Wife Is Absolute Owner Of Streedhan, Taking It Away Does Not Attract Criminal Breach Of Trust Under Section 406 IPC: Allahabad High Court Government Need Not Adjudicate If Employee Is 'Workman' Before Referring Dispute To Labour Court: Gujarat High Court Bidder Cannot Be Disqualified For Submitting Certificate From Unspecified Agency If Tender Document Is Silent: Delhi High Court Driver Clicking Selfies With Licensed Firearm Doesn't Make Owner Liable Under Arms Act: Punjab & Haryana High Court Quashes FIR High Court Imposes Blanket Ban On Tree Felling In Haryana, Cites Impending Ecological Catastrophe Due To Dismal Forest Cover No Fresh Summons Needed For Legal Heirs If Suit Was Already Proceeding Ex-Parte Against Deceased Defendant: Allahabad High Court Serving Judicial Officer's Anticipatory Bail Denied in Theft From Deceased Judge's Home: "No Person, Whatever His Rank, Is Above Law" Missing Murder Weapon Not Fatal When Eyewitnesses Are Reliable - Brother Stabs Brother: Tripura High Court Advocate and Cop Conspired to Frame Innocent Witness in Fake Gang Rape Case: Delhi High Court Upholds Conviction, Calls It "Clear Abuse of Process of Law" Direction To 'Act In Accordance With Law' Does Not Determine Substantive Rights, Non-Impleadment Not A Ground For Review: Chhattisgarh High Court State Cannot Grab Citizen's Land For Road Construction Pleading Delay And Laches: Himachal Pradesh High Court "Bail Is Rule, Jail Is Exception" Principle Does Not Apply Post-Conviction: Jharkhand High Court

"NDPS" Digest

NDPS Act – Compliance with Section 50 – Search Procedure Properly Followed – Bail Denied - The petitioner alleged non-compliance of Section 50 NDPS Act, claiming he was not informed about his right to be searched before the nearest Gazetted Officer or Magistrate – Court held that the petitioner was informed in English of his right under Section 50 and refused to avail it in...

NDPS Act – Bail Application – Prolonged Incarceration – Commercial Quantity – Application under Section 439 Cr.P.C. – Accused in custody since 31.10.2023 for offences under Sections 20(b)(ii)A, 22(c), and 25 of NDPS Act – Trial pending before Additional Sessions Judge-V, Thiruvananthapuram – Petitioner seeks bail citing prolonged incarceration and delay in...

Criminal Law – NDPS Act – Bail in Commercial Quantity Cases – Stringent Conditions Imposed – Petitioner was arrested for transporting 731.075 kg of Ganja—Trial court denied bail, citing the presumption under Section 37 of the NDPS Act – Petitioner argued prolonged judicial custody and procedural delays – High Court held: While Section 37 restricts bail in ...

Bail - NDPS – Charge Sheet Without FSL Report – Bail Granted - The petitioner was arrested for possession of 300 grams of MDMA and remained in custody for nearly a year – The prosecution filed a charge sheet without an accompanying Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) report – The Court held that in cases under the NDPS Act, a chemical analysis report is an integral part of th...

NDPS Act – Bail under Section 37 – Procedural Lapses Considered – Applicants accused of dealing in commercial quantities of Codeine Phosphate and Nitrazepam—Prosecution relied on recovery of contraband and WhatsApp chats—Defense argued procedural violations, including absence of proper certification under Section 52A—Held: Strict compliance with statutory proced...

Parole – Right of Convicts – Arbitrary Rejection Not Permissible – The petitioner, convicted under Section 22(c) of the NDPS Act, sought parole for eight weeks, which was denied on the grounds that he might engage in drug smuggling and disrupt elections – Held: Mere apprehensions without supporting material cannot justify denial of parole – No credible evidence was pr...

Criminal Law – Possession of Contraband – Section 21 NDPS Act – Conviction Based on Official Witnesses – The appellant was convicted for possessing 10 grams of smack based on testimony of police officials – Held: Conviction under Section 21 NDPS Act is sustainable even in the absence of independent witnesses, provided the official witnesses are consistent and reliable...

Bail - NDPS Act – Procedural Lapses in Search and Seizure – Section 50 Not Complied With – Bail Granted – The petitioner, a foreign national, was arrested based on secret information, and 57 grams of Amphetamine was allegedly recovered from his possession – The petitioner argued that the police failed to comply with mandatory provisions under Section 50 of the NDPS Ac...

NDPS – Failure to Follow Procedural Safeguards – Acquittal Upheld – The respondents were acquitted by the Trial Court despite the recovery of 10,000 capsules of Spasmo Proxyvon – State challenged the acquittal on the ground that prosecution evidence sufficiently proved possession and seizure – Held: Failure to comply with mandatory provisions under Sections 52, 52A, a...

Bail under NDPS Act – Compliance with Section 37 – Twin Conditions to Be Met – The petitioner sought bail in an NDPS Act case involving commercial quantity – Held: Under Section 37 of the NDPS Act, two conditions must be satisfied before granting bail – (i) The Court must hear the Public Prosecutor, and (ii) There must be reasonable grounds to believe that the accused...