Prima facie material required to connect accused with alleged crime - Abuse of process of law - Right to personal liberty - Constitution of India, Article 21. [Para 18]

2. Registration of case under Karnataka Protection of Interest of Depositors in Financial Establishment Act, 2004 - Preliminary satisfaction report not submitted - Prima facie material required - Abuse of process of court - Right to personal liberty. [Para 21]

3. Investigation - Prima facie material required to proceed with criminal action - Abuse of process of law - Right to personal liberty. [Para 22]

4. Role of Accused - Allegations without documentary proof connecting accused to alleged fraud - Quashing of registration of case against accused - Prima facie material necessary to proceed with investigation. [Para 16]

5. Additional Accused - Liberty granted to investigating agency to arraign petitioner as additional accused if substantive material connecting him to alleged fraud is discovered during investigation. [Para 22]

6. Abuse of process of law - Quashing of case against petitioner due to lack of prima facie material connecting him to alleged fraud - Right to personal liberty - Constitution of India, Article 21. [Para 20]

Decision: Criminal petition allowed. Registration of case against the petitioner in Crime No. 242/2022 quashed. Investigating agency granted liberty to arraign the petitioner as an additional accused if substantive material connecting him to the alleged fraud is discovered during the investigation.

Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 - Section 51 - Execution of decree - Transfer of ownership of attached property - Erroneous process followed by Executing Court - Decree holder seeking transfer and sale of attached property in their name - No participation of decree holder in auction proceedings - No provision for direct transfer of ownership - Impugned order set aside - Case remanded to Executing Court - Executing Court directed to proceed with execution from stage of warrant of sale issuance - Decree holder allowed to seek permission to participate in auction proceedings - Executing Court to facilitate satisfaction of decree.(Para No.5)

Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 - Bail - Recovery from co-accused - Disclosure statement - No recovery from the petitioner - Petitioner's name emerging from disclosure statement - Petitioner in custody for a significant period - No comment on merits of the case - Petitioner granted bail. [Para 5]

Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 - Bail - No recovery from the petitioner's possession - Custody certificate showing prolonged custody - Petitioner sentenced in another case - Petitioner admitted to bail - Bail bonds and surety bonds to be furnished to satisfaction of trial court. [Para 5]

Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 - Section 482 - Indian Penal Code, 1860 - Sections 341, 323, 506 - Framing of charges - Discharge - Scope of interference - At the stage of framing charges, the court's role is limited to determining whether a prima facie case has been made out against the accused - Detailed inquiry into evidence or weighing its sufficiency cannot be conducted - Personal biases or prejudices against the complainant should not affect the consideration of the case. [Para 12]

Lawyer's Duty - Lawyers have a professional obligation to provide representation and legal assistance to their clients while maintaining a sense of fairness and respect for the legal process - Personal enmity or grudges against opposing parties cannot be presumed solely based on the representation of their clients. [Para 17]

Filing of False Complaint - The fact that a complaint is lodged by a lawyer, who may have previously lodged a complaint against the accused's client, does not automatically render the complaint false or motivated - Each complaint must be assessed independently, irrespective of the financial or professional status of the parties involved. [Para 19]

Judicial Powers - Courts have limited powers at the stage of framing charges - Interference should only be exercised in exceptional cases and on rare occasions when there are strong reasons to quash charges in the interest of justice and to avoid abuse of the court process. [Para 20]

Duty of Magistrate - The Magistrate is bound by the directions passed by the superior court and must comply with those directions - The correctness of the superior court's order cannot be questioned by the Magistrate at the stage of framing charges. Petition Dismissed [Para 24]

Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 - Section 439 - Interim Bail - Consideration of bail application by a petitioner seeking interim bail for six months - Petitioner gave birth to a child during custody - Allegations of the petitioner pushing her eight-year-old son into a canal - Petitioner's claim of accidental slip - Importance of maternal care and child's welfare - Constitutional provisions and international rules emphasizing non-custodial sentences for pregnant women and women with dependent children - Impact of maternal mental health on fetal development - Rights of newborns - Prima facie case and discretion of the court - Imposition of stringent conditions - Modification of bail conditions - Observations not affecting trial proceedings - Grant of interim bail subject to specific terms and conditions.

