Readiness and Willingness Under Section 16(c) Is Not a Ritualistic Phrase — Plaintiff Must Prove It With Substance, Not Just Words: Karnataka High Court FIR in Disproportionate Assets Case Quashed: Patna High Court Slams SP for 'Non-Application of Mind' and 'Absence of Credible Source Information' Ownership of Vehicle Linked to Commercial Quantity of Heroin – Custodial Interrogation Necessary: Punjab & Haryana High Court Denies Anticipatory Bail under Section 482 BNSS Death Caused by Rash Driving Is Not a Private Dispute — No FIR Quashing on Basis of Compromise in Section 106 BNS Cases: Punjab & Haryana High Court No Bank Can Override Court Orders: Rajasthan High Court Slams Axis Bank for Unauthorized Withdrawal from Court-Ordered FD" Indian Courts Cannot Invalidate Foreign Arbitral Awards Passed Under Foreign Law: Madhya Pradesh High Court Enforces Texas-Based Award Despite Commercial Court’s Contrary Decree Sudden Quarrel over Mound of Earth — Not Murder but Culpable Homicide: Allahabad High Court Eligibility Flows from Birth, Not a Certificate Date: Delhi High Court Strikes Down Rule Fixing Arbitrary Cut-Off for OBC-NCL Certificates in CAPF (AC) Recruitment Bar Under Order II Rule 2 CPC Cannot Be Invoked Where Specific Performance Was Legally Premature Due To Statutory Impediments: P&H High Court Once a Court Declares a Department an Industry Under Section 2(j), State Cannot Raise the Same Objection Again: Gujarat High Court Slams Repetitive Litigation by Irrigation Department “How Could Cheques Issued in 2020 Be Mentioned in a 2019 Contract?”: Delhi High Court Grants Injunction in Forged MOA Case, Slams Prima Facie Fabrication Calling Wife by Her Caste Name in Public Just Before Suicide is Immediate Cause of Self-Immolation: Madras High Court Upholds Husband’s Conviction Under Section 306 IPC Sole Testimony of Prosecutrix, If Credible, Is Enough to Convict: Delhi High Court Upholds Rape Conviction Cheque Issued as Security Still Attracts Section 138 NI Act If Liability Exists on Date of Presentation: Himachal Pradesh High Court No Work No Pay Is Not a Universal Rule: Punjab & Haryana High Court Dock Identification Without Prior TIP Is Absolutely Useless: P&H High Court Upholds Acquittal in Attempt to Murder Case Filing Forged Court Pleadings in Union Government’s Name is Criminal Contempt: Karnataka High Court Sentences Litigant to Jail Execution of Will Proved, But Probate Justly Denied Due to Concealment of Property Sale: Delhi High Court Mere Designation Doesn’t Establish Criminal Liability: Bombay High Court Quashes Proceedings Against ICICI Officials in Octroi Evasion Case Fraud on Power Voids the Order: Supreme Court Quashes FIR Against Karnataka BJP Leader R. Ashoka, Slams Politically Motivated Prosecution Cause of Fire Is Immaterial If Fire Itself Is Insured Peril: Supreme Court Rebukes Insurer’s Repudiation Dragging a Trained Army Officer Up 20 Steps Without Resistance? The Story Lacks Credence: Supreme Court Upholds Acquittal in Army Officer’s Murder Semen Stains Alone Do Not Prove Rape: Supreme Court Acquits Doctor Accused of Rape No Mortgage, No SARFAESI: Supreme Court Rules Against NEDFi, Says Recovery Action in Nagaland Without Security Agreement Was Illegal Parity Cannot Be Denied by Geography: Supreme Court Holds Jharkhand Bound by Patna HC's Judgment, Orders Pay Revision for Industries Officer Once Power Flows Continuously from a Synchronized Turbine, It Is No Longer Infirm: Supreme Court Orders TANGEDCO to Pay Fixed Charges to Penna Electricity Law of Limitation Binds All Equally, Including the State: Allahabad High Court Dismisses Review Petition with 5743 Days’ Delay Once Selected, All Are Equals: Allahabad High Court Slams State for Withholding Pay Protection From Later Batches of Ex-Servicemen Constables Non-Compliance With Section 42 of NDPS Act Is Fatal to Prosecution: Punjab & Haryana High Court Acquits Two Accused In 160 Kg Poppy Husk Case Unregistered Agreement Creating Right of Way Inadmissible in Evidence: Punjab & Haryana High Court Summary Decree in Partition Suit Denied: Unequivocal Admissions Absent, Full Trial Necessary: Delhi High Court No Court Can Allow Itself to Be Used as an Instrument of Fraud: Delhi High Court Exposes Forged Writ Petition Filed in Name of Unaware Citizen "Deliberate Wage Splitting to Evade Provident Fund Dues Is Illegal": Bombay High Court Restores PF Authority's 7A Order Against Saket College and Centrum Direct Anti-Suit Injunction in Matrimonial Dispute Set Aside: Calcutta High Court Refuses to Stall UK Divorce Proceedings Filed by Wife

