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

Criminal Law – NDPS Offence – Conscious Possession – Meaning and Scope – Conviction under Section 15 NDPS Act requires proof of conscious possession – Possession implies control with awareness of its nature – Once possession established, burden shifts to accused under Sections 35 and 54 NDPS Act to explain innocence – However, failure to question accused o...

NDPS Act – Sections 18, 50, 51, 52, 52(3), 53, 55 of NDPS - Recovery of Opium – Appellant found in possession of 7 kg opium recovered from bag held in his hand – Samples duly sealed by investigating officer and DSP, later confirmed by chemical analyst – Conviction under Section 18 NDPS Act upheld – Minimum sentence of 10 years’ RI and fine of ₹1 lakh justified...

NDPS Act – Section 67 – Confessional Statements – Admissibility – Conviction Upheld – Accused convicted on basis of statement recorded under Section 67 NDPS Act – Held: Officers vested with poNDPS Act – Section 67 – Confessional Statements – Admissibility – Conviction Upheld – Accused convicted on basis of statement recorded under S...

NDPS Act – Conviction Based on Official Witnesses – Evidentiary Value – Respondents convicted by Special Court under Section 15 NDPS Act for possession of four bags of poppy husk – High Court acquitted them on the sole ground that no independent witness was examined – Held: Conviction under NDPS Act can be based solely on credible and reliable testimony of official wi...

NDPS Act – Section 42 – Mandatory or Directory – Compliance Requirement – Constitutional Bench Clarification – Conflict between Abdul Rashid Ibrahim Mansuri and Sajan Abraham resolved – Held: Total non-compliance with Section 42 impermissible – Delayed compliance with satisfactory explanation permissible – Compliance with Section 42(1) and 42(2) shou...

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...

NDPS – Section 50 – Search of bag carried on head – Not a personal search – Conviction Restored – Accused intercepted carrying a bag which contained opium; trial court convicted under Sections 8/18 NDPS; High Court acquitted for alleged partial option under Section 50 – Held: Search of bag/container is not a personal search, Section 50 not attracted – High...

NDPS Act – Bail – Commercial Quantity – Section 37 NDPS Bar Applies – Huge quantity of methamphetamine (8 kg), a 9 mm Sig Sauer pistol with magazines and ammunition recovered from vehicle driven by accused – Confession, videography of recovery, and corroborated documentation including arrest and seizure memo – Held: Prima facie case exists – No reasonable ...

NDPS Act – Acquittal Set Aside – Conviction Restored – Accused found transporting 73 bags of poppy husk (each 18 kg) in a tanker intercepted on highway by patrolling police – Trial court convicted under Section 15 of NDPS Act – High Court acquitted citing non-compliance with Sections 42 and 50 of NDPS Act – Held: High Court erred – Search was of a vehicle ...

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...