Criminal Law - Non-Bailable Warrant - Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023 - Sections 72, 90 and 91 - Petitioner challenged order of Trial Court issuing Non-Bailable Warrant (NBW) in Section 138 NI Act proceedings without prior summons or bailable warrants and without recording reasons - Court held that issuance of NBW is a coercive measure affecting personal liberty under Article 21 - Magistrate failed to apply judicial mind and ignored that petitioner was resident of Karnataka while notice was sent to Andhra Pradesh address - High Court recalled the NBW and directed petitioner to appear before Trial Court within two weeks - Held - Order set aside for being mechanical and lacking reasons - [Paras 1-28].

Criminal Law - Judicial Discretion - Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023 - Section 90 - Guidelines for issuance of NBW - Court emphasized that power to issue NBW must be exercised judiciously and not as a routine matter - Court must satisfy itself that accused is absconding or will not obey summons - Failure to record reasons in writing renders order legally unsustainable - [Paras 9-27].

Evidence Law - Service of Process - Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023 - Section 90 - Service on incorrect address - Notice sent to Andhra Pradesh address returned as unclaimed while petitioner is permanent resident of Karnataka - Court held that trial court failed to exercise due diligence in ensuring proper service before resorting to coercive process of NBW - [Paras 7-8].

Decision: Criminal Petition allowed - Order dated 16.06.2026 issuing NBW is recalled - Petitioner directed to appear before trial court within two weeks.

Civil Law - Municipal Law - Punjab Municipal (General) Rules 1979 - Rule 12(2)(a) - Statutory requirement for service of notice upon occupier - Municipal Council sought to demolish shops as part of a Town Planning Scheme without serving notice to the tenants in possession - Trial Court and Appellate Court held that failure to serve notice to occupiers renders the proposed demolition action illegal - High Court upheld concurrent findings ruling that Rule 12(2)(a) expressly mandates notice to both owner and occupier of the property - Held - Failure to issue notice to actual occupiers is a violation of mandatory statutory procedure - Appeal dismissed - [Paras 17-27].

Civil Law - Evidence - Standard of Proof - Tenancy and Possession - Plaintiffs-tenants established long-standing possession through oral testimony of independent witnesses which remained unshaken during cross-examination - Appellant failed to rebut the existence of tenancy or provide evidence to suggest connivance between owner and tenants - Held - Concurrent findings of fact regarding possession and tenancy supported by evidence cannot be disturbed in second appeal - [Paras 18-19, 25].

Civil Law - Procedure - Jurisprudence of Notice - Distinction between owner and occupier - Statutory obligation of municipality to serve notice on occupiers is independent of the notice served on the property owner - Held - Previous litigation between the owner and the municipality does not absolve the municipal authority of its duty to serve individual notice upon the tenants whose possession is threatened - [Paras 23-26].

Decision: Regular Second Appeal dismissed – Concurrent judgments and decrees of the courts below affirmed – No order as to costs.

Civil Law - Matrimonial - Hindu Marriage Act 1955 - Section 13(1)(i-a) - Mental Cruelty - Appeal against divorce decree - Appellant and Respondent were both Advocates - Respondent alleged persistent mental cruelty through public humiliation before professional colleagues-seniors-forcing relocation to Chandigarh-distancing from parents-and forced medical examinations - Family Court granted divorce - High Court observed that while individual incidents may be trivial-the cumulative effect of conduct over a decade of litigation and separation-coupled with the failure of multiple mediation attempts-indicated that the marriage had broken down beyond salvage - Held - Persistent humiliation before professional acquaintances and disregard for the partner's professional and personal choices constitutes mental cruelty - Divorce decree upheld - [Paras 1-24].

Civil Law - Maintenance and Alimony - Hindu Marriage Act 1955 - Section 25 - Permanent Alimony - Child Welfare - In addition to upholding divorce-Court awarded Rs 40 Lakhs as permanent alimony to the wife considering her professional qualifications and assets-and directed the respondent to pay Rs 70 Lakhs as a one-time settlement for the welfare and higher education of the minor daughter - Held - Directions for financial security of the wife and child were necessary in exercise of equity - [Paras 25-29].

Civil Law - Appellate Jurisdiction - Conduct during litigation - The Court noted that in matrimonial matters the Appellate Court is justified in taking into consideration the conduct of parties during the pendency of litigation and the fact that parties have lived separately for a prolonged period without possibility of reconciliation - Held - Prolonged separation and failure of extensive mediation efforts are relevant factors in assessing the ground of mental cruelty - [Paras 20-22].