DNA test in a declaratory suit - Order for DNA test should not be granted as a matter of routine - Burden of proof lies on the litigating party - A party cannot be compelled to prove the case in the manner suggested by the contesting party - DNA test cannot be ordered for a roving enquiry.

The plaintiff's right to privacy and protection from stigmatization - Consideration of social and cultural implications - Timing of the application for DNA test - Balancing the interests of the parties.

The discretion of the court in ordering a DNA test - Test of "eminent need" and "proportionality" - Examining the legitimate aims pursued and the impact on the person's privacy and personal autonomy - a strong prima facie case and balancing the interests of the parties.

The burden of proof - Party asserting the positive has the burden of proof - Shift of burden when challenged - Court should not compel a party to prove the case in the manner suggested by the contesting party.

Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 – Section 52-A – Standing Order No. 1 of 1988 – Conflict between statutory provisions and instructions – Implication of Section 52-A of the Act – Requirement of drawing representative samples of seized contraband – Standing Orders cannot supersede the Act – Statutory instructions are mandatory in nature – Investigating agency bound to follow Section 52-A of the Act for drawing representative samples. (Para 16)

Time limit for dispatch of samples – Procedural safeguards under Standing Order No. 1 of 1988 – Standing Orders to be adhered to in addition to the provisions of the NDPS Act – Failure to comply suffocates the prosecution case. (Para 19)

Non-examination of an independent witness – Failure to associate independent witness creates a dent in the case of prosecution – Fair and impartial investigation required – Investigator and informant must not be the same person – Doctrine of bias and principles of natural justice. (Para 20, 21, 22, 23)

Applicability of law laid down in a previous case – Pending criminal prosecutions, trials, and appeals prior to the law laid down in a later case governed by individual facts of the case. (Para 25)

Stricter degree of proof for more serious offences – Fundamental right to a fair trial under Article 21 of the Constitution essential to dispensation of justice – Obligation on the investigating officer to follow procedural safeguards. (Para 26, 27)

Acquittal of appellants – Judgment of conviction and order of sentence set aside – Appellants acquitted of charges – Bail bonds and surety bonds discharged. (Para 28)

Negligence - Liability for compensation - Distinction between civil and criminal negligence - Receipt of compensation for criminal liability does not bar claim for compensation for civil wrong - Liability to pay compensation for civil wrong and criminal wrong are independent and mutually exclusive - Liability of respondents to pay compensation established. [Para 8.1]

Standard Compensation - Assessment - Compensation for non-pecuniary losses - Need for revision to counter inflation and erosion of the value of the rupee - Standard Compensation enhanced based on the Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers (CPI-IW) - Standard Compensation assessed at Rs. 3,08,666/-. [Para 14.1]

Pecuniary Compensation - Assessment - Loss of earnings - Calculation based on potential earning capacity of the deceased - Annual loss of dependency determined after deducting personal expenses - Application of multiplier based on the age of the deceased - Pecuniary Compensation assessed at Rs. 20,25,000/-. [Para 16]

Joint and Several Liability - Liability of respondents to pay compensation jointly and severally - Total compensation awarded to the appellants - Respondents directed to pay Rs. 23,33,666/- as compensation along with 6% simple interest from the date of filing the writ petition. [Para 18]

Eviction Orders - Alleged encroachment on gair mumkin rasta (pathway) in khasra No. 145 - Petitioners challenged eviction orders issued by Assistant Collector Ist Grade, Rewari, and Collector, Rewari - Reliance on demarcation report - Objections raised by petitioners - Violation of guidelines, ex parte demarcation, failure to ascertain fixed points, and relay them onto the ground. (Para 1-3)

Demarcation Report - Inappropriate reliance - Demarcating officer's failure to serve respondents No. 5 and 6, and obtain necessary signatures - Ex parte demarcation against petitioners - Invalid demarcation - No valid demarcation from masawi (map) - Inability to ascertain fixed points. (Para 4-6)

Interference with impugned orders - Quashing and setting aside of orders - Remand to Assistant Collector - Eliciting fresh valid demarcation report - Tendering report into evidence - Opportunity to cross-examine demarcating officer - Decision on remanded lis within six months from today. (Para 7-9)