Criminal Appeal – Rejection of Application for Handwriting Analysis and Additional Evidence – Appeal against High Court’s dismissal of application under Section 391 CrPC for additional evidence – Appellant convicted for offence under Section 138 of the NI Act – Dismissal of application for handwriting expert and additional evidence by trial and appellate courts. [Para 2, 4, 6, 7]

Cheque Dishonour – Signature Mismatch Allegation – Accused appellant’s claim of signature forgery on cheque – Trial court's rejection of application for handwriting expert – No further challenge to the order, leading to its finality. [Para 4, 5, 18]

Evidence in Criminal Trials – Role of Accused in Presenting Defense Evidence – Accused’s failure to question bank official about signature genuineness during trial – Appellate court's non-obligation to assist in collecting defense evidence. [Para 10, 16, 17]

Presumptions under Negotiable Instruments Act – Section 118 – Presumption regarding genuineness of cheque endorsements – Burden on accused to rebut presumptions by leading appropriate defense evidence. [Para 13, 14]

Exercise of Power under Section 391 CrPC – Criteria for Additional Evidence at Appellate Stage – Need for evidence to be unavailable despite due diligence or emerging facts during appeal – Application rejected as accused failed to demonstrate such circumstances. [Para 9, 19]

Decision – No Infirmity in Impugned Orders – Appeal dismissed for lack of merit, with all pending applications disposed of. [Para 20, 21]

Petitioner's Appeal and Reliefs Sought – Invoked Article 32 for mandamus directing Respondent No. 1 to create guidelines for medical research approvals, facilitate private medical research growth, revive medical research institutions in stress, and examine irregularities in insolvency proceedings of Frontier Lifeline Private Limited. [Para 1]

Petitioner's Background and Concerns – Dr. K.M. Cherian, a distinguished cardiac surgeon, established Frontier Lifeline Private Limited (FLPL) and faced regulatory delays, financial roadblocks, and issues with insolvency proceedings, leading to the shutdown of Frontier Mediville. [Para 2]

Insolvency Proceedings Against FLPL – Challenges faced by the petitioner due to the conduct of financial creditors and Resolution Professional under IBC, leading to liquidation of FLPL despite potential in medical research and public interest considerations. [Para 2, 4]

Dismissal of Special Leave Petition – The Supreme Court previously dismissed a Special Leave Petition filed by the petitioner challenging an order related to insolvency proceedings, indicating the personal nature of the current writ petition. [Para 5]

Dismissal of Writ Petition – The Court deemed the petition, filed under the guise of public interest, to be rooted in personal grievances related to insolvency proceedings against FLPL and dismissed the petition accordingly. [Para 6, 7]

Civil Appeal – Impleadment of Legal Heirs and Production of Documents – Appeal against dismissal of revision petitions by High Court – Original defendants, legal heirs of late Shri Ananda Rao, sought to be impleaded and produce additional documents in a suit set ex-parte by Trial Court. [Para 2-4]

Civil Procedure – Rule 1A of Order VIII CPC – Application for production of additional documents – Despite failure to submit documents with written statement or before examination of plaintiffs' witnesses, Supreme Court inclined to accept appeals based on reference to documents in written statement and affidavit explaining delay. [Para 6]

Costs and Expedited Trial – Conditional acceptance of appeals subject to payment of costs and direction for expedited trial – Appeals allowed on condition of appellants paying Rs. 40,000/- as costs to respondents and trial to be completed within six months. [Para 7-8]

Decision – Appeals allowed with directions for payment of costs and expedited trial – Trial Court directed to proceed with trial in accordance with law. [Para 9]

Murder Conviction and Weapon Recovery – Appellant Krishan and co-accused Mahesh convicted for murder and possession of arms – Life imprisonment under Section 302 IPC and Section 25 of the Arms Act – Conviction based on recovery of weapon and eyewitness accounts – Recovery deemed suspicious and eyewitnesses unreliable. [Paras 1, 3, 6-8, 11]

Eyewitness Testimony and Hostile Witnesses – Eyewitnesses PW-1 and PW-3 declared hostile – Failure to support prosecution’s case – Led to reliance solely on weapon recovery for conviction. [Paras 4, 6, 11]

Recovery of Weapon and Prosecution’s Theory – Recovery made over a month after the incident – Place of recovery an open space accessible to many – Inconsistencies in police witnesses’ statements regarding the recovery – Absence of independent witnesses to the recovery – Rendered recovery theory suspicious and doubtful. [Paras 7, 8]

