Criminal Law - Dacoity with Murder - Indian Penal Code 1860 - Section 396 - Sudden encounter and lack of nexus - Appellants were convicted by the trial court for dacoity with murder after the deceased Atar Singh was killed in a chance encounter with the Mahavira gang due to prior enmity - Prosecution alleged that after the deceased was shot, the accused looted his gun and cartridges - High Court observed that Section 396 IPC requires that the murder be committed while conjointly committing dacoity - Since the meeting was accidental and triggered by personal enmity rather than a pre-meditated design to commit robbery or dacoity, the essential ingredients for Section 396 IPC were not satisfied - Prosecution failed to prove that dacoity was the primary intention - Held - Conviction under Section 396 IPC unsustainable - Appeal allowed and appellant acquitted - [Paras 24-26].

Criminal Law - Dacoity - Indian Penal Code 1860 - Sections 391 and 396 - Definition and ingredients - The court reiterated that for an offence under Section 396 IPC to be made out, it must be established that five or more persons were acting conjointly to commit or attempt to commit robbery/dacoity and murder was committed in the course of such commission - Accidental encounter followed by the opportunistic taking of a weapon does not satisfy the criteria for dacoity as defined under Section 391 IPC - Held - Absence of prior intent or nexus to commit robbery nullifies the application of Section 396 IPC - [Paras 24-26].

Decision: Appeal allowed – Judgment and order dated 02.11.1982 set aside – Appellant Sattu acquitted of all charges – Bail bonds cancelled and sureties discharged.

Writ Law - Recruitment Process - Article 226 of the Constitution of India - Validity of 2022 recruitment claims - Petitioners sought to fill 10% of vacancies remaining from TAIT-2022 recruitment process - Government contended that TAIT-2022 scores ceased to be valid upon declaration of TAIT-2025 results as per Government Resolution dated 10th November 2022 - Petitioners participated in TAIT-2025 recruitment process - Court held that State has no legal duty to fill all advertised vacancies and candidates do not acquire an indefeasible right to appointment - Held - Petitioners are estopped from claiming appointment based on TAIT-2022 after participating in subsequent TAIT-2025 process - Writ Petition dismissed except for two Petitioners who did not participate in the 2025 examination - [Paras 1-18].

Service Law - Selection - Right to Appointment - Principles settled in Shankarsan Dash v. Union of India - State is under no legal obligation to fill up vacancies advertised and selected candidates do not have a vested right to be appointed - State has right to cancel or modify recruitment for valid reasons - Court noted that introduction of new reservation framework under 2024 Act and conduct of subsequent TAIT-2025 changed the recruitment landscape - Held - No direction can be issued to upend current recruitment process for outdated 2022 vacancies - [Paras 8-16].

Estoppel - Conduct of Candidates - Participation in subsequent recruitment - Petitioners appeared for TAIT-2025 examination while simultaneously challenging the non-filling of TAIT-2022 vacancies - Relying on Om Prakash Shukla v. Akhilesh Kumar Shukla - Court held that candidates having appeared in subsequent process without protest cannot resile and demand relief for expired recruitment - [Paras 12-13].

Decision: Writ Petition dismissed – Respondents directed to consider only Petitioner Nos. 6 and 20 for appointment to unfilled vacancies of Phase I of TAIT-2022, as they did not participate in TAIT-2025.

Criminal Law – Rape, Extortion, Criminal Intimidation – Sections 376(2)(n), 384, 506 Part II IPC – Appeal Dismissed – Appellant convicted for repeatedly raping the prosecutrix by blackmailing her with her own private photographs, extorting money from her and criminally intimidating her and her family – Prosecutrix's testimony found consistent and corroborated by medical and electronic evidence – Held: Prosecution proved the case beyond reasonable doubt – Conviction and sentence upheld [Paras 40-44].

Repeated Rape Under Threat of Circulating Private Photographs – Matrimonial-website acquaintance – Long-distance relationship turned abusive – Appellant obtained prosecutrix's nude photographs and threatened to circulate them among her family unless she complied with his demands – Raped her at Hotel Radisson, Paschim Vihar, during his stay from 23.01.2017 to 25.01.2017 and again on 29.08.2017 – MLC recorded torn hymen and 3-4 cm blade-cut marks on thighs, corroborating her account of being forced to self-harm – Held: Ingredients of Section 376(2)(n) IPC established [Paras 2, 13-15, 24, 40].

