Extradition Law – Dual Criminality – India-Canada Treaty – Prima Facie Satisfaction for Magisterial Inquiry – Validity of MEA’s Decision – Petitioner challenged MEA’s direction under Section 5 of Extradition Act initiating magisterial inquiry into Canadian extradition request for offence under Section 320.16(3) of Canadian Criminal Code – Held: The a...
Criminal Law – Bail – Age Discrepancy of Victim – Petitioner accused of abducting and marrying minor girl under false documents – Conflicting DOBs: 01.01.2007 (from NIOS) and 19.04.2008 (school record) – Held: Discrepancy in age creates reasonable doubt – In view of Mahadeo v. State of Maharashtra and State of MP v. Anoop Singh, court must rely on school DOB unl...
Criminal Law – Anticipatory Bail – Companies Act Offences – Bail Granted – Chartered Accountants facing prosecution under Sections 143 r/w 147 and 448 of the Companies Act, 2013 and related provisions for allegedly auditing falsified financial statements of SRS Group companies and concealing related party transactions – Petitioners had not been arrested during investi...
NDPS Act – Bail – Commercial Quantity – Grounds of Arrest – Compliance with Article 22(1) – Search at Night – Inventory/Sampling – Section 37 Rigour – Held: Grounds of arrest duly communicated prior to remand; seizure indicates commercial quantity (31.78 g MDMA); quantitative test delay immaterial; Section 37 bar applies – Bail rejected [Paras ...
Cheque Dishonour – Liability under Section 138 of Negotiable Instruments Act – Quashing of Complaint Set Aside – The High Court had quashed the complaint filed by the appellant on grounds of non-issuance of statutory notice to the partnership firm and failure to arraign the firm as an accused – Supreme Court held that under Section 141 of the Act, a firm is merely a compend...
Dowry Death – Sentence under Section 304-B IPC – Reduction of Life Imprisonment – Husband Convicted – Sentencing Principles Applied – Appellant-husband convicted under Section 304-B IPC and sentenced to life imprisonment by Trial Court – Appellate Court held that life imprisonment is not mandatory under Section 304-B IPC and sentence must be proportionate to cul...
Domestic Violence – Quasi-Criminal Proceedings – Bailable Warrants – Issuance of bailable warrants by the Magistrate in proceedings under the D.V. Act deprecated – Held: Proceedings under the D.V. Act are quasi-criminal in nature and do not attract penal consequences unless there is a breach of protection order – Magistrate unjustified in issuing bailable warrants in ...
Criminal Procedure Law – Non-Bailable Warrants – Improper Issuance – Trial Court issued NBWs against petitioner for late appearance on the same day – Petitioner reached court post-first call due to traffic caused by political rally – Application for cancellation of NBWs filed the same day but rejected later – Held: Issuance of NBWs on first call unjustified, esp...
Cheque Dishonour – Presumption of Legally Enforceable Debt – Sections 118 & 139 of the Negotiable Instruments Act – Presumption Operated - The accused admitted the signature on the cheque but claimed the cheque was lost – The intimation of loss was found to be doubtful as it was lodged one year after the alleged loss – The accused failed to rebut the statutory pre...
Cheque Bounce - Territorial Jurisdiction – Section 142(2)(a) of the N.I. Act – Complaint Maintainable at Payee’s Account Branch – The appellant filed complaints under Section 138 N.I. Act before the Judicial Magistrate in Mangalore after depositing dishonoured cheques in Mumbai, though his bank account was maintained in Mangalore – Magistrate returned the complaints f...