State Can’t Block SARFAESI Sale by Late Revenue Entries: Secured Creditor’s Charge Prevails Over Tax Dues: Punjab & Haryana High Court Slams Sub-Registrar’s Refusal Providing SIM Card Without Knowledge of Its Criminal Use Does Not Imply Criminal Conspiracy: P&H High Court Grants Bail in UAPA & Murder Case Importer Who Accepts Enhanced Valuation Cannot Later Contest Confiscation and Penalty for Undervaluation: Madras High Court Upholds Strict Liability under Customs Act "Allegations Are Not Proof: Madras High Court Refuses Divorce Without Substantiated Cruelty or Desertion" When FIR Is Filed After Consulting Political Leaders, the Possibility of Coloured Version Cannot Be Ruled Out: Kerala High Court Mere Allegations of Antecedents Without Conviction Can't Defeat Right to Anticipatory Bail: Kerala High Court Section 106 Of Evidence Act Cannot Be Invoked In Vacuum – Prosecution Must First Lay Foundational Facts: Karnataka High Court Acquits Wife And Co-Accused In Husband’s Murder Case Parity Cannot Be Claimed When Roles Are Different: Karnataka High Court Refuses Bail to Youth Accused of Brutal Killing Injured Wife Would Not Falsely Implicate Her Husband: Gauhati High Court Upholds Conviction in Domestic Stabbing Case Disputed Bids, Missing Evidence and No Prejudice: Delhi High Court Refuses to Intervene in Tender Challenge under Article 226 License Fee on Hoardings is Regulatory, Not Tax; GST Does Not Bar Municipal Levy: Bombay High Court Filing Forged Bank Statement to Mislead Court in Maintenance Case Is Prima Facie Offence Under Section 466 IPC: Allahabad High Court Upholds Summoning Continued Cruelty and Concealment of Infertility Justify Divorce: Chhattisgarh High Court Upholds Divorce Disguising Punishment as Simplicity Is Abuse of Power: Delhi High Court Quashes Dismissals of Civil Defence Volunteers for Being Stigmatic, Not Simpliciter Marriage Cannot Be Perpetuated on Paper When Cohabitation Has Ceased for Decades: Supreme Court Invokes Article 142 to Grant Divorce Despite Wife’s Opposition Ownership of Trucks Does Not Mean Windfall Compensation: Supreme Court Slashes Inflated Motor Accident Award in Absence of Documentary Proof Concealment of Mortgage Is Fraud, Not a Technical Omission: Supreme Court Restores Refund Decree, Slams High Court’s Remand State Reorganization Does Not Automatically Convert Cooperative Societies into Multi-State Entities: Supreme Court Rejects Blanket Interpretation of Section 103 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 After Admitting Lease, Defendant Cannot Turn Around and Call It Forged—Contradictory Stand at Advanced Trial Stage Impermissible: Punjab & Haryana High Court Dismisses Revision Against Rejection of Amendment Plea Dismissed Employee Has No Right to Leave Encashment Under Statutory Rules: Punjab and Haryana High Court Section 13 of Gambling Act Is Cognizable — Magistrate Can Take Cognizance on Police Report: Allahabad High Court Clarifies Surveyor’s Report Not Sacrosanct, Arbitral Tribunal Has Jurisdiction to Apply Mind Independently: Bombay High Court Dismisses Insurer’s Challenge to Award in Fire Damage Dispute Auction Purchaser Has No Vested Right Without Sale Confirmation: Calcutta HC Upholds Borrower’s Redemption Right Under Pre-Amendment SARFAESI Law Mere Breach of Promise to Marry Doesn’t Amount to Rape: Delhi High Court Acquits Man in False Rape Case Father Is the Natural Guardian After Mother’s Death, Mere Technicalities Cannot Override Welfare of Child: Orissa High Court Restores Custody to Biological Father Assets of Wife and Father-in-Law Can Be Considered in Disproportionate Assets Case Against Public Servant: Kerala High Court Refuses Discharge

"CRIMINAL LAW" Digest

Capsule – Section 498A IPC/Dowry Act – Omnibus allegations – Bhajan Lal applied – FIR vague, lacking specifics – Criminal proceedings quashed against brother-in-law – Parties free to pursue other remedies. Section 498A IPC/Dowry Act – Quashing – Omnibus allegations – Allegations in FIR against brother-in-law vague and lacking time, place, or...

Criminal Revision – Further Investigation – BNSS Ss. 438 & 442 – Petition Allowed – Petitioner, also victim of ₹50,000 job fraud, challenged Magistrate’s refusal to order further investigation despite final report (FRT) filed – Held: Magistrate retains discretion under S.173(8) CrPC to direct further probe at any stage before trial; impugned order set asid...

NDPS Act – Possession of 1 Kg Opium – Section 18 – Sentence Modified – Conviction affirmed – Appellant convicted in 2011 for offence under S.18 NDPS Act, sentenced to 2 years R.I. and ₹10,000 fine – Having already undergone over 3 months’ custody and trial prolonged for 21 years, High Court reduced sentence to period already undergone while enhancing fin...

Murder – Circumstantial Evidence – IPC S.302; Evidence Act S.106 – Wife killed in matrimonial home; deceased’s blood on accused’s shirt; prior ill-treatment proved – No explanation by accused – Conviction upheld; sentence of “life for remainder of natural life” modified to simple life imprisonment with fine. Murder – Circumstantial Evi...

Bail Jurisprudence – Cancellation vs. Revocation – Bail Restored – Supreme Court set aside High Court’s order revoking bail granted to accused in murder case – Held: Bail once granted can only be revoked if found illegal, perverse, or against settled legal principles – No proven violation of bail conditions – Liberty restored with stringent conditions [Par...

Criminal Complaint – Sections 156(3) and 202 Cr.P.C – Magistrate’s Discretion – Allegations of assault/intimidation arising from civil road dispute – Magistrate opted to hold enquiry under Section 202 instead of police investigation under Section 156(3) – Held: Magistrate’s discretion proper; no inevitable requirement for police investigation; Article 227 ...

Habeas Corpus – Missing Woman – Systemic Safeguards – Detenue untraced since Dec 2023 – Court reviews statutory provisions, government circulars, and judicial precedents – Held: FIR mandatory; proactive investigation within first 24 hours crucial; every missing woman/child case to be presumed trafficking/abduction unless proved otherwise – Petition disposed with...

Bail – MPID Act Offence – ₹377 crore fraud – Bail Rejected – Applicant, a Director of A.S. Agri & Aqua LLP, allegedly induced gullible investors with promises of doubled returns and crores of rupees per year – Investigation revealed siphoning of deposits, seizure of incriminating records, and similar antecedents – Court held gravity of offence, scale of fr...

Murder – Conviction under Section 302/34 IPC based on credible eyewitness testimony of related witnesses – Conviction upheld; appeal dismissed [Paras 2–4, 27–33]. Criminal Appeal – Murder in Furtherance of Common Intention – Conviction Upheld – High Court affirmed conviction under Section 302/34 IPC where appellant fired on deceased during marriage func...

Bail in PMLA Case – Twin Conditions under Section 45 – Rigorous Standard Reiterated – Petition for bail under Section 439 CrPC in context of alleged laundering of ₹2.83 crores under PMLA – Held: Bail in PMLA cases governed by twin conditions under Section 45 – Court must be satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for believing that the accused is not guilty and ...