Criminal Law – UAPA – Regular Bail – Section 43-D(5) – Prolonged Custody – Appellant in custody for over 2 years and 10 months without trial due to pendency of sanction under Section 45 of the UAPA – No evidence linking weapons recovered from appellant to terrorist activity or declared terrorists – Held: Long incarceration without trial violates Article 21 – Bail granted despite UAPA charges [Paras 3, 10, 12]

UAPA – Prima Facie Case – Section 43-D(5) – Standard of Review – Prosecution failed to establish reasonable grounds to believe accusations under Chapters IV and VI of UAPA to be prima facie true – No evidence linking accused to any act of terrorism – No record of WhatsApp communication or joint jail presence with alleged terrorists – Court held mere possession of arms without terror link insufficient for continued detention under UAPA [Paras 9-10]

Criminal Law – Parity in Bail – Co-Accused Granted Bail – Appellant's role not graver than co-accused already granted bail – Persons from whom arms were recovered, and others who allegedly supplied the weapons, all released on bail by Trial Court or Coordinate Bench – Held: Parity and lack of distinguishing features support grant of bail [Paras 10, Table under Para 10]

Constitutional Law – Article 21 – Right to Speedy Trial – Bail as Safeguard – Delay in framing charges and conclusion of trial despite completion of investigation violates fundamental right under Article 21 – Supreme Court precedents in K.A. Najeeb, Jalaluddin Khan, Vernon, Shoma Kanti Sen, and Javed Shaikh applied – Held: Bail cannot be denied solely on seriousness of charges where trial is indefinitely delayed [Paras 11–16]

Criminal Procedure – Bail Conditions – Court imposed stringent conditions including ₹10 lakh bond, weekly police attendance, undertaking for trial participation, and prohibition on inducement or fresh offences – Prosecution permitted to seek cancellation if conditions breached [Paras 17–19]

Decision: Appeal allowed – Order dated 22.12.2023 denying regular bail set aside – Appellant granted regular bail subject to stringent conditions including high bond, weekly marking, and undertaking for trial compliance – Observations made not to affect merits of trial – Trial Court permitted to impose additional safeguards – Prosecution at liberty to seek cancellation upon breach [Paras 17–21]

Criminal Law – Murder Trial – Acquittal – Appellants convicted by Trial Court for murder of victim based on eyewitness testimony of victim’s wife and recovery of firearm – Prosecution alleged that appellants came on a black motorcycle and shot the victim in front of his wife – Medical evidence confirmed bullet injuries – High Court found inconsistencies in FIR timing, inquest, and post-mortem records – Serious doubts about identity of assailants – Held: Conviction unsustainable in absence of proof beyond reasonable doubt [Paras 1–3, 40–44, 86].

Investigation – FIR and Inquest Discrepancy – Inquest commenced at 1:15 PM while FIR registered at 1:25 PM – Inquest could not precede general diary entry or FIR – No clear explanation regarding delay of over 3 hours between murder and FIR – Prosecution failed to prove chain of events in proper chronological order – Held: Creates grave doubt on authenticity of investigation and prosecution version [Paras 44–50].

Eyewitness Testimony – Wife of Victim – PW 3 claimed to have witnessed the murder and gave vague description (“tall” and “short”) of assailants – Did not name the accused initially and later stated she could identify them if produced – Refused to admit familiarity with appellants though she knew their deceased brother Biltu – Her retraction about stolen purse and lack of corroboration regarding her presence with victim further weakened credibility – Held: PW 3's testimony insufficient to prove guilt [Paras 10–13, 54–58, 79–82].

Prosecution Witnesses – Hostile and Unreliable – PWs 5, 6, 9, 11 and 12 were all accused in earlier murder case of appellants’ brother Biltu – Their testimonies regarding identification and recovery were viewed with suspicion – Presence of interested witnesses in key procedural events like recovery of weapon and vehicle cast serious doubts on fairness of investigation – Held: Witness pattern indicative of false implication [Paras 59–67].