"CRIMINAL LAW" Digest

Juvenile Justice – Relevant Date for Determination of Age – Juvenile Justice Act, 1986 – Date of Offence Held Relevant – Conflict between Umesh Chandra (three-judge bench) and Arnit Das (two-judge bench) resolved – Held: Correct law is that relevant date for reckoning age is date of commission of offence, not date of production before court – Liberal and purposi...

Criminal Law - Dishonour of Cheque – Successive Presentations – Section 138, NI Act – Fresh Right but Not Fresh Cause of Action – A payee may successively present a cheque during its validity period, and each dishonour gives a fresh right to present again – However, once a notice of demand under Section 138(b) is issued and served, and drawer fails to pay within 15 da...

Criminal Law – Murder - Circumstantial Evidence – Acquittal – Appellant convicted for matricide under Section 302 IPC and sentenced to life imprisonment – High Court upheld conviction based on chain of circumstantial evidence including medical evidence, alleged recovery, and motive – Supreme Court finds serious doubts about whether death was homicidal – Medical ...

Criminal Law – Murder – Reversal of Acquittal – Identity of Accused Not Proved – Ocular testimony of independent house-owner witness (PW-7) established assault by three unknown persons inside her house but she could not identify the assailants – No test identification parade – Prosecution relied on PW-1 and PW-2 as eyewitnesses but their presence held doubtful; ...

Criminal Law – PMLA – Quashing at Pre-Trial Stage – Alternate Remedy – ECIR did not name appellants and CBI dropped them in supplementary report – ED complaint rests on alleged withdrawal of attached sums (post-PAO) linked to an identified quantum ₹33,80,87,617/- claimed as proceeds of crime – Held: With statutory appeals under Section 26 PMLA pending and PMLA...

Criminal Law – Murder Conviction – Acquittal – Appellants convicted under Section 302 read with Section 149 IPC for forming an unlawful assembly and committing murder of two persons – Trial Court convicted 21 accused and sentenced them to life imprisonment – High Court affirmed conviction of 11 and acquitted 7 by extending benefit of doubt – Supreme Court found ...

Compulsory Registration of Marriage – Public Interest and Legal Certainty – Marriage Registration Made Mandatory – Supreme Court took suo motu cognizance of the issue while hearing a transfer petition – Held: Registration of marriages is essential for legal proof, curbing child marriages, ensuring rights of women, and preventing denial of marriage – Directed all State...

Criminal Law – Murder by burning – Dying declarations – Sections 302, 498A IPC; Section 32 Evidence Act – Appeal partly allowed – Husband’s conviction under Section 302/34 IPC upheld; mother-in-law given benefit of doubt owing to inconsistency between two dying declarations; conviction of both under Section 498A IPC affirmed – First declaration (to doctor)...

Constitution of India – Article 226 – Protection of Life and Liberty – Petitioner, a practicing advocate, sought police protection alleging threats from his former clients (respondents No.5 and 6) over refund of professional fees – Court directed SSP Mohali and SSP Chandigarh to examine representations dated 02.06.2025 and 23.07.2025 and to take necessary action to ensure p...

Criminal Procedure Code – Section 482 – Quashing of FIR – Lack of Jurisdiction – Petitioners sought quashing of FIR No.56 dated 18.04.2021 registered under Sections 420, 120-B IPC, Section 7 of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 and Section 27 of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, alleging illegal sale of Remdesivir injections during Covid-19 pandemic – Police conduc...