Criminal Law – FIR Quashing – Section 482 Cr.P.C. – Cognizance Taken – FIR lodged in 2024 for alleged sexual harassment incidents dating back to 2018–2020 – FIR registered under Sections 354A, 354D, 506, and 509 IPC – Charge sheet later filed under Sections 354 and 354A IPC – Held: FIR not barred merely due to Section 468 Cr.P.C. which limits cogniza...
Criminal Procedure – Leave to Appeal Against Acquittal – Right of Victim – Appellant sought leave under Section 378(4) Cr.P.C. against acquittal in complaint involving serious offences under IPC – Supreme Court in M/s Celestium Financial v. A. Gnanasekaran held that victims have an unconditional right to appeal under proviso to Section 372 Cr.P.C. – High Court followe...
Criminal Law – Negotiable Instruments Act – Section 138 – Acquittal – Appellant filed complaint against accused for dishonour of cheque for Rs. 20 lakhs – Cheque returned with endorsement "Drawer’s Signature Differs" – Legal notice claimed to be sent, but original acknowledgment card not produced – Trial Court refused to mark photocopy and ...
Criminal Law – Bail Application – Conspiracy and Murder – Rejection – Appellants accused of providing finance and dangerous weapons to co-accused for eliminating the deceased (Santhosh Kumar @ Kanuma) – Charged under BNS, Arms Act, and SC/ST Act – Trial court rejected bail application filed under Section 483 of BNSS – High Court affirmed the rejection, not...
Criminal Law – Quashing of FIR – Alleged Inflammatory Social Media Message – Communal Harmony – FIR registered under Sections 299 and 353(3) BNS alleging that petitioner circulated an inflammatory WhatsApp message after arrest of his brother under the Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021 – Petitioner contended that the message merely expressed resentment over bro...
Criminal Law – Rash and Negligent Driving – Death in Motor Accident – Res Ipsa Loquitur – Truck fell 200–250 feet into a gorge resulting in death of conductor – Accused admitted driving – Mechanical inspection showed no defect – Accident of such nature, absent any other explanation, attracts the principle of res ipsa loquitur – Held: burden shi...
Criminal Law – Prevention of Corruption – Telecom Stores Scam – Conspiracy – Diversion of Materials – Misappropriation – The prosecution proved that A1 to A5 and A7 to A12 conspired with contractor A6 (deceased) to raise false indents, obtain telecom materials from Chennai Stores and divert them to private scrap dealers – Evidence of PW-46, PW-47 and lorry...
Criminal Law – Culpable Homicide – Attempt to Commit – Section 308 IPC – Appellant convicted for assaulting victim with blunt weapons along with others, causing grievous injuries – Conviction upheld based on testimony of injured eyewitness and corroborative medical evidence – Appellant did not challenge conviction on merits – Appeal limited to sentence mod...
Criminal Law – Illegal Detention – Chapter Proceedings under Section 107 CrPC – Executive Magistrate’s Jurisdiction – Executive Magistrate passed order remanding petitioner to judicial custody in Chapter Case under Section 107 – Held: Magistrate had no authority under CrPC to remand person to custody in such proceedings – Detention for 7 days was unlawful ...
Criminal Law – Quashing of Prosecution – Abuse of Process – Arms Licence Scam Allegation – Appellant, an IAS officer and District Magistrate-cum-Licensing Authority, Saharsa, accused of issuing arms licences without due verification – Chargesheet filed after 15 years of FIR, despite earlier closure report finding allegations against him to be false – Sanction un...