Negotiable Instruments Act – Quashing of Complaint Based on Compromise – Petition Allowed – The petitioner sought quashing of a complaint under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, citing a mutual settlement between the parties – Held: Continuation of proceedings after a mutual compromise amounts to abuse of process of law – It was observed that the co...
Criminal Law – Last Seen Theory – Applicability in Circumstantial Evidence – Conviction Upheld – The appellant Surya Kanta Behera @ Katiki was last seen accompanying the deceased on the evening of 12.12.2007 on a motorcycle. Hours later, the appellant returned alone with the deceased’s motorcycle, offering no explanation for the deceased's whereabouts. The proximi...
Criminal Law – Appeal Against Conviction – Acquittal – Appellant convicted for the offence under Section 376(2)(l) IPC and Sections 3, 4, 5(k), and 6 of the POCSO Act by the trial court – Sentenced to 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment – Allegation of sexual assault on a deaf and mute minor girl by the appellant – High Court analyzed the inconsistencies, lacu...
Criminal Law – Rape and Murder of Minor – Conviction – Appeal against Death Sentence – The appellant, aged 61, was convicted by the Special Court for kidnapping, raping, and murdering a 5-year-old girl – Death penalty imposed by the trial court under the POCSO Act, IPC Sections 302 and 376AB, and SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act challenged – High Court modif...
Criminal Law – Abetment of Suicide and Cruelty – Quashing of Complaint – Lack of Specific Instigating Act – Application under Section 482 of CrPC – Petition by Accused No. 4 to quash the complaint in S.C. No. 539/2021, involving charges under Sections 498(A), 306 read with 34 IPC, alleging that petitioner, along with her family, subjected the victim to cruelty which u...
Criminal Law – Passport Renewal – Pending Criminal Case – Permission Granted – Petitioner sought renewal of passport amid trial under Sections 498-A IPC and 3 and 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act – Trial Court dismissed application citing risk of non-return and trial impediment – High Court reversed, allowing renewal upon compliance with terms – Court noted ...
Criminal Law – Joint Recording of Section 313 Statements – Defective Procedure – Vitiation of Trial – Statements under Section 313 Cr.P.C. of co-accused Lakha Singh and Swaran Singh recorded jointly – Held: Such joint recording causes ambiguity and violates the statutory purpose of personal explanation of circumstances – Procedural defect curable by remand, but ...
Rash and Negligent Driving – Conviction under Sections 279 and 304(A) IPC – Upheld - The appellant drove his lorry in a rash and negligent manner, causing the death of the deceased and six cattle – The eye-witness accounts consistently established the appellant’s guilt, and the suggestion that the accident was caused by cattle trampling was rightly rejected – The Supr...
Preventive Detention – Validity of Detention Order – Petition challenging the detention order under Section 3 of the PITNDPS Act on grounds of non-provision of translated documents and non-application of mind – Court held that the petitioner was provided with the detention documents in the language understood by him and explained by the Executing Officer – No merit found in...
Criminal Procedure – Bail in Serious Offences – Impact on Trial – Ordinarily, courts should not grant bail in serious offences like rape after trial commencement unless undue delay occurs – Supreme Court disapproved of the practice of granting bail based on discrepancies in the victim's statement at preliminary stages of trial [Paras 13–15, 20–21].
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