Mere Lodging Of Cruelty FIR Against Husband Doesn't Itself Amount To Cruelty, Not Ground For Divorce: Telangana High Court

The Telangana High Court has held that mere lodging of a complaint against a husband and his family under Section 498A IPC and Sections 3 and 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act does not amount to cruelty and cannot, by itself, constitute a ground for divorce.The Court further held that neither the Family Court nor the High Court can dissolve a marriage on the ground of irretrievable breakdown. A spouse seeking divorce on the statutory ground of cruelty must plead and prove the alleged conduct...

Promise To Marry Not Deceitful If Man Intended To Marry But Woman's Mother Refused: Karnataka High Court Grants Bail

Granting bail to man booked in a rape case, the Karnataka High Court observed that when a man who promises marriage subsequently approaches the woman's family seeking approval and where her mother refuses the proposal then it cannot be said that the man had no intention to fulfill the promise.The single judge bench of Justice S Vishwajith Shetty noted that the victim herself, in her statement recorded under Section 183 of BNSS, confirmed that after the alleged sexual act between them, the...

Meghalaya High Court Rejects Bail To Man Accused Of Sexually Assaulting Minor, Says He Betrayed Child's Trust

The Meghalaya High Court has refused to grant bail to a man accused of sexually assaulting and molesting a minor at a children's home, observing that the accused had allegedly betrayed the trust reposed in him by the children, who regarded him as a grandfather. The Court noted that the material on record prima facie indicated that he had taken advantage of the child's vulnerability....

S. 362 CrPC Does Not Curtail High Court's Inherent Power To Recall Judgment Resulting In Miscarriage Of Justice: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has held that Section 362 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), which generally bars criminal courts from altering or reviewing a judgment after it has been signed, does not obliterate the High Court's inherent jurisdiction to recall an order or judgment when allowing it to stand would result in a miscarriage of justice.The Court made the observation while allowing...

Gujarat High Court Quashes POCSO FIR Over Alleged Recording Of Minor In Changing Room, Directs Community Service For Accused

The Gujarat High Court quashed a POCSO FIR lodged against a man booked for video recording a minor girl while she was inside a changing room, while directing him to do one month community service at a hospital as well as deposit Rs. 50,000 with a children's home. After taking note of submissions by the parties, Justice MK Thakker in her order directed:"...this Court is of the opinion that...

'Child Should Not Be Treated As Criminal': Supreme Court Sets Aside Conviction On Juvenility Claim After 21 Years

The Supreme Court on Wednesday (02.09.2026) has set aside the 21-year old conviction of a man who was found to be a juvenile on the date of the offence, holding that a High Court's inherent power under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC, now Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023) can be exercised to recall its own final judgment where a mistake by...

S.304-B IPC | Fine In Addition To Sentence Cannot Be Imposed Where Statute Does Not Provide For It: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court has observed that Section 304-B IPC, a provision punishing the Dowry Death offence, does not prescribe any fine in addition to the sentence and hence, the same can not be imposed on a convict.A bench of Justice Zafeer Ahmad made the observation as it flagged a “glaring error” in the decision of a trial court to impose a fine of Rs. 20K on an accused convicted...

7-Year Consensual Relationship Cannot Be Treated As Rape Over Subsequent Refusal To Marry: Jharkhand High Court

The Jharkhand High Court has held that where a physical relationship between two adults continued for over seven years, and there was no specific allegation that the man had no intention to marry the woman when he made the promise, the allegations at best disclosed a consensual physical relationship and did not constitute rape on a false promise of marriage.A Single Judge Bench of Justice...

'Several Missing Links' : Supreme Court Acquits Child Murder Case Convict After 16 Years' Imprisonment

The Supreme Court has acquitted the convict in a 2007 murder case involving the death of a six-year-old child, holding that the prosecution failed to establish his guilt beyond reasonable doubt and that several crucial links in the chain of circumstantial evidence were missing.A Bench of Justice Sanjay Kumar and Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva allowed the appeal and set aside the judgments of the...

Guilt Can't Be Presumed Merely Because Investigating Officer Faced Collusion Allegations : Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Tuesday (September 1) observed that though a faulty investigation cannot, by itself, operate to the benefit of an accused, Courts also cannot presume guilt merely because the Investigating Officer (IO) was recalcitrant or faced allegations of collusion, particularly when the prosecution has failed to produce reliable evidence establishing the accused's guilt. “A...

'Generic' Allegations: Bombay High Court Grants Bail To Ex-Reliance Communications Executive In Loan Fraud Case

The Bombay High Court has granted bail to Vishwanath Rao, the former Senior Vice President of the Reliance Communications group, who was booked in Rs 19,694.33 crore loan default case by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).Single-judge Justice Milind Jadhav noted that the CBI has failed to bring on record any direct evidence against Rao indicating that he played an active role in the...

Mihir Rajesh Shah Judgment On Written Grounds Of Arrest Not Merely Prospective; Right Under Article 22(1) Pre-Existing: Orissa High Court

The Orissa High Court has ruled that the prospective nature of the Supreme Court's Mihir Rajesh Shah v. State of Maharashtra, 2025 LiveLaw (SC) 1066 ruling does not absolve the police/arresting authority of its duty to provide written grounds of arrest to the arrestee, since the right to be informed of the grounds of arrest flows directly from the Constitution which was merely crystalised by...