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 Writ - Habeas Corpus - Preventive Detention – Right to Representation – Failure to Inform – Violation of Article 22(5) – Context of detention order passed by District Magistrate under NSA – Held: Article 22(5) of the Constitution confers two distinct rights: the right to be informed of the grounds of detention and the right to be afforded the earliest opportu...
Criminal Law – NDPS Act – Bail – Commercial Quantity – Section 37 – Applicant found with 460 grams of MD (Commercial Quantity) – Held: The rigors of Section 37 apply. The Court must be satisfied that there are reasonable grounds to believe the accused is not guilty. Given the recovery and circumstances, such satisfaction cannot be recorded. [Paras 12-14]
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Criminal Law – Appeal against Acquittal – Appreciation of Evidence – Prosecution alleged accused abused complainant by caste and assaulted him – Held: There were material contradictions in the testimonies of the complainant and eye-witnesses regarding the presence of accused and the weapon used. The FIR did not name the first accused. Prosecution failed to prove the case be...
Criminal Law – Section 406 IPC – Stridhan – Effect of Divorce by Mutual Consent – Complainant filed case for recovery of Stridhan after divorce – Held: Once the marriage is dissolved by a decree of divorce by mutual consent based on a settlement, and no liberty is reserved to continue criminal proceedings, the wife is estopped from continuing proceedings against the h...
Murder – Section 302 IPC – Circumstantial Evidence – Reliability of Witnesses – Trial Court convicted appellant for running over deceased with pick-up van due to enmity from alleged illicit relationship attempt – On appeal, Court found PW-1 (complainant) and PW-7 (widow of deceased) not eyewitnesses; both gave contradictory versions about source of information (...
Criminal Law – Quashing of FIR – Blanket Protection from Arrest – High Court, while refusing to quash FIR under Article 226, granted protection from arrest till filing of charge sheet – Held: Self-contradictory and impermissible – Once FIR is not quashed, High Court cannot mechanically grant anticipatory-bail-like protection in writ jurisdiction – Such direction...
Criminal Law – Summoning Additional Accused – Section 319 CrPC – Strong and Cogent Evidence – Courts below erred in refusing to summon husband’s relatives despite clear inculpatory evidence – PW-1’s deposition attributing harassment, sex-determination pressure and instigation, PW-2’s detailed eyewitness account, and deceased’s own statements cu...
Criminal Law – Murder – Acquittal – Appeal against conviction under Section 302/34 IPC – Surviving appellant Onkar Singh convicted for fatal assault with spear during alleged house invasion incident – Trial Court found motive in Gram Pradhan election enmity – High Court re-examined evidence and found prosecution version riddled with improbabilities and suppresse...
Criminal Law – Rape under Section 376 IPC – POCSO – Leave to Appeal Against Acquittal – Refusal – Child Witness – Material Contradictions – Tutoring Not Ruled Out – Matrimonial Discord Between Parents – Possibility of False Implication – Trial Court’s View Reasonable – Double Presumption of Innocence – No Interference Wa...