Alternate Suspects and Lack of Investigation – PW-2 suspected Naresh Yadav’s involvement, but no investigation conducted into this angle – Failure to investigate alternative suspects or motives undermined the prosecution case. [Para 10]

Benefit of Doubt and Acquittal – Due to unreliable recovery and eyewitness testimony, serious doubt cast on prosecution’s case – Benefit of doubt extended to appellant Krishan – Conviction quashed, and appellant acquitted of all charges. [Paras 11, 12]

Directive for Immediate Release – Supreme Court directs immediate release of appellant Krishan unless required in another case. [Para 12]

Irretrievable Breakdown of Marriage – Dissolution of Marriage Granted – The Supreme Court granted a decree of divorce based on the irretrievable breakdown of marriage between Prakashchandra Joshi (appellant) and Kuntal Prakashchandra Joshi @ Kuntal Visanji Shah (respondent). The parties had been living separately since February 2011, with no contact for almost 13 years, and the respondent-wife did not respond to court summons, indicating no interest in continuing the marital relationship. The marriage, solemnized on 05.01.2004, was dissolved under Article 142(1) of the Constitution of India. [Paras 13, 15-16]

Non-appearance of Respondent – Impact on Judicial Proceedings – The respondent failed to appear in various judicial proceedings, including the proceedings for restitution of conjugal rights initiated by the appellant and the present divorce proceedings, despite due service. This non-appearance was considered indicative of her disinterest in continuing the marriage. [Paras 12, 16]

Exercise of Power under Article 142(1) of the Constitution – The Court exercised its power under Article 142(1) of the Constitution of India to do ‘complete justice’ in the case, finding that the marriage had irretrievably broken down and there was no possibility of the couple staying together. [Paras 13, 15-16]

Divorce on Grounds of Cruelty and Desertion – Initial Plea by Appellant – Initially, the appellant filed for divorce on the grounds of cruelty and desertion. However, both the Family Court and the High Court dismissed the appellant's petition, finding no case made out for divorce on these grounds. The Supreme Court did not focus on these grounds but rather on the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage. [Paras 4-6, 16]

Long Separation – Indicative of Irretrievable Breakdown – The fact that the parties had been separated for approximately 13 years with no communication was a significant factor in determining the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage. [Para 15]

Decision – The appeal was allowed, and the marriage was dissolved on the ground of irretrievable breakdown. [Para 16]

Criminal Appeal – Murder – Acquittal – Circumstantial Evidence – Appeal against conviction and life sentence for murder and conspiracy to destroy evidence. The Supreme Court scrutinized the circumstantial evidence relied upon by the Trial Court and the High Court. The main evidence included recovery of items at the appellant’s instance and blood-stained clothes. The Supreme Court found the circumstantial evidence insufficient to sustain the conviction. [Para 1, 11-20]

Evidence – Circumstantial Evidence and its Evaluation – The Court reiterated the principles for basing conviction on circumstantial evidence, emphasizing the necessity for circumstances to be fully established, consistent only with the hypothesis of guilt, and excluding all other hypotheses. The recovered items, including a dagger and rickshaw, were not conclusively linked to the appellant or the crime. The prosecution failed to establish a complete chain of evidence. [Para 7, 14-19]

Murder – Absence of Direct Evidence – In cases lacking direct evidence, reliance on circumstantial evidence necessitates a higher degree of proof. The prosecution’s reliance on suspicious circumstances and recovery of items failed to establish the appellant’s guilt beyond reasonable doubt. – FSL report insufficient to prove guilt – Contradictions in recovery of murder weapon and other articles weaken prosecution’s case – Discrepancies in evidence regarding the identification of the deceased’s body - The Court highlighted the distinction between ‘may be proved’ and ‘must be or should be proved’. [Para 9, 12-19]

Inadequate Explanation under Section 313 Cr.P.C. – Appellant’s failure to provide explanation in Section 313 statement not a conclusive factor in circumstantial evidence cases – Such non-explanation cannot be used as an additional link in the chain of circumstances [Paras 21].

