Mere Demand Of Exorbitant Amount As Settlement To Withdraw Litigation Not "Extortion": Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has held that merely demanding an exorbitant or disproportionate amount during settlement talks does not by itself attract Section 385 of the Indian Penal Code or constitute an offence of extortion. The Court observed that an intentional threat or fear of injury is an essential ingredient of the offence, and quashed the FIR against the flat purchasers. Justice...

Body Shaming Woman's Physical Appearance Is Not Offence Of Insulting Modesty Under Section 509 IPC: Karnataka High Court

The Karnataka High Court has recently quashed criminal proceeding for outraging the modesty of a woman, against two person accused of body-shaming and verbally abusing the complainant, noting that body shaming alone does not by itself constitute offence of outraging a woman's modesty under Section 509 IPC. [ 2026 LiveLaw (Kar) 399]Section 509 states that whoever, intending to insult the...

Court May Waive Remaining Sentence & Direct Deportation Of Foreign National Upon State's No-Objection: Tripura High Court

The Tripura High Court has modified the sentence of a Bangladeshi woman convicted for illegally entering India, restricting her imprisonment to the period already undergone and directing the State authorities to deport her to Bangladesh. The Court took a lenient view after noting that the appellant had no criminal antecedents, had pleaded guilty, and that the State Government had no objection...

Cattle Transport Can't Be Presumed To Be For Slaughter Due To Mere Absence Of Documents : Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has observed that a mere absence of transport documents cannot give rise to a presumption that the cattle were being transported for slaughter. A bench of Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice K. Vinod Chandran set aside the conviction of a man under the Chhattisgarh Agricultural Cattle Preservation Act, 2004 (“Act”), accused of transporting 32 bullocks for...

Gujarat High Court Grants Bail To Man Accused Of Leaking Re-NEET Exam Paper On Telegram, Says Chargesheet Filed

The Gujarat High Court has granted bail to a man accused of advertising access to Re-NEET Exam papers on Telegram channels, after observing that the prosecution had failed to point out the circumstances to continue or prolong the accused's detention. [2026 LiveLaw (Guj) 270]Justice Hasmukh D Suthar in his order noted that the allegation against the applicant is that he had hatched a...

S. 313 CrPC | Statement Of Accused Cannot Be Used To Complete An Unestablished Chain Of Circumstances : Supreme Court

While acquitting a man convicted of raping and murdering his six-year-old maternal niece, the Supreme Court on Thursday (October 1) held that the conviction cannot be recorded solely based on defence statements under Section 313 Cr.P.C. / Section 351 BNSS when the prosecution otherwise failed to prove the guilt of the accused beyond a reasonable doubt. In other words, the accused's answers...

Circulating Objectionable Photos On WhatsApp Is 'Within Public View', Can Attract SC/ST Act: Bombay High Court

In a significant ruling, the Bombay High Court has held that the act of circulating objectionable videos or photographs of a person belong to a scheduled caste or scheduled tribe on a social media platform like WhatsApp, would attract the provisions of the stringent Scheduled Caste Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act as the same is within the 'public view.'Sitting at the Nagpur...

Whether IPC Prosecution Can Continue After Sanction Under PC Act Was Refused: Supreme Court Reserves Judgment

The Supreme Court today (30 September) reserved its judgement in a batch of petitions by former IDBI bank officials and government nominees on the bank's board, wherein they challenged their prosecution for offences under the Indian Penal Code (IPC, now the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023/BNS 2023) after sanction to prosecute them under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (PC Act) was...

'Subsequent Posting Cannot Create Offence': Patna High Court Quashes Case Against Bank Officials Not Posted At Branch When Alleged Fraud Occurred

The Patna High Court has held that subsequent occupation of a senior position in a bank cannot, by itself, establish criminal conspiracy or participation in an earlier transaction, particularly where the accused was not posted at the concerned branch when the alleged offence took place.A Single Judge Bench of Justice Chandra Shekhar Jha was hearing a petition seeking quashing of the...

Freedom Of Speech Does Not Protect Defamatory, Abusive Or Malicious Social Media Content: Tripura High Court

The Tripura High Court has refused to quash FIRs and charge sheets against a content creator accused of making allegedly derogatory remarks against the Prime Minister, the Mayor of Agartala and Mata Tripureswari on social media. The Court observed that while freedom of speech is a fundamental right, it is subject to the reasonable restrictions under Article 19(2) of the Constitution,...

Gujarat High Court Denies Asaram Temporary Bail To Visit Ailing Wife, Allows Video Call With Her

The Gujarat High Court on Wednesday denied temporary bail to Asaram, who sought 20-day release on humanitarian grounds to visit his wife, who is undergoing treatment at a hospital. [2026 LiveLaw (Guj) 266]However, a division bench comprising Justice Gita Gopi and Justice LS Pirzada permitted Asaram to communicate with his wife through video conferencing.The Court had on Tuesday directed the...

Adani Defamation Case: Gujarat High Court Closes Ravi Nair's Plea Against NBW After Regular Bail Granted By Sessions Court

The Gujarat High Court on Wednesday (September 30) closed journalist Ravi Nair's plea challenging his arrest on the strength of a non-bailable warrant was issued by a sessions court for non-appearance in a defamation case filed by Adani Enterprise. [2026 LiveLaw (Guj) 265]This, after the court noted, that the sessions court had last week granted regular bail to Nair. For context,...