Credibility of Prosecutrix – Minor Inconsistencies Immaterial – Defence highlighted inability to recall room/floor number and confusion over the month of the second incident (29.09.2017 v. 29.08.2017) – Accused's own admission (DW1) of a hotel stay on 29.08.2017, corroborated by unchallenged Ext. PW8/D registration card, resolved the discrepancy – Charge itself confined to the January 2017 incident – Held: Peripheral inconsistencies do not dislodge an otherwise consistent core testimony [Paras 20-21, 26].

PCR Call – Non-Mention of Rape Not an Afterthought – PCR call referred only to blackmail and not rape or extortion – Held: A PCR call made for urgent police assistance cannot be expected to contain a full narration; omission does not discredit the subsequent consistent account in the FIR, Section 164 statement and deposition [Para 22].

Penetration and False Promise of Marriage – Rahul and Nitin B. Nikhare Distinguished – Defence relied on absence of proof of penetration and on the "false promise of marriage" line of cases – Held: Unlike Rahul (supra), prosecutrix specifically deposed to rape (not merely "physical relations"), corroborated by medical evidence – Unlike Nitin B. Nikhare (supra), the case was not founded on an unfulfilled promise to marry following consensual relations, but on blackmail and coercion – Both precedents held inapplicable [Paras 23-26].

Electronic Evidence – Call Recordings, CDR and IMEI Corroboration – Section 65-B Certificate – Defence challenged the call-recording transcript for absence of voice sampling/comparison – Held: Data was extracted by FSL from mobile phones seized from both parties (not a recording retained solely by the complainant), and was correlated with CDRs, IMEI numbers and Customer Application Forms – Primary evidence being available, no Section 65-B certificate was necessary – Anil Markende (supra), involving an uncorroborated recorder retained by the complainant, held distinguishable [Paras 27-36].

Alleged False Implication for Extortion by Complainant's Family – Accused claimed PW1's family demanded money and that a CD recording such demand existed – CD never produced despite opportunity; accused unable even to identify the advocate to whom it was allegedly handed over – Held: Defence version not established even on preponderance of probability [Paras 38-39].

Extortion and Criminal Intimidation – Sections 384 and 506 Part II IPC – Threats to circulate private photographs used to extract money from prosecutrix, established through her testimony and corroborating audio/video clippings – Threats to prosecutrix and her family of dire consequences established ingredients of criminal intimidation – Held: Sections 383/384 and 506 Part II IPC ingredients proved [Paras 41-42].

Decision: Appeal dismissed – Conviction under Sections 376(2)(n), 384 and 506 Part II IPC and sentence of the Trial Court upheld.

Civil Law - Motor Accident Compensation - Motor Vehicles Act 1988 - Section 164 - Enhancement of Compensation - Claimants sought enhancement of compensation originally awarded under Section 163-A following the death of their minor daughter in a motor vehicle accident in 2004 - The Tribunal had awarded Rs 1,54,500 based on the then-prevailing Second Schedule - High Court held that in light of the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act 2019 and the ratio of the Supreme Court in Ram Murti and others versus Punjab State Electricity Board 2023 ACJ 631 the claimants are entitled to the benefit of the beneficial provision of Rs 5,00,000 as compensation provided under Section 164 notwithstanding the fact that the accident occurred prior to the amendment - Held - Award modified to enhance compensation to Rs 5,00,000 with interest at 7.5 percent per annum - [Paras 1-13].

Civil Law - No Fault Liability - Motor Vehicles Act 1988 - Section 164 - Beneficial Construction - The Court ruled that Section 164 which replaced the regime of Section 163-A/Section 140 acts as a beneficial piece of legislation intended to provide immediate lump sum relief in cases of death or grievous hurt without requiring proof of negligence - Applying the principle of beneficial interpretation the Court directed the insurance company to pay the difference between the awarded sum and the statutory amount of Rs 5,00,000 - Held - Insurance company liable to pay the enhanced amount - [Paras 7-12].

