under Section 313 CrPC Makes It Inadmissible, But Doesn't Demolish Entire Prosecution Case: Delhi High Court Victim's Appeal Against Magistrate's Acquittal Order Lies Before Sessions Court Under Section 413 BNSS: Gujarat High Court 'Fraud And Justice Cannot Dwell Together': Karnataka High Court Quashes 30-Year-Old Land Acquisition After Records Of Compensation Go Missing Electricity Authorities Cannot Determine Civil Liability For Energy Theft Under Section 135; Only Special Court Empowered: Madhya Pradesh High Court State Cannot Exploit Employees By Keeping Them On Part-Time Basis For Decades To Deny Old Pension Scheme: Punjab & Haryana HC

"CRIMINAL LAW" Digest

Bail – Anticipatory Bail in Forest Offenses – Applicability of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 – The petitioner, accused of involvement in illegal felling of sandalwood trees, sought anticipatory bail – The prosecution argued that custodial interrogation was essential for recovery and further investigation – Held: Bail is the rule, and jail is the exception u...

Murder – Conviction under Section 302 read with Section 34 IPC – Multiple accused – Common intention established – The accused persons were convicted for the murder of Srihari Mondal based on the testimony of six eyewitnesses (PW 4, PW 5, PW 6, PW 9, PW 10, and PW 12) – The appellants argued that the witnesses were related to the deceased and no independent witness wa...

Criminal Law – Quashing - Insecticides Act – Retail Sellers Not Liable for Manufacturer’s Defects – Proceedings Quashed – The petitioners, who were retail sellers, stocked insecticides manufactured by a third-party company – The prosecution failed to establish that the petitioners had knowledge of the substandard quality or control over the manufacturing process...

Negotiable Instruments Act – Dishonor of Cheques – Rebuttal of Presumption – Sections 118(a) & 139 NI Act – Accused Successfully Discharged Burden – Petitioner Failed to Prove Legally Enforceable Debt – Held: The respondent rebutted the presumption under Sections 118(a) & 139 of the NI Act by establishing that the cheques in question were not issued for ...

Criminal Law - Criminal Proceedings – Quashing of Summoning Order – Section 482 CrPC – Lack of Sanction for Prosecution – The appellant, a government officer, was accused of wrongful representation and intimidation in a workplace sexual harassment case – She was neither named in the initial FIR nor part of the original complaint – Sanction for prosecution was so...

Criminal Law - Criminal Conspiracy – Banking Fraud – Telegraphic Transfer Scam – Sections 120B, 403, 409, 420 IPC – Acquittal of Bank Officials – Conviction of Accused No. 3 Set Aside – The case involved fraudulent remittance of Rs. 6.7 crores through fake TTs and subsequent withdrawals – Accused No. 1 (Branch Manager) and Accused No. 2 (Officer) were init...

POCSO Act - Sexual Assault And Rape – Reliability of Victim’s Testimony – Conviction Upheld – The victim’s testimony was found credible, consistent, and supported by medical and circumstantial evidence – The victim confided in her teacher, leading to a police investigation – The court observed that minor inconsistencies do not undermine the core truth of t...

Criminal Law – Robbery and Murder – Sections 394, 397 IPC – Conviction and sentence upheld – The appellant was convicted for armed robbery and murder along with co-accused – The prosecution relied on the testimony of three eyewitnesses, including an injured witness – The defense argued that the witnesses were interested parties and that the investigation was def...

Anticipatory Bail – Grant of Bail for Non-Bailable Offenses – Violation of Supreme Court Precedent – Bail Upheld – The petitioner challenged the order granting anticipatory bail to respondent no. 2 despite bailable warrants being issued against him – Contended that the order violated the Supreme Court's ruling in Srikant Upadhyay v. State of Bihar, 2024 (3) SCR 42...

Jurisdiction of Sessions Court – Power to Order Re-Investigation – Distinction between Further Investigation and Re-Investigation – The petitioner-hospital challenged the order passed by the Additional District & Sessions Judge-II/Special Judge (SC/ST Act), Gautam Buddha Nagar, directing re-investigation into its role while granting anticipatory bail to an accused doctor &nda...