Recovery of Weapon and Motorcycle – Pipe gun and cartridges recovered from appellant Airuddin – Gun length differed between seizure and trial – Recovery witnesses were co-accused in prior case involving appellants – Black motorcycle recovered from third party’s house without linking ownership – No forensic evidence linking recovered items to crime – Held: Recovery evidence unreliable and not admissible to prove guilt [Paras 64–65, 83–85].

Investigative Lapses – No sketch or forensic match of assailants – IO did not record or compare initial description with accused persons – Acted solely on village suspicion without corroborative evidence – Admitted arrest based on “tip-off” without procedural safeguards – Held: Investigation compromised and identity of assailants unproved [Paras 68–74].

Criminal Trial – Failure to Prove Identity – No credible or direct evidence establishing identity of appellants as assailants – Witnesses’ silence, contradictions, and hostile motives undercut prosecution case – Recovery, motive, and chain of custody not substantiated – Held: Appellants entitled to benefit of doubt – Conviction set aside [Paras 75–86].

Decision: Appeal allowed – Conviction under Sections 302/34 IPC and Sections 25 & 27 of the Arms Act set aside – Appellants acquitted on benefit of doubt – Directed to be released forthwith if not wanted in any other case – Bond to be executed under Section 437A CrPC [Paras 87–88].

Execution – Order XXI Rule 97 CPC – Objector (mother of JD) asserting 1/3rd independent share in auctioned property – Plausible claim based on joint family nucleus – Executing court bound to adjudicate by framing issues and allowing evidence – Summary rejection improper – Matter remanded for full adjudication [Paras 27–36].

Execution of Decree – Obstruction Petition – Order XXI Rule 97 CPC – Scope – Executing court must adjudicate all questions including right, title, interest of obstructionist; separate suit barred – Findings operate as res judicata – Summary dismissal without framing issues impermissible where objector shows prima facie independent right – Matter must be tried as if a suit [Paras 18–25, 33].

Stranger to Decree – Independent Right – Mother of JD – Joint Family Property – Burden of Proof – Though no presumption that property is joint family property, presumption of joint family exists – Objector asserted purchase of property from joint family nucleus; averred father’s thriving business, inheritance of business and assets, JD being 27-year-old businessman at time of purchase – These circumstances sufficient to shift initial onus; objector must be allowed to adduce evidence – Summary rejection unjustified [Paras 28–33].

Order XXI Rule 97/101 CPC – Need for Evidence – Adjudication may be summary only when facts are admitted or obstruction frivolous – Where objection discloses a semblance of right, executing court must frame issues and conduct evidentiary trial – Failure amounts to jurisdictional error – High Court corrects error in second appeal [Paras 12–14, 21, 33].

Joint Family Nucleus – Hindu Law – No presumption that property is joint family merely because family is joint – But where circumstances show existence of a nucleus from which property could be acquired, onus shifts to person asserting self-acquisition – Principles reiterated from Angadi Chandranna v. Shankar (SC 2025), R. Deivanai Ammal, Annamalai Chetti (PC) – Objector’s pleadings justified a full inquiry [Paras 28–32].

Execution Sale – Challenge – Right of Third Party – Objector not challenging auction on grounds under Order XXI Rule 90; seeking only protection of her undivided 1/3rd share – Objection maintainable upon threat of dispossession – Delay in filing objection not fatal; cause arises when warrant of possession issued – Objector is not JD; cannot be penalized for not participating earlier [Paras 34–35].

Substantial Question of Law – Executing Court’s Duty – Whether executing court erred in law by not framing issues and not permitting evidence regarding joint family character of property – Held: Yes; error goes to root of adjudicatory obligation under Rules 97–101 – Substantial question answered in favour of appellant [Paras 7, 36].

Remand – Executing court directed to frame issues, permit evidence, and decide objection under Order XXI Rule 97 within six months – Rights of auction purchaser preserved pending adjudication [Para 37].

Territorial Jurisdiction – Order VII Rule 10 CPC – Commercial Suit – Plaint wholly lacking jurisdictional facts – Replication cannot cure foundational defect – Amendment of plaint impermissible where Court inherently lacks jurisdiction – Trial Court correctly returned plaint – Appeal dismissed [Paras 31–51].

