Regular Bail - NDPS Act - Compliance with Section 50 – Procedural Violation Alleged – Petitioner alleged that search of vehicle and subsequent dissent memo were recorded in violation of Section 50, NDPS Act and Apex Court guidelines – Search was conducted before informing accused of his rights – Held: Prima facie violation noted but court refrains from making conclusi...
Criminal Trial – Conviction under Section 302 IPC – Violation of Section 313 CrPC – Conviction Modified - Appellant convicted under Section 302 IPC without being confronted with incriminating evidence relatable to Section 302 charge – Statement under Section 313 CrPC confined only to dowry death allegations under Section 304-B IPC – Held: Serious prejudice caused to a...
Criminal Complaint – Allegation of Theft – Contradiction by Subsequent Conduct – Complaint Quashed – The complainants alleged that the first appellant (wife) stole ornaments and valuables from her matrimonial home; however, the third respondent (husband) had filed a petition under Section 9 of the Hindu Marriage Act for restitution of conjugal rights after the alleged theft...
Criminal Law – Challenge Registration of FIR - Section 156(3) CrPC – Mandatory Compliance with Section 154(1) and (3) CrPC – Non-Compliance Found – The complainant did not exhaust remedies under Section 154(1) and (3) before invoking Section 156(3) – The requirement of prior applications and averments was not satisfied – Application under Section 156(3) not main...
Criminal Law – Copyright Infringement – Expert Report – Appellant alleged that respondents copied the design of its bookbinding machine, leading to registration of FIR under Copyright Act, IPC, and IT Act – High Court initially ordered expert opinion by FSL with involvement of an engineer – FSL and IO submitted a report dated 21.03.2019 – Respondents dissatisfie...
Criminal Law – Appeal against conviction - Delay in Lodging FIR – Unexplained Delay – Benefit of Doubt - There was unexplained delay between the time of the incident and the lodging of the FIR by the complainant, despite police presence at the scene – The Court held that the delayed filing cast doubt on the veracity of the prosecution case [Paras 12-13, 18]. Contradictio...
Criminal Law – Conviction under Section 302 IPC Modified to 304 Part II IPC – Sentence Reduced – Appellant Jage Ram, aged 77 at the time of the incident, was convicted for causing a fatal lathi blow on the head of the deceased—High Court held: The occurrence was sudden, and the appellant used a lathi, a non-lethal weapon—Considering his advanced age and absence of rep...
Criminal Law – Challenge Summoning under Section 319 CrPC – Duty to Consider Entire Evidence – Supplementary Report Ignored – Trial Court erred in not considering supplementary investigation report which exonerated the appellant and her father-in-law – Material collected post-application under Section 319 CrPC cannot be overlooked – Trial Court and High Court fa...
Criminal Law - Quashing of FIR – Preliminary Stage of Investigation – Permissibility of High Court Interference – High Court declined to quash FIR observing that investigation was at infancy stage and liberty was granted to produce documents before the investigating agency – Held: Such approach is unheard of and mechanical – Court is duty-bound to examine the plea for...
Criminal Law – Attempt to Commit Rape – Prima Facie Case Not Made Out – Summoning Order Modified – The revisionists were summoned for attempt to commit rape (Section 376 read with Section 18 of POCSO Act) based on allegations that they grabbed the victim’s breasts, broke the string of her lower garment, and attempted to drag her beneath a culvert – The Court hel...
