Criminal Law – Section 498A IPC – Applicability to Void Marriages and Live-In Relationships – Petitioner contended that Respondent No. 2 could not claim protection under Section 498A as the marriage was void owing to his subsisting marriage with another woman – Held: Section 498A covers not only legally valid marriages but also void or voidable marriages and relationships i...
Criminal Law – Rape of Minor – Sentence Modification – Appellant convicted under Section 376(3) IPC and Section 6 POCSO Act for sexual assault on a minor girl aged 15–16 years – Sentenced to life imprisonment till natural death by Trial Court – Conviction upheld by High Court – Supreme Court, while upholding conviction, modified sentence to 25 years of act...
Criminal Law - Anticipatory Bail – Maintainability Before High Court – Concurrent jurisdiction of Sessions Court and High Court – Applicant directly approached High Court without first applying before Sessions Court – Applicant not residing within jurisdiction of Sessions Court where FIR lodged – Held: Petition maintainable under Clause 26(B) of Full Bench decision in...
Muslim Law – Remarriage with Divorced Husband – Halala – Respondent claimed to have remarried petitioner after prior divorce – Evidence revealed existence of intervening marriage with another man, but no proof of its dissolution was provided – Under Muslim law, remarriage with divorced husband is void unless intervening marriage is consummated and lawfully dissolved (...
Juvenile Justice – Habeas Corpus – Illegal Detention – Petitioner No. 1, arrested for murder under Section 302 IPC, was in judicial custody since 2017 – During trial in 2024, he raised a claim of juvenility and produced a scholar register showing his date of birth as 13.12.2002 – The trial court failed to determine his age as required under Section 9(2) of JJ Act and ...
Criminal Law – Quashing of Proceedings – Protection under Section 197 CrPC – Custodial Violence Alleged – Petitioner, a Sub-Inspector, sought quashing of complaint citing absence of prior sanction under Section 197 CrPC – Complaint alleged illegal detention, physical assault, custodial abuse, and humiliation of complainant and her brother by police inside the police s...
Criminal Law – Rape – Age of Victim Not Proven – Acquittal – Prosecution failed to establish that the victim was a “child” as defined under Section 2(d) of the POCSO Act – Birth certificate (Exhibit P8) obtained on court order shortly before complaint, with no production of the court order or supporting documents under Section 13(3) of the Registration of ...
Criminal Law – Sentence Reduction – Compromise – Appellants convicted under Section 326 IPC and Section 3(1) of the TNPPDL Act for assault and property damage – Sentenced to five years and two years respectively (to run concurrently) – High Court affirmed conviction and sentence – In appeal before Supreme Court, compromise entered between parties – Appella...
Injunction – Matrimonial Dispute – Void Marriage – Appellate court reversed trial court order and granted temporary injunction restraining petitioner from representing herself as respondent’s wife – Marriage between petitioner and respondent held void under Section 11 read with Section 5(i) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 as respondent’s first marriage was subsi...
Criminal Law – Murder Trial – Benefit of Doubt – Appellants convicted for murder based on statements of informant (PW-3) and deceased’s sisters (PW-1 and PW-2) alleging oral dying declaration – First information report dated 12 May 1990 (Fardbeyan) did not name the accused – Informant later filed embellished report naming appellants due to previous enmity over l...