Territorial Jurisdiction – Pleadings – Requirement of Jurisdictional Facts – Under Sections 15–20 CPC, plaintiff must plead material facts showing that defendant resides/carries on business in the forum or that part of cause of action arose there – Para 23 of plaint merely stating plaintiff “works for profit in Delhi” held insufficient – No averment showing any part of cause of action arising in Delhi – Plaint bereft of jurisdictional facts; Trial Court right in returning plaint [Paras 33–36].

Order VII Rule 10 CPC – Demurrer – Court must confine to plaint – Revisional Court reiterates that when jurisdiction is challenged by demurrer, Court must assume plaint facts as correct and cannot look at written statement or replication – Replication cannot be considered to create jurisdiction where plaint itself is silent – Application correctly decided solely on plaint [Paras 31–34].

Replication / Subsequent Pleadings – Cannot Cure Initial Absence of Jurisdiction – Plaintiff’s reliance on replication asserting cause of action arising from Delhi held misplaced – Replication cannot introduce jurisdictional facts absent in original plaint – Distinction drawn between preliminary issue under Order XIV Rule 2 (as in Kuldeep Singh Pathania) and demurrer under Order VII Rule 10 – Subsequent submissions irrelevant where plaint contains no jurisdictional facts [Paras 37–38, 48–50].

Amendment of Plaint – Order VI Rule 17 CPC – Impermissible where Court Lacks Jurisdiction – Trial Court rightly rejected amendment application relying on HSIL Ltd. v. Imperial Ceramic and Archie Comic Publications – A plaint completely bereft of jurisdictional averments cannot be amended to cure inherent lack of jurisdiction – Court must first possess jurisdiction to entertain amendment; otherwise amendment itself is incompetent [Paras 38–46].

Distinction Between Order VII Rule 10 and Rule 11 – Court reiterates that Rule 10 (territorial jurisdiction) differs from Rule 11 (cause of action/technical defects) – In cases of territorial jurisdiction, if plaint on its face discloses no jurisdiction, Court cannot consider amendment and must return plaint – Fundamental principle: lack of territorial jurisdiction cannot be cured by subsequent pleadings [Paras 42–46].

Commercial Courts Act – Section 13(1A) – Appellate Scope – No infirmity or perversity in Trial Court’s reasoning – Proper appreciation of pleadings and precedents – Appeal dismissed [Para 51].

Income Tax – Reassessment – Bar of Limitation – Notice under Section 148 issued on 22.04.2024 to reopen A.Y. 2017–18 – Court held that under first proviso to amended Section 149, such notice is time-barred as six-year limitation expired on 31.03.2024 – Fifth and sixth provisos to Section 149 not applicable to extend limitation under first proviso – Held: Notice and reassessment proceedings are barred by law [Paras 9-16, 21]

Tax Procedure – Parallel Proceedings – Pending Rectification – Grounds of reopening (employee PF contribution, depreciation disallowance, unexplained credits) were already pending under Section 154 – Held: Initiating reassessment under Section 148 during subsistence of Section 154 rectification proceedings amounts to impermissible change of opinion – Reliance placed on S.M. Overseas (P) Ltd. [Paras 17-20]

Statutory Interpretation – Effect of Amendments – Court clarified that first proviso to amended Section 149 overrides the saving clauses in fifth and sixth provisos – Cited Delhi, Rajasthan, and Bombay High Court precedents rejecting retrospective application of extended limitation – Reiterated: Notices for pre-2021 assessment years cannot be saved by amended ten-year window unless old limitation was alive on 01.04.2021 [Paras 10-15]

Decision: Writ Petition allowed – Order under Section 148A(d) and notice under Section 148 quashed – Reassessment for A.Y. 2017–18 held barred by limitation – No costs [Para 21]

Contract Law – Term Sheet – Specific Performance – Appeal from Order dismissed – Term Sheet between Plaintiff developer and Defendant landowners provided for refundable deposit and joint development of land – Dispute arose on whether Term Sheet was a concluded and enforceable contract or merely an agreement to agree – Held: Validity Clause with Long Stop Date was a condition precedent – Plaintiff failed to perform obligations before Long Stop Date – No extension pleaded or agreed – Term Sheet automatically stood terminated – Plaintiff entitled only to refund of ₹11 crores – No right to seek specific performance survives – Appeal dismissed [Paras 17, 21–31, 35, 50–52, 53].