Decision – Overturning High Court Judgment – The Supreme Court found the High Court and Trial Court’s reliance on circumstantial evidence and recovery of items inadequate for conviction. The appeal was allowed, the conviction and life sentence were set aside, and the appellant was ordered to be released, overturning the High Court’s judgment. [Para 20-22]

Default Bail and Chargesheet Filing – Supreme Court considered whether respondents were entitled to default bail under Section 167(2) Cr.P.C., when a chargesheet was filed within the prescribed time limit, but investigation against some accused was ongoing – Held that default bail was not applicable once chargesheet filed and cognizance taken, even if further investigation pending. [Paras 13, 15, 23-25]

Nature of Chargesheet – Filing a chargesheet with ongoing investigation against other accused does not render it incomplete – The court examines the nature of offences and takes cognizance based on the material presented, irrespective of further investigation status. [Paras 20, 22, 24]

Legal Principles on Bail and Cognizance – Supreme Court elucidated principles governing default bail, relation between filing of chargesheet, ongoing investigations, and the court's power to take cognizance – Emphasized that filing of chargesheet within prescribed time extinguishes right to default bail. [Paras 15, 17-19, 23, 24, 26]

Decision – Supreme Court set aside High Court and Special Court orders granting default bail – Directed respondents to be taken into custody, clarifying that observations in this judgment shall not influence pending proceedings on merits. [Para 26]

Goa’s Criteria for Identifying Private Forests – Validity Upheld – Supreme Court rejects the challenge to Goa’s criteria for identifying private forests – Minimum area of 5 hectares and canopy density of 0.4 deemed appropriate, rejecting the proposed reduction to 1 hectare and 0.1 canopy density – Criteria set in line with the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 and the Scheduled Tribes & Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 – Nationwide uniform criteria for forest identification not feasible due to diverse geographic conditions across states [Paras 1-70].

Environmental Law – Identification of Forests – Criteria for Identification of Forests in Private Properties in Goa – Challenged in Supreme Court – Appeal against National Green Tribunal Order – Upheld existing criteria for identification of forests in private properties – No modification of criteria required. [Para 1-5, 55-70]

Forest Conservation Act, 1980 – Application to Private Forests – Criteria for identifying 'forest' in private properties – Supreme Court upholds criteria set by State of Goa – Minimum area of 5 hectares and canopy density of 0.4 retained – No change to 1 hectare area and 0.1 canopy density as proposed by appellant. [Para 4, 59-67]

Jurisdiction – National Green Tribunal – Jurisdiction to alter forest identification criteria – Supreme Court finds NGT correctly declined to alter criteria set by State – Upholds NGT's decision in light of Supreme Court's earlier directions and established criteria. [Para 30, 55, 70]

Res Judicata – Challenge to Forest Identification Criteria – Criteria for identification of forests in private lands attaining finality in previous judgments – Appellant's challenge barred by principles of res judicata – Supreme Court holds no further reconsideration necessary. [Para 38-42, 70]

Conservation – Private Forests – Conservation measures in State of Goa – Court highlights significant forest cover in Goa – Criteria for identifying forests crucial for conservation and protection – Supreme Court upholds existing criteria to ensure effective conservation. [Para 67, 70]

Sustainable Development – Balance between Environmental Protection and Development – Criteria for identification of forests seeks to balance environmental protection and developmental needs – Supreme Court recognizes importance of sustainable development in upholding criteria. [Para 67, 70]

Decision – Supreme Court's Decision – Criteria for identification of forests in private properties upheld – Existing criteria set by State of Goa retained – Appeals rejected, and interim order vacated. [Para 70]

Dispute Resolution in Charitable Society Elections – Challenge against election process of Shikshan Prasarak Mandal's executive body – Appellants’ Change Report rejected due to alleged procedural flaws – Assistant Charity Commissioner, Joint Charity Commissioner, District Judge, and High Court involved in adjudication. [Paras 1-8, 31]

Doctrine of Necessity – Utilization in Electing Society's Executive Body – Appellant No. 1, functioning as Working President, convened an extraordinary meeting for elections due to absence of regular office bearers – Doctrine of necessity justified action under compelling circumstances, drawing parallel with William Blackstone's principles in "Commentaries on the Laws of England" and similar jurisprudence. [Paras 14-18, 20]

Membership and Notice in Societal Elections – Disputed status of 7 objectors as members due to non-payment of dues – Proviso to Section 15 of the Societies Registration Act rendered them ineligible to vote or be counted as members – Non-issuance of election meeting notice to them not found to be illegal. [Paras 22-23, 26]

Eligibility of Contesting Respondents – Respondents’ locus challenged due to their non-member/non-objector status – Appeal allowed in favor of appellants, with a directive for fresh elections to be conducted by the Charity Commissioner. [Paras 28-35]

Future Conduct of Elections – Supreme Court’s direction for fresh elections by Charity Commissioner, ensuring fair, transparent, and legal processes – Emphasis on resolving membership issues and electoral eligibility. [Para 35]

Decision – Appeal allowed – Orders rejecting Change Report set aside – Fresh elections to be held for the Society's Executive Committee within six months, under supervision of the Charity Commissioner. [Paras 31, 35-36]