Case: State of West Bengal vs. Sujit Dey Bhowmik
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (Cal) 360
The Calcutta High Court took exception to the trial court's reasoning that the murder of the appellant's wife amounted to a “rarest of rare” case because he had forgotten the “love, affection, contribution and sacrifice” of his spouse despite the Vedic mantras exchanged during their marriage.
The Division Bench held that the trial court had failed to properly balance aggravating and mitigating circumstances and commuted the death sentence to rigorous imprisonment for life.
Case: Jiwan Rai vs. The State of West Bengal
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (Cal) 361
The Calcutta High Court upheld the life sentence imposed on a man for repeatedly raping his minor daughter, observing that the offence assumes particular gravity when the person expected to provide a child with “care, affection and security” abuses that relationship to exercise fear and control.
Case: Sanjibani Das Samanta @ Sanjiboni vs. State of West Bengal & Anr.
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (Cal) 362
The Calcutta High Court held that an earning spouse who deliberately conceals his actual income cannot benefit from such concealment by securing a reduction in maintenance payable to his minor child.
The Court restored the minor daughter's interim maintenance to ₹9,000 per month after finding that the Sessions Court had reduced it to ₹8,000 despite recording that the father had failed to disclose his true financial position.
Case: Dr. R. Thulasidasan vs. Shri M. Sethu & Ors.
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (Cal) 363
The Calcutta High Court's Circuit Bench at Port Blair held that a third party or public-spirited citizen can approach the writ court against municipal inaction concerning unauthorised construction.
The Bench observed that rampant unauthorised construction burdens civic amenities and poses safety hazards, while upholding directions concerning demolition of unauthorised portions of a hotel building.
Case: Ayan Nawaz v State of West Bengal
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (Cal) 364
The Calcutta High Court held that the State cannot use the financial liability towards payment of internship stipends as a “road block” to allotting compulsory internship seats to Foreign Medical Graduates.
The Bench observed that the internship could be undertaken even without immediate payment of stipend and that the claim for stipend could subsequently be pursued. The Court noted that 1,067 CRMI seats were available to FMGs in West Bengal, but only 266 had been filled.
Case: Sri Avijit Singha Roy & Anr. vs. M/s. GTS Constructions & Ors.
Citaiton: 2026 LiveLaw (Cal) 365
The Calcutta High Court observed that “electricity is an essential commodity” and that living without electricity in modern times amounts to deprivation of meaningful and civilized life.
The Division Bench upheld restoration of electricity to occupants of a dilapidated premises, while clarifying that restoration of supply would not create any right or equity in favour of the occupants.
Case: Sk. Habibur Rahaman & Anr. vs. State of West Bengal & Anr.
Citatio: 2026 LiveLaw (Cal) 366
The Calcutta High Court refused to quash proceedings against a married couple accused of keeping a 15-year-old girl as a domestic help, holding that conflicting statements by the minor raised disputed questions of fact.
The Court held that the couple's claim that they had merely provided shelter, food and assistance to the girl could not be accepted at the Section 482 stage when the case diary contained material suggesting that she performed household work for money.
Case: Maruti Suzuki India Limited & Anr. vs. Vijaynath Jha
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (Cal) 367
The Calcutta High Court quashed criminal proceedings against Maruti Suzuki India Limited and its CEO arising from allegations concerning an alleged defect in the power steering of a Celerio ZXI MT.
The Court held that the allegations disclosed, at best, a consumer dispute and did not make out the ingredients of cheating or criminal conspiracy.
Relationship In Nature Of Marriage Can Attract Cruelty Provision U/S 498A IPC: Calcutta High Court
Case: Sk. Azharuddin @ Akash vs. State of West Bengal & Anr.
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (Cal) 368
The Calcutta High Court dismissed a plea seeking quashing of proceedings under Sections 498A, 420 and 384 IPC, holding that the absence of a formally valid traditional marriage does not, at the threshold, preclude prosecution for cruelty in a relationship in the nature of marriage.
Justice Uday Kumar observed that a “flawless, legally unassailable marriage” cannot be treated as an indispensable prerequisite where the materials disclose a marriage-like domestic arrangement and allegations of cruelty.
Case: X v State of West Bengal
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (Cal) 369
The Calcutta High Court upheld the West Bengal Administrative Tribunal's decision setting aside an ICC report against a Deputy Superintendent of Police, holding that a complaint under the POSH Act must be filed within three months of the last actual incident of sexual harassment.
The Bench held that an employee's apprehension that she might face harassment again after seeing the DSP at her workplace did not constitute a fresh incident for extending the limitation period.
Case: Nemai Ghosh v State of West Bengal
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (Cal) 370
The Calcutta High Court awarded ₹5 lakh compensation to a patient who suffered loss of vision following cataract surgery at a government hospital, holding that the State cannot escape liability for medical negligence committed by its hospitals.
The Bench noted that the patient, an electrician and sole earning member of his family, had suffered monetary loss and loss of future prospects following the complications.