Contract Construction – Long Stop Date – Significance – Long Stop Date under Clause 12 of Term Sheet operated as contractual deadline for due diligence and execution of transaction documents – Clause began with non-obstante expression – Held: Clause 12 overrode other terms including Clause 11 on enforceability – Failure to comply by Long Stop Date resulted in automatic termination of contract – No open-ended or implied extension recognized in absence of mutual agreement – Court upheld commercial certainty and enforceability of Long Stop Date [Paras 24–34, 51–52].

Evidence – Concluded Contract vs Agreement to Agree – Clause analysis and conduct of parties – Despite use of term "enforceable" in Clause 11, contract was contingent on fulfilment of conditions precedent under Clause 12 – Plaintiff failed to accept title or execute transaction documents – Additional terms like third-party award payment introduced later – Held: No concluded contract – Specific performance not maintainable [Paras 19–20, 36–38, 43–44, 46].

Relief – Refund of Advance – Defendants permitted to deposit ₹11 crores – Trial court's refusal of injunction upheld – Appellant’s claim limited to alternate prayer for refund of deposit – Balance of convenience in favour of Defendants – No prima facie case made out for injunction – No enforceable obligation to convey development rights survives – Injunction rightly refused [Paras 47–49, 53–54].

Specific Relief Act – Contract not Specifically Enforceable – Section 14(1)(a) and (c) – Clause 12 made Term Sheet determinable – Monetary compensation sufficient remedy – Held: Agreement not enforceable in terms of Specific Relief Act – Injunction barred under Section 41(e) [Paras 49].

Criminal Law – Quashing of Complaint – Vicarious Liability – Directors – Petitioners sought quashing of complaint filed in 1994 under IPC and Excise Act citing lack of specific allegations – Court held that in absence of averments indicating personal role or statutory vicarious liability, criminal prosecution against directors (Petitioners 3 to 9) is not sustainable – Complaint and proceedings quashed qua them [Paras 7.1, 8–10, 17(i)].

Taxation – Kar Vivad Samadhan Scheme, 1998 – Scope of Immunity – Petitioners argued that tax arrears settled under scheme granted full immunity from prosecution – Court held: Scheme does not apply retrospectively and cannot nullify criminal proceedings already instituted before 01.09.1998 – Petitioners not entitled to immunity for criminal complaint filed in 1994 [Paras 11–15].

Forgery – Prima Facie Case – False Declaration – Petitioners challenged maintainability of complaint under Section 468 IPC claiming discrepancy in glass thickness logs doesn't amount to forgery – Court rejected submission – Held: Misdeclaration before government authority to evade tax amounts to forged document under Section 464 IPC – Prima facie case made out against company and MD [Paras 4.9, 16, 17(ii)].

Criminal Law – Doctrine of Separate Legal Personality – Court reiterated that mere designation as director does not attract criminal liability – Active role or statutory provision required – Reaffirmed principle that vicarious liability in criminal law requires specific statutory mandate or evidence of involvement [Paras 7.1, 9–10].

Decision: Petition allowed in part – Complaint quashed and proceedings dropped against Petitioners 3 to 9 (Directors) – Petition dismissed against Petitioner No.1 (Company) and Petitioner No.2 (Managing Director).

Criminal Law – Sections 307, 323, 504, and 506 IPC - Acquittal – Appeal under Section 419 BNSS – Sole testimony of injured complainant not supported by medical evidence – Delay of 16 days in initiating prosecution remained unexplained – No independent witness produced despite being named – Suppression of fact that accused had also sustained injuries and police proceedings were initiated against both sides – Trial court found contradictions in injury narrative and held complainant's version unreliable – Held: No perversity or illegality in acquittal – Appeal dismissed [Paras 13, 21-27, 30-38].

