Patna High Court Quashes Case Against Husband's Parents, First Wife In Alleged Bigamy Case, Says They Cannot Be Directly Booked

The Patna HC has held that offences relating to concealment of a previous marriage and fraudulently going through a marriage ceremony under Sections 495 and 496 IPC cannot be directly invoked against the family members of a person accused of bigamy. The Court observed that these provisions apply to the person contracting the subsequent marriage, while family members may be implicated where...

Patna High Court Acquits Husband, In-Laws In Dowry Death Case, Says Cruelty Must Be Proved 'Soon Before' Death

The Patna HC has held that the expression “soon before” under Section 304B IPC, concerning dowry death, requires the prosecution to establish a proximate or live link between dowry-related cruelty and the woman's death. The Court observed that although the provision was enacted to address the serious social evil of dowry deaths, its social purpose cannot justify diluting the...

Minor's Marriage Alone Cannot Establish Human Trafficking Without Proof Of Monetary Consideration: Rajasthan High Court Suspends Sentence

The Rajasthan High Court has suspended the sentence imposed upon two men convicted in relation to human trafficking of a minor, opining that mere existence of marriage with a minor could not dispense with the prosecution's obligation to prove the essential ingredients of the substantive allegations against the convicts. The bench of Justice Farjand Ali observed that the Court must...

Gujarat High Court Upholds Acquittal Of Two Accused Of Setting Electric Fence That Killed 11-Year-Old

The Gujarat High Court upheld the acquittal of two persons booked for culpable homicide over the electrocution of a minor boy in an agricultural field lined with an electric fence, finding that the foundational fact that the plot was in fact owned by the accused persons could not be established by the prosecution. [2026 LiveLaw (Guj) 292]The court was hearing State's appeal against...

Bomb Threats Can't Be Taken Lightly Merely Because Sender Never Intended To Execute Them: Karnataka High Court Refuses To Quash FIR

Accused allegedly threatened blasts at Bengaluru airport and shopping malls.

Vehicle Driven At Person Can Be 'Instrument Of Death'; Victim's Survival Doesn't Efface Attempt To Murder Charge: Karnataka High Court

The Karnataka High Court has held that a motor vehicle driven recklessly toward a person is capable of becoming an “instrument of death” and the fact that victim survived does not dilute the gravity of the act or efface the criminality.In doing so the court dismissed a plea to quash criminal proceedings against the petitioner booked for attempt to murder after he allegedly ran over...

Cruelty FIR Against Mother-In-Law Can't Be Sustained When Complainant's Earlier Marriage Still Subsisting: Gujarat High Court

The Gujarat High Court has quashed a cruelty FIR against a mother-in-law, holding that Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) could not be invoked as the complainant's earlier marriage was still subsisting when she married the applicant's son. [2026 LiveLaw (Guj) 290]The complainant had alleged that the applicant, her mother-in-law, abetted her husband in subjecting her to cruelty.Justice...

Mere Use Of Abusive Language Not Criminal Intimidation Or Intentional Insult Under BNS: Karnataka High Court Quashes FIR

The Karnataka High Court has held that the mere use of abusive or intemperate language would not, by itself, constitute the offence of intentional insult or criminal intimidation in the absence of specific statutory ingredients.Justice Suraj Govindaraj was hearing a criminal petition filed by a man, seeking to quash criminal proceedings initiated against him by his neighbour following a...

Husband's Extramarital Affair By Itself Not Cruelty To Wife Under S. 498A IPC: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court recently held that a husband's illicit relationship with another woman, by itself, is not cruelty under Section 498A of the IPC. Justice Sunder Mohan thus refused to interfere with the acquittal of a husband, who was charged under provisions for cruelty and dowry harassment after his wife committed suicide along with their child. “In this case also,...

Jharkhand High Court Quashes 'Preordained' Rejection Of Convict's Premature Release Plea, Says Review Board Failed To Analyse Reports

The Jharkhand HC has held that the State Sentence Review Board cannot reject a convict's plea for premature release through a mechanical order without considering the relevant reports concerning his conduct, age, propensity to commit crime and prospects of rehabilitation.A Single Judge Bench of Justice Rongon Mukhopadhyay was hearing a writ petition filed by a life convict...

Misuse Of Authority By Bank Officials Undermines Customers' Trust In Banks: Gujarat High Court Denies Anticipatory Bail

The Gujarat High Court has observed that misuse of authority by banking officials who are charged with guarding customers' money strikes at the very foundation on which financial institutions function. [2026 LiveLaw (Guj) 289]In doing so the court rejected a man's anticipatory bail plea after noting that a specific role was attributed to him–as an official in a bank accused of defrauding...

Written Agreements Recording Mutual Consent Make Rape Prosecution On False Promise Of Marriage Difficult To Sustain: Gujarat High Court

The Gujarat High Court has observed that when two adults live together under a mutually consented written agreement and thereafter end their arrangement also via a written agreement then the complainant's claim of rape on false promise of marriage becomes difficult to sustain. [2026 LiveLaw (Guj) 288]The court said that the long drawn relationship of the appellant with the respondent,...