Motor Accident Compensation – Enhancement – Quantum of Compensation – Appeal against award granting Rs.1,73,100/- for death of deceased aged 50 years – Claimants sought enhancement on ground of incorrect assessment of income and non-application of settled principles – Held: Award liable to be modified applying correct minimum wages, future prospects, multiplier and co...
Criminal Law – Murder – Conviction – Affirmation – Deceased widow set ablaze for resisting sexual advances – Medical evidence proved homicidal death due to 60% burns – Hostile witnesses not fatal – Presence of accused and flight from scene proved through corroborative testimony – Dying declarations recorded by police officer and Magistrate found reli...
Criminal Law – Rape and Murder – Acquittal – Appellant convicted under Sections 376 and 302 IPC for allegedly raping and murdering a 13-year-old girl in a secluded area – Trial Court relied on extrajudicial confessions made before a co-villager (P.W.3) and a doctor (P.W.11) and on the appellant’s suspicious conduct at the crime scene – High Court finds that neit...
Criminal Law – Road Accident – Identification of Vehicle – Conviction under MV Act Partly Restored – Trial Court acquitted the accused for want of clarity on vehicle identification and ownership – Appellate Court reversed the acquittal under Sections 134(a) & (b) r/w 187 of MV Act based on corroborative circumstantial evidence including repair records, expert opin...
POCSO Act – Rape of Minor – Stepfather – Life Imprisonment – Accused repeatedly raped his 13-year-old stepdaughter after threatening her and her mother with a knife – Incident occurred early morning on 02.04.2018 – Victim lodged prompt FIR, examined as PW3 – Medical evidence revealed fresh hymenal tear and knife wounds – Held: Testimony of PW3 consis...
Rent Control – Eviction for Non-Payment – Deposit of Arrears – Procedural Compliance Mandatory – Tenant’s application to deposit arrears after eviction order under third proviso to Section 14(2)(i) of H.P. Urban Rent Control Act was rejected – Court held “amount due” includes arrears of rent, interest, and costs – Deposit must be made within 30...
Criminal Law – Murder Conviction – Bail – Suspension of Sentence – High Court granted bail to co-accused (father and son) convicted under Section 302 read with Section 149 IPC citing delay in FIR submission and absence of original inquest report – Supreme Court held such grounds irrelevant and unsustainable – Convicts were armed and actively participated in a pr...
Criminal Law – Murder – Conviction set aside – Prosecution case resting mainly on testimony of related eyewitness (mother of deceased) suffering from material contradictions – Non-examination of material witness (granddaughter who allegedly informed informant) – Independent witnesses turned hostile – Medical evidence not conclusively corroborating ocular version...
Criminal Law – Sections 279, 338, 304A IPC - Motor Vehicle Accident – Acquittal – State appealed against the acquittal of respondent who was accused of causing death of two persons and injury to another due to rash and negligent driving – Prosecution alleged that respondent was driving an uninsured motorcycle that first collided with the injured’s motorcycle and...
Criminal Law – Revision – Interlocutory vs Intermediate Orders – Petitioner sought direction for registration of FIR alleging conspiracy and murder of son – Magistrate rejected application under Section 156(3) CrPC holding that court itself could inquire into complaint – Revisional Court dismissed revision on ground that order was interlocutory – Held: Order rej...