Decision: Appeal disposed of – Judgment and decree of divorce dated 05.04.2024 affirmed – Respondent directed to pay Rs 40 Lakhs as permanent alimony to Appellant and Rs 70 Lakhs as a one-time measure for the minor child's welfare.

Criminal Law - Bail - Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023 - Section 483 - Alleged offence of performing child marriage - Petitioner-accused aged 35 years allegedly tied thali on 17-year-old niece - Petitioner remanded to judicial custody since 21.08.2026 - Prosecution opposed bail citing victim statement under Section 183 BNSS - Court considered nature of allegations-relationship between parties-period of incarceration-Court inclined to grant bail with stringent conditions to ensure presence and non-tampering - Held - Bail granted - [Paras 1-7].

Criminal Law - Conditions of Bail - Criminal Rules of Practice 2019 - Judicial Form No 46 - Surety verification - Court mandated sureties to affix photographs and left thumb impression to ensure identity - Strict reporting conditions imposed - Held - Breach of conditions entitles trial court to cancel bail per P.K. Shaji vs State of Kerala - [Para 7].

Decision: Petitioner enlarged on bail subject to executing a bond of Rs 25,000 with two sureties and reporting before the respondent police daily at 10.30 a.m.

Civil Law - Res Judicata - Constitution of India - Article 226 - Principle of finality - State challenged 1980 Land Tribunal order re-granting land after decades of litigation over title and the nature of land - Earlier proceedings including civil suit and subsequent appeals conclusively adjudicated that the land was Hiduvali land and not a tank bed - High Court held that the State cannot re-open the settled issue of title or jurisdiction by characterizing the challenge as a fresh jurisdictional error when the factual premise was previously litigated - Held - Writ petition barred by res judicata - appeal dismissed - [Paras 36-41].

Civil Law - Delay and Laches - Extraordinary Jurisdiction - Article 226 - Doctrine of delay - State challenged 1980 order in 2018 despite liberty granted by lower appellate court in 2008 - Court held that liberty to pursue a remedy does not grant a perpetual right to file a petition without regard to reasonable time - State is equally bound by the principles of delay and laches - Nine and a half year delay after liberty was granted is unreasonable - Held - Extraordinary jurisdiction of High Court cannot be invoked after gross and unexplained delay - appeal dismissed - [Paras 43-48].

Civil Law - Jurisdiction - Inams Abolition Act 1954 - Section 9 - Nature of land - State contended the land was a tank bed and hence non-grantable - Lower appellate court upon remand examined historical revenue records and survey sketches and found the land was not a tank bed - Such findings were affirmed up to the Supreme Court - Held - State cannot re-litigate the nature of the land under the guise of an alleged fraudulent or non-existent order when findings were already rendered in prior proceedings - [Paras 33-35].

Decision: Appeal dismissed – Judgment and order dated 19/11/2025 passed by the learned Single Judge affirmed – All pending interlocutory applications stand disposed of.

Criminal Law - Prevention of Corruption - Prevention of Corruption Act 1988 - Sections 7 and 13(1)(d) read with 13(2) - Prosecution for demand and acceptance of illegal gratification by Assistant Manager of Civil Supplies Corporation - Trial court acquitted accused accepting defense that tainted money was display charges - High Court on re-appreciation of evidence found defense theory inconsistent and unsupported by documents - Held - Prosecution proved demand and acceptance beyond reasonable doubt - Trial court judgment set aside and accused convicted - [Paras 27-29].

Criminal Law - Corruption - Prevention of Corruption Act 1988 - Section 20 - Presumption of guilt - Proof of foundational facts - Once the prosecution establishes the demand and acceptance of illegal gratification the burden shifts to the accused to rebut the presumption under Section 20 - Held - Mere explanation of receiving money as display charges without supporting documentary evidence or procedural justification is insufficient to rebut the legal presumption - [Paras 22-25].

Evidence Law - Appreciation of Evidence - Prevention of Corruption Act 1988 - Reliability of complainant testimony - Omissions in deposition - Minor discrepancies in the complainant's statement regarding the counting of money do not negate the established factum of demand and acceptance proved through recovery mahazar and phenolphthalein test - Held - Appellate court justified in re-appreciating evidence to rectify perverse acquittal - [Paras 12-27].

