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 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

"CRIMINAL LAW" Digest

Criminal Law – Negotiable Instruments Act – Vicarious Liability under Section 141 – Criminal Appeal against summoning orders issued under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act without referring to Section 141 – Petitioners argued they were neither signatories of the cheques nor responsible for the company’s daily affairs – Court quashes the summoning ord...

Criminal Law – Summoning of Witness – Petition under Section 311 Cr.P.C. – Criminal Appeal against the trial court's order dismissing the application to summon an eyewitness – Petitioner argues essential evidence was not adduced due to inadvertence – Supreme Court principles emphasize the need for Courts to permit correction of such oversights to administer justic...

Additional Evidence – Judicial Discretion – Criminal Appeal – Held: The Appellate Court’s discretion under Section 391 Cr.P.C. to allow additional evidence is limited to cases where such evidence is essential for a just decision. The petitioner’s failure to produce evidence earlier due to negligence does not justify reopening the case to fill gaps. The dismissal of th...

Criminal Law – Conjoint Hearing of Applications and Main Appeal – Criminal writ petition against the order of the Additional Sessions Judge, Mansa directing conjoint hearing of applications under Sections 311, 310, and 319 Cr.P.C. along with the main appeal – Petitioner contends that adverse decisions on applications would merge with the decision on the main appeal, preventing ef...

Criminal Law – Withdrawal of Surety – Sections 148, 149, 212, 308, 323, 325, 506 IPC – Sections 482 and 444 Cr.P.C. – Petitioner's application for withdrawal of surety bond furnished in favor of the accused Pankaj – Lower court's failure to consider Section 444 Cr.P.C. provisions – Held: Application for withdrawal of surety bond must be reconsidered by t...

Criminal Law – Regular Bail – Section 306 IPC – Abetment to Suicide – Petitioner's alleged involvement in abetment based on a suicide note – Suicide note lacks specific instances implicating petitioner – No prior complaints by deceased or complainant against petitioner – Held: Grant of regular bail justified considering lack of direct evidence and prol...

Criminal Law – Regular Bail – NDPS Act – Petitioner's involvement in conspiracy alleged under Sections 20 and 29 NDPS Act – No recovery directly from petitioner – Petitioner not apprehended at scene, nor owner of implicated vehicle – Held: Grant of regular bail justified considering prolonged custody and arguable points on merits – Petitioner entitled ...

Criminal Law – DNA Sampling – Section 53-A CrPC – Petition challenging the trial court's order for the petitioner to provide a blood sample for DNA analysis was dismissed. The court upheld the order, referencing Section 53-A CrPC, which mandates DNA testing in rape cases to establish the connection of the accused with the crime. The petitioner’s claim of self-incriminat...

Criminal Law – Dishonour of Cheque – Deposit of Compensation – Petition against orders directing deposit of 20% of compensation awarded by the trial court under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act. The court held that, as per the judgment in Surinder Singh Deswal v. Virender Gandhi, the word "may" in Section 148 of the Act should generally be construed as &quo...

Criminal Law – Cheating – Section 420 IPC – The court, referring to the principle laid down in Damodar S. Prabhu v. Sayed Babalal (AIR 2010 SC 1097), held that it has the power to set aside a judgment of conviction on the basis of a valid compromise. Held that the judgment of conviction and sentence against the petitioner was set aside on the basis of a genuine and valid compromi...