Conviction For Sexual Assault Can Be Based Solely On Reliable Testimony Of Victim Without Corroboration: Allahabad High Court Marriage Dead For All Practical Purposes Can Be Nullified Under Article 142: Supreme Court Grants Divorce Citing Irretrievable Breakdown Senior Officers Accountable For Subordinates' Negligence; State Must Adopt Doctrine Of 'Superior Responsibility' To Combat Corruption: Allahabad High Court Constitutional Principles Of Article 21 Must Override Statutory Embargo Of Section 37 NDPS Act In Prolonged Incarceration: Punjab & Haryana High Court Recording Leasehold Land As 'Pattadar' Instead Of 'Sthitiban' Turns Back The Clock; Violates Right To Property: Orissa High Court Naib Tahsildar Performing Quasi-Judicial Functions Is A 'Judge' Under 1985 Act, Entitled To Protection Against Pension Cuts For Errors Of Judgment: MP High Court Demand Notice Under Section 138 NI Act Must Specifically State Cheque Amount; Failure To Do So Vitiates Prosecution: Kerala High Court Revisional Jurisdiction Under Land Revenue Act Must Be Exercised Within Reasonable Time, Cannot Reopen 20-Year-Old Mutation: J&K&L High Court Specific Performance: Plaintiff Must Prove Financial Capacity; Low Income & Dishonoured Cheques Negate Readiness and Willingness: Karnataka High Court Delay In Pronouncing Reserved Judgments Violates Article 21; Must Be Delivered Within 3 Months: Supreme Court Issues Binding Guidelines For High Courts Professional Independence Does Not Grant License To Abandon Matrimonial Obligations: Supreme Court Dissolves 18-Year Marriage Between Doctors Persistent Denial Of Sexual Intimacy Constitute Mental Cruelty; Supreme Court Dissolves 'Dead' Marriage Invoking Article 142 NDPS Act | High Court Cannot Ignore Mandatory Twin Conditions Under Section 37 While Granting Bail For Commercial Quantity: Supreme Court Contractual Royalty Rates Must Yield To Statutory Amendments; Royalty Payable At Rate Prevailing During Dispatch: Supreme Court Power To Punish For Contempt Must Be Exercised With Restraint But Should Act As Deterrent Against Levity: Supreme Court Public Functionaries Cannot Treat Supreme Court Orders As Matters To Be Addressed At Their Leisure: SC Warns Rajasthan Authorities High Court Can't Reassess Facts Or Substitute Its Interpretation Of Pleadings In Revisional Jurisdiction: Supreme Court Order 12 Rule 6 CPC | Decree On Admission Requires Categorical & Unequivocal Admission; Pleadings Cannot Be Read In Piecemeal: Supreme Court

"NDPS" Digest

NDPS Act – Conviction under Section 21 – Seizure of Buprenorphine – Conviction Upheld – The appellant was found in possession of 25 ampoules of 'Tidigestic' (Buprenorphine) and arrested on the spot – Trial Court acquitted the appellant citing discrepancies in prosecution evidence – High Court reversed the acquittal and convicted the appellant – Sup...

NDPS Act – Possession of Acetic Anhydride – Sections 9A/25A, 29 – Respondent found with 880 litres of Acetic Anhydride concealed in Kotha – Convicted and sentenced by Trial Court to 10 years RI with fine of ₹1,00,000/- on each count – High Court upheld conviction but reduced sentence to 6 ½ years (period undergone) and fine to ₹25,000/- on each count &ndash...

NDPS – Conscious Possession – Sections 15, 35, 54, 50 NDPS; Section 313 CrPC – Conviction Affirmed; Appeal Dismissed – Accused apprehended while sitting atop gunny bags containing poppy husk; physical possession proved, triggering presumption of conscious possession under Sections 35 & 54—no rebuttal by accused – Section 50 inapplicable since no personal sea...

Criminal Procedure – Legal Aid – Denial of Effective Assistance – High Court dismissed appeal of accused under NDPS Act in absence of legal aid counsel – Counsel appointed by Legal Aid Committee failed to appear – No substitute counsel or Amicus Curiae appointed – Held: Serious procedural lapse – Accused denied meaningful opportunity of defence – Hig...

Section 21(c), 23(c), 27(A), 28, 29, 30, 35, 54 read with Section 8(c) of the NDPS Act – Bail – Section 37 – Rejection – Applicant alleged to be part of international drug trafficking syndicate – Co-accused arrested with 1970 grams of cocaine – Though confessional statements under Section 67 NDPS Act are inadmissible, prosecution relied on circumstantial evidenc...

NDPS Bail – Section 21(c), NDPS Act – Commercial quantity heroin (500 gms) – Bail granted despite Section 37 bar due to prolonged custody of 1 year 5 months, absence of antecedents, and SC precedents – Conditional liberty with strict safeguards [Paras 11-16, 17, 26]. Commercial Quantity & Rigors of Section 37 – Recovery of 500 grams heroin constituted commercia...

Bail – NDPS Act – Recovery of 1.056 kg Charas – Section 37 NDPS – Bail Denied – The petitioner sought regular bail, contending he was merely a passenger in the car from which 1.056 kg of charas was recovered and had no knowledge of contraband – Prosecution opposed bail relying on Section 37, citing recovery of commercial quantity, petitioner’s links with c...

Criminal Law - Section 8(c), 20(b)(ii)(C) NDPS Act  – Direction for Re-trial – Procedural Lapses in Admitting Electronic Evidence – High Court Order Set Aside – In a prosecution under the NDPS Act, the Trial Court convicted the appellant based on oral evidence and video recordings supported by a certificate under Section 65B of the Evidence Act – The High Court a...

NDPS – Possession of 1.2 kg Charas – Section 20 NDPS Act – State Appeal Dismissed – Prosecution alleged recovery of 1.2 kg charas from accused at Sarahan bifurcation – Trial Court acquitted citing contradictions in police testimony, doubtful arrest/recovery memos, and absence of independent witnesses – High Court held suspicion cannot substitute proof, prosecuti...

NDPS Offence – Bail Application – Section 20(b)(ii)(B) and Section 29 of the NDPS Act – Bail Granted – The petitioner, arraigned as the second accused, was alleged to have conspired with the first accused in transporting 2 kg of ganja using a vehicle allegedly hired by him – No contraband was recovered from the petitioner’s possession – The vehicle was not...