NDPS Act – Bail – Commercial Quantity – Section 37 NDPS Act – High Court granted bail without recording mandatory satisfaction under Section 37 – Allegation involved concealment of 731.075 kg of ganja ingeniously hidden in a lorry owned and driven by accused – Supreme Court held that such bail violates settled law requiring strict compliance with Section 37 &nda...
Criminal Law – Quashing of Complaint – Vicarious Liability – Directors – Petitioners sought quashing of complaint filed in 1994 under IPC and Excise Act citing lack of specific allegations – Court held that in absence of averments indicating personal role or statutory vicarious liability, criminal prosecution against directors (Petitioners 3 to 9) is not sustainable &...
NDPS Act – Possession of Heroin – Sentence Reduced – Appellant found in conscious possession of 35 grams heroin and convicted under Section 21 NDPS Act – Trial Court sentenced him to 08 months' RI and ₹20,000 fine – Appeal filed only on sentence – Held: Though appellant is involved in other NDPS cases, he has already undergone 01 month 19 days in custody, ...
Criminal Law – Quashing of FIR – General and Omnibus Allegations: The Supreme Court held that in the absence of any specific role attributed to the accused-appellants, it would be unjust to subject them to trial. General and omnibus allegations without specificity do not warrant prosecution. The FIR was quashed, and the appeal allowed.
Misuse of Section 498A IPC – Matrimonial ...
Quashing of FIR and Criminal Proceedings – Petition filed under Section 482 of Cr.P.C. for quashing FIR lodged at Crime No.999 of 2018 under Sections 498A, 323, 506, 34, 325, and 313 of IPC after mutual divorce settlement – Involves matrimonial dispute between petitioners and respondent no. 2, leading to various legal proceedings and eventual mutual divorce [Paras 2, 4-5].
Matrimoni...
Criminal Law – UAPA – Regular Bail – Section 43-D(5) – Prolonged Custody – Appellant in custody for over 2 years and 10 months without trial due to pendency of sanction under Section 45 of the UAPA – No evidence linking weapons recovered from appellant to terrorist activity or declared terrorists – Held: Long incarceration without trial violates Article 21...
Criminal Procedure – Additional Evidence – Section 311 CrPC – Prosecution allowed to produce video clip at defence evidence stage – Accused objected citing prolonged trial since 2018 and alleged abuse of process – Held: Trial court rightly exercised discretion to allow additional evidence to discover truth – Technical objections cannot defeat justice [Paras 1&nd...
Criminal Procedure – Successive Anticipatory Bail Application – Maintainability – Petition under Section 482 BNSS filed for grant of pre-arrest bail by accused previously denied same relief – Held: Successive applications for anticipatory bail are maintainable in law if there is a material change in circumstances – However, they must be placed before the same Judge to...
Narcotic Drugs – Conviction under NDPS Act – Recovery of contraband ganja – Accused A1 and A2 apprehended while in possession of 1.5 kg ganja – Trial court convicted both under Section 8(c) r/w 20(b)(ii)(B) NDPS Act – Acquitted under Sections 25 and 29(1) – A3 absconded and later acquitted – On appeal, A1 reported dead, appeal abated against him – Co...
Criminal Law – Murder – Circumstantial Evidence – Hostile Witnesses – Conviction Upheld – Appellant convicted for murdering his minor daughter by strangulation using cloth string – Though complainant-wife and other family members turned hostile, prosecution proved the case through reliable circumstantial evidence including written complaint, FIR, medical evidenc...