Criminal Law - Sentencing - Prevention of Corruption Act 1988 - Quantum of punishment - Consideration of mitigating factors - While the accused sought leniency citing family circumstances the nature of the offence required a balanced approach - Held - Accused sentenced to simple imprisonment and fine - [Paras 30-33].

Decision: Appeal allowed – Trial court judgment of acquittal set aside – Respondent convicted and sentenced to undergo simple imprisonment of one year (Section 7) and two years (Section 13) with fines – Registry directed to ensure execution of sentence.

Criminal Law - Discharge - Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 - Section 227 - Framing of charge - Petitioners-Directors of the accused company sought discharge in a bank fraud case involving alleged submission of forged work orders-collateral security documents-and diversion of funds - Trial Court dismissed the discharge application holding that the investigation material raised strong suspicion - High Court upheld the order holding that at the stage of framing charge the Court is only required to see if the prosecution material if accepted at face value discloses commission of an offence - Court cannot conduct a mini trial or weigh the sufficiency of evidence at this stage - Held - No perversity or jurisdictional error in the impugned order - Revision dismissed - [Paras 1-27].

Criminal Law - Economic Offences - Prevention of Corruption Act 1988 - Section 13(2) read with Section 13(1)(d) - One Time Settlement (OTS) - Effect on criminal proceedings - Petitioners argued that the OTS with the bank extinguished criminal liability and removed any loss to the public exchequer - High Court reiterated the principle that settlement of civil/financial dues does not automatically extinguish criminal liability in cases involving forgery-conspiracy-and corruption - Held - OTS cannot be a ground for discharge when evidence of fabricated documents and conspiracy exists - [Paras 10-22].

Criminal Law - Revisional Jurisdiction - Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 - Section 397 - Scope of interference - High Court examined the limitation on revisional power while challenging the framing of charge - Revisional jurisdiction is limited to correcting patent defects or errors of law and cannot be exercised to re-evaluate evidence or adopt a defense version at the threshold - Held - Since the trial Court recorded reasons for its opinion that there are grounds for presuming the commission of offences no interference is warranted - [Paras 17-25].

Decision: Revision petition dismissed - The impugned order dated 20/07/2026 passed by the learned Special Judge, CBI, Haryana at Panchkula is upheld - Trial directed to proceed in accordance with law - Prayer for stay of proceedings dismissed.

Criminal Law - Negotiable Instruments Act 1881 - Section 138 - Amendment of Complaint - Petitioner sought to correct an inadvertent clerical error in the complaint and statutory notice regarding the name of the bank of presentation due to a misleading return memo - Trial court dismissed applications - High Court held that curable formal infirmities that do not prejudice the accused or alter the nature of the complaint can be amended to meet the ends of justice - Held - Impugned order set aside and amendment allowed - [Paras 5-10].

Criminal Law - Powers of Criminal Court - Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 - Section 482 - Inherent Power - Absence of specific statutory provision prohibiting amendment of criminal complaints does not denude courts of inherent power to rectify formal errors for dispensation of justice - Held - Court must exercise this power judiciously to prevent miscarriage of justice - [Paras 5-6].

Evidence Law - Witness Examination - Re-examination of witness - Court allowed the recall of PW1 to clarify the corrected bank details post-amendment of the complaint to ensure a fair trial - Held - Such procedural correction is permissible when the mistake is bona fide and formal in nature - [Paras 9-10].

Decision: Petition allowed – Order of the Trial Court set aside – Petitioner permitted to amend the complaint and re-examine PW1 – Trial court directed to dispose of the matter within six months.

Criminal Law - Quashing of Proceedings - Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 - Section 482 - Dispute arising from family property matters and an illegal saw mill closure resulting in an alleged free fight - Medical evidence failing to support the specific allegations of assault and injury - High Court found the proceeding was a civil dispute given a criminal color to harass the petitioners - Held - Proceedings liable to be quashed to prevent abuse of the process of Court - [Paras 5-10].

Criminal Law - Inherent Powers of High Court - Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 - Section 482 - Guidelines laid down in Bhajan Lal case - Allegations in the FIR and charge-sheet do not disclose commission of any cognizable offence and are manifestly attended with mala fides - Held - Criminal proceedings must be quashed where no prima facie case is made out and the dispute is essentially civil - [Paras 6-9].

Decision: Application allowed – Proceedings in Contai Police Station Case No. 332 of 2022 along with the charge-sheet are quashed in respect of the petitioners.