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

Criminal Contempt – Unruly Behavior by Advocates – Members of the Kottayam Bar Association were found guilty of criminal contempt for disrupting court proceedings, shouting slogans, and hurling abusive remarks at the Chief Judicial Magistrate in Kottayam. The court emphasized the seriousness of such behavior, which interfered with the administration of justice and tended to lower the a...

Bail – Economic Offences – Prolonged Incarceration Without Trial – Right to Speedy Trial Under Section 437(6) CrPC – The appellant was accused in a cryptocurrency scam and in custody since December 2023 – The prosecution intended to examine 189 witnesses, significantly delaying trial completion – Held: Even in economic offences, prolonged incarceration without s...

Criminal Law – Circumstantial Evidence – Standard of Proof – The case was based entirely on circumstantial evidence, requiring a complete chain of evidence pointing exclusively to the guilt of the accused – The Court held that the chain was incomplete, as there was a time gap of nearly 9-10 hours between the accused being last seen with the deceased and the discovery of the...

Criminal Contempt Proceedings – Quashing - Jurisdiction and Scope – Appellate Court’s Intervention – Appeal under Section 19 of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 allowed – Contempt proceedings initiated and costs imposed without affording adequate opportunity to explain compliance with the Court’s order – Held: Contempt jurisdiction must be exercised sparin...

Family Law – Maintenance under Section 125 Cr.P.C. – No Proof of Husband’s Higher Income – The Family Court assessed the petitioner’s income as Rs. 20,000/- per month based on the Minimum Wages Act in the absence of any concrete evidence of actual earnings – The High Court modified this, holding that since the petitioner was only 10th class pass and not proven t...

Preventive Detention – Delay in Proposal Does Not Vitiate Detention – The petitioner argued that there was a long delay between the last alleged offence (11/08/2024) and the issuance of the detention order (25/10/2024), breaking the live link between the alleged acts and detention – The Court rejected this argument, holding that since the detenu was in custody during this period ...

Criminal Law – Remission of Sentence – Power of Government – Interpretation of Section 432 CrPC and Section 473 BNSS – The Supreme Court analyzed the power of the government to remit the sentence of convicts under Section 432 of the CrPC and Section 473 of the BNSS – Held: These provisions empower the appropriate government to remit the whole or part of a sentence, wi...

Criminal Law – Quashing - Criminal Defamation – Liability of Editorial Directors – Absence of Specific Allegations – Proceedings Quashed – The appellant, an editorial director of the newspaper company, was implicated for defamation without specific allegations establishing his role in the publication of the alleged defamatory articles – Held: Liability under Sec...

Criminal Law – Writ of Mandamus – Petition under Article 226/227 of the Constitution – Petitioner, a voter from the Samalkha constituency, sought the issuance of a writ of mandamus for the arrest of respondent No. 5 (Dharam Singh Chhoker), a member of the Haryana Legislative Assembly and candidate, citing multiple FIRs and non-bailable warrants issued against him – High Cou...

Criminal Procedure - Revision against dismissal of complaint - Section 397 of Cr.P.C. - Complaint under Section 125-A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, and Sections 177, 193, 420, 467, 468, 471 of IPC dismissed at the preliminary stage under Section 203 of Cr.P.C. by Judicial Magistrate. Petitioner alleged respondent provided false information about educational qualifications in affid...