Decision: Appeal partly allowed – Award modified – Compensation enhanced to Rs 5,00,000 with interest at 7.5% per annum from the date of filing the claim petition – Respondent No. 4-insurance company directed to pay the enhanced amount within eight weeks.

Motor Accident Law - Compensation - Motor Vehicles Act 1988 - Section 166 - Enhancement of compensation - Appellant suffered multiple injuries in an accident due to the rash and negligent driving of the respondent's vehicle - Tribunal awarded Rs 25000 as total compensation which the appellant challenged as grossly inadequate - High Court found no evidence linking the claimed 30 percent disability due to blindness to the accident as MRI and medical records remained silent on ocular trauma - High Court maintained the findings on disability but exercised discretion to enhance compensation for medical expenses, transportation, loss of income, special diet, and pain and suffering based on common knowledge and estimation - Held - Appeal partly allowed - Compensation enhanced to Rs 45000 - [Paras 1-22].

Motor Accident Law - Assessment of Damages - Motor Vehicles Act 1988 - Section 166 - Pecuniary and Non-pecuniary damages - Requirement for nexus between injury and disability - Claimant failed to prove that loss of vision in one eye was a proximate result of the accident - Medical evidence showed no internal eye injury or causal link to the forehead trauma - Held - Claim for compensation based on permanent disability rightly rejected by the Tribunal - [Paras 12-16].

Motor Accident Law - Just Compensation - Motor Vehicles Act 1988 - Section 166 - Principles of restitution - Duty of Court to ensure fair and equitable award - While lack of preserved bills necessitates reasonable guesswork for medical and transport expenses, such assessment must remain realistic and not speculative - Held - Reasonable enhancement granted for treatment and pain and suffering - [Paras 10-21].

Decision: Appeal partly accepted – Enhanced compensation of Rs 45000 awarded (Rs 20000 additional) with interest at 9 percent per annum from the date of petition – Liability of the LRs of the deceased driver restricted to the extent of the estate inherited – Directions issued for compliance by Insurance Company via electronic communication.

Civil Law - Revenue Law - Punjab Land Revenue Act 1887 - Appointment of Lambardar - Appellant challenged the orders of Divisional Commissioner and Financial Commissioner which remanded the matter to District Collector for fresh appointment while simultaneously recording findings that the private respondent was more meritorious due to age and education - Appellant contended these observations would prejudice the District Collector - Court held that while the remand order is sustainable the District Collector must decide the appointment uninfluenced by the observations made by the Appellate Authorities regarding the comparative merit of the candidates - Held - Appeal disposed of with directions to District Collector to decide afresh without being influenced by previous observations - [Paras 1-7].

Civil Law - Judicial Review - Revenue Authorities - Administrative Bias - Appellate authority while remanding matter for fresh consideration must refrain from expressing definitive opinions on the merits of the candidates to ensure a fair de novo adjudication - Held - Observations of the lower appellate authorities regarding superior merit are vacated insofar as they mandate the outcome of the fresh inquiry - [Paras 4-5].

Decision: Appeal disposed of – Directions issued to the District Collector to determine the eligibility for the post of Lambardar inter se the parties uninfluenced by any observations made in the orders dated 12.03.2024 and 06.04.2026.

Criminal Law - Maintenance - Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 - Section 125 - Rejection of maintenance on grounds of educational qualification - Wife held an M.A. degree - Family Court denied maintenance assuming she could support herself - High Court held that mere possession of an educational degree does not disqualify a wife from claiming maintenance under Section 125 CrPC - Held - Order of the Family Court set aside - [Paras 7-8].

Criminal Law - Maintenance - Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 - Section 125 - Effect of rejection of permanent alimony under Hindu Marriage Act - Permanent alimony of Rs. 10,00,000 was rejected in divorce proceedings due to failure to prove husband's exact income - Family Court erroneously treated this as a bar to maintenance under Section 125 CrPC - High Court ruled that failure to prove financial status for a lump sum alimony claim does not negate the statutory right to monthly maintenance - Held - Wife is entitled to maintenance - [Paras 6-9].