Criminal Procedure – Scope of Appellate Interference in Acquittal – If two plausible views exist, appellate court should not reverse acquittal unless trial court findings are perverse or manifestly erroneous – No such defect found in trial court’s judgment – Findings based on proper evaluation of evidence and consistent with Supreme Court precedents – No ground for interference [Paras 16-20, 39].

Evidence – Sole Injured Witness – Credibility – Injured witness's testimony must be cogent and corroborated – Contradictions between medical evidence and complainant’s version – Injuries found simple and not matching the narrative – Testimony categorised as neither wholly reliable nor wholly unreliable – Cannot be sole basis for conviction – Held: Trial court rightly disbelieved sole testimony in absence of corroboration [Paras 30-38].

Delay in Lodging Complaint – Complaint filed 16 days after alleged incident – No satisfactory explanation – Alleged application to police not proved – Delay fatal to prosecution as per Supreme Court precedent – Trial court's findings upheld [Paras 22-27].

Decision: Appeal dismissed – Acquittal confirmed – No ground for interference with trial court judgment under Section 419 BNSS.

Criminal Law – Quashing of Criminal Proceedings – Cognizance under Section 186 IPC – Magistrate cannot take cognizance for offence under Section 186 IPC except upon a written complaint by the public servant concerned or their administrative superior as mandated by Section 195(1)(a) CrPC – Police report filed by Sub-Inspector in absence of such complaint cannot be treated as valid – Held: Cognizance taken without satisfying statutory preconditions is illegal and unsustainable [Paras 10–15, 22].

Police Report – Not Equivalent to Valid Complaint – Section 2(d) CrPC defines complaint as distinct from a police report – Though explanation to Section 2(d) allows non-cognizable offence reports to be treated as complaints, such reports must be result of investigation under Section 155(2) CrPC – In present case, no permission sought under Section 155(2), and the report was merely an enquiry, not investigation – Held: Report cannot be deemed a complaint, and Magistrate’s reliance on it was misplaced [Paras 11–12].

Administrative Subordination – Requirement under Section 195 CrPC – Cognizance under Section 186 IPC can only be taken on complaint by public servant concerned or their administrative superior – NVF personnel under West Bengal NVF Act, 1949 are not administratively subordinate to a Sub-Inspector of Police – Held: Sub-Inspector lacked locus to lodge complaint or submit prosecution report – No valid initiation of proceedings possible [Paras 13–15].

Offence under Section 186 IPC – Ingredients Not Satisfied – Allegation merely of use of filthy language and misbehaviour by petitioner – No specific act of obstruction in discharge of duty alleged – Absence of overt act or credible show of force – Held: Allegations vague and insufficient to constitute offence under Section 186 IPC [Paras 16–19].

Malicious Prosecution – Counterblast Theory Accepted – Timeline indicates FIR lodged by petitioner against NVF personnel for assault, followed by complaint against petitioner six days later – Court found complaint likely filed out of vengeance – Held: Proceedings initiated mala fide and in abuse of judicial process – Attracted categories (6) and (7) of State of Haryana v. Bhajan Lal, 1992 Supp (1) SCC 335 [Paras 20].

Cognizance Order – Mechanical and Non-Application of Mind – Magistrate’s order taking cognizance lacked judicial reasoning – Merely filled in pre-typed form and signed – Held: Cognizance order bad in law and contrary to Rule 183 of Calcutta High Court Criminal (Subordinate Courts) Rules, 1985 [Para 21].

Criminal Revision – Quashing of Proceedings – In absence of valid complaint, administrative authority, and offence ingredients, continuance of prosecution would be abuse of court process – Held: Entire proceeding quashed under Section 482 CrPC [Paras 22–24].

Decision:

CRR 1926 of 2018 allowed – Proceedings in NGR Case No. 8848 of 2018 pending before CJM, Purba Medinipur, arising out of Kolaghat P.S. NCR No. 185 of 2018 under Section 186 IPC, quashed – Magistrate’s order taking cognizance found illegal – Xerox certified copy to be issued on compliance [Paras 22–24].