Criminal Law - Maintenance - Quantum of Maintenance - Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 - Section 125 - Fixation of maintenance amount - Respondent earns Rs. 29,000 per month as Assistant Accountant - Wife sought Rs. 20,000 per month but failed to provide substantive proof of respondent's income - Court balanced the financial capacity of the respondent against his claimed obligations toward parents and mentally ill brother which remained unproven - High Court directed payment of Rs. 5,000 per month to the wife in addition to the Rs. 5,000 already awarded to the son - [Paras 9-10].

Decision: Revision Petition allowed – Impugned order modified – Respondent directed to pay Rs. 5,000 per month to Petitioner No. 1 as maintenance from the date of filing of Crl. Misc. No. 374/2021 – Arrears to be cleared within five months.

Criminal Law - Anticipatory Bail - Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023 - Section 482 - Successive bail application - Petitioner seeking pre-arrest bail in a case involving fatal accident and forgery of vehicle registration plates - Earlier petition dismissed as withdrawn by coordinate bench with liberty to surrender - Petitioner failed to disclose previous litigation or the order of withdrawal - Court observed no substantial change in circumstances to justify fresh consideration - Held - Petition dismissed with exemplary costs for suppressing material facts and abusing the process of law - [Paras 1-11].

Criminal Law - Duty of Disclosure - Judicial Process - Mandatory requirement of disclosure in bail applications - Petitioner under solemn obligation to make complete and candid disclosure of all material facts - Suppression of prior bail rejections or withdrawals strikes at the root of administration of criminal justice - Held - Failure to disclose previous bail petition is a deliberate and unpardonable subversion of the rule of law warranting dismissal with costs - [Paras 8-8.2].

Criminal Law - Vicarious Liability - Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023 - Sections 61(2) and 345(3) - Registered owner of vehicle - Vehicle involved in fatal accident found with different registration numbers on each side - Petitioner seeking bail on ground of no personal overt act - Court held that while ownership does not establish automatic liability the circumstances surrounding the identity of the vehicle and alleged criminal conspiracy are matters for investigation - Held - Custodial interrogation or investigation justified given the gravity of the incident resulting in two deaths - [Paras 3-7].

Decision: Petition dismissed – Petitioner directed to deposit costs of ₹25,000 with the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Faridkot, to be remitted to the Punjab State Legal Services Authority, Mohali – Recovery of costs as arrears of land revenue if default occurs.

Writ Law - Public Interest Litigation - Structural Safety of Judicial Infrastructure - The High Court building being a Temple of Justice faces severe structural defects including corrosion and delamination putting lives at peril - Court observed that the State machinery failed to show sensitivity to the deteriorating condition since 2023 - Experts from IIT Bombay and IIT Jodhpur identified critical deficiencies in the dome and overall structure - State directed to expedite repairs and ensure accountability of erring officials - Held - State respondents must implement expert recommendations in a time-bound manner and produce action taken reports while continuing to ensure safety - [Paras 1-25].

Writ Law - Judicial Administration - Protection against liability - To prevent obstruction of justice and administrative apathy the Court directed that no order granting protection against civil or criminal liability to any person involved in the structural failure shall be effective unless passed by a Division Bench of the High Court or the Supreme Court - Held - Such protective orders are deemed to be of no effect if passed by lower authorities - [Para 21].

Evidence Law - Expert Testimony - Structural Audit - IIT Bombay and IIT Jodhpur reports confirm critical and unsatisfactory structural defects requiring comprehensive restoration rather than piecemeal repairs - Experts cautioned that failing immediate redressal the building could become unfit for habitation - Held - Courts must rely on professional technical audits to direct necessary civil works for public safety - [Paras 8-11].

Criminal Law - Accountability of Public Servants - Negligence in Construction - Investigation into structural failure involving RSRDC and PWD officers revealed lacklustre progress despite grave risks - Court noted that nine persons have been charge-sheeted but the pace of investigation is unsatisfactory - Held - Further delay in investigation or lack of action against erring officials will invite strictures and potential contempt proceedings - [Paras 3, 14, 24].

Decision: Matter adjourned to 15/09/2026 – State directed to ensure the presence of all concerned officers – Comprehensive action plan for restoration and status of investigations to be submitted.