BNSS/CRPC
Jharkhand High Court Quashes Criminal Proceedings Against Hemant Soren Over 2014 Poll Speech
The Jharkhand High Court has quashed criminal proceedings against Chief Minister Hemant Soren arising out of his 2014 election campaign speech, holding that his remarks regarding the proposed amendment of the Chotanagpur Tenancy (CNT) Act, Santhal Parganas Tenancy (SPT) Act and labour laws did not constitute an offence under Section 125 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. A...
S.313 CrPC | Viscera Report Not Put To Accused Cannot Be Relied Upon: Allahabad High Court Sets Aside 1989 Murder Conviction
The Allahabad High Court has categorically ruled that a viscera report cannot be relied upon to secure a conviction if the report was never specifically put before the accused during their examination under Section 313 CrPC. A Bench of Justice Siddhartha Varma and Justice Jai Krishna Upadhyay clarified that merely questioning an accused with regard to poison being administered to the deceased would be insufficient if the primary scientific evidence (the viscera report) is withheld from...
S. 362 CrPC No Bar To Altering Bail Conditions: Allahabad High Court Revokes 'Onerous' ₹64 Lakh Deposit Condition After 12 Yrs
The Allahabad High Court has ruled that the statutory bar under Section 362 CrPC (Court not to alter judgment) does not apply to the modification or relaxation of conditions imposed in a bail order. "…an order granting bail is a merely an interlocutory order and it would not fall withing the scope and ambit of the phrase 'a judgment or final order disposing of a case' used in...
Karnataka High Court Stays GO Directing Withdrawal Of 52 Criminal Prosecutions Including 2022 Aland Riots Cases
The Karnataka High Court on Thursday (July 2) stayed the operation of a May 27 Government Order directing Public Prosecutors to withdraw prosecution in 52 criminal cases across the State including 2022 Aland riots case. For context, in May 2025 the high court had set aside a Government order, directing public prosecutors to withdraw 43 criminal cases registered/pending against persons accused...
PIL In Jharkhand High Court Challenges NHRC Circular Withdrawing Mandatory Judicial Inquiry Into Custodial Deaths, Rapes
A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed before the Jharkhand High Court challenging a National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) circular which withdrew its earlier direction mandating judicial inquiries in every case of custodial death, disappearance and rape.The PIL seeks quashing of the NHRC's Circular dated May 14, 2024, which declared that the Commission's earlier circular...
Magistrate Must Not Record Prosecution Evidence In Cases Exclusively Triable By Sessions Court : Supreme Court
The Supreme Court on Wednesday (July 1) held that a Magistrate is not required to record pre-charge evidence under Section 244 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 before committing a complaint case involving offences exclusively triable by a Court of Sessions, setting aside a Punjab and Haryana High Court judgment that had directed such an exercise“…the only requirement from...
S. 465 CrPC | Taking Cognizance Under Wrong Provision Curable Defect If Magistrate Otherwise Has Jurisdiction : Supreme Court
The Supreme Court on Wednesday (July 1) held that a Magistrate's error in taking cognizance of an offence under an incorrect statutory provision is a curable defect and, this mistake, by itself, does not warrant quashing the cognizance order, provided the Magistrate otherwise has the jurisdiction to deal with the matter.“The well-settled position of law is that the error in taking...
Remission Policy Issued Under Article 161 Overrides Statutory Policy Framed Under CrPC: Supreme Court
The Supreme Court on Wednesday (July 1) held that a remission policy framed by a State Government in exercise of the Governor's constitutional powers under Article 161 of the Constitution cannot be overridden by a subsequent statutory remission policy issued under Sections 432 and 433 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Holding that Haryana's 2002 remission policy continued to remain...
No Fetter On Trial Court's Power To Alter Charges Merely Because Prosecution Moved Application U/S 216 CrPC: Jharkhand High Court
The Jharkhand High Court has held that although neither the prosecution nor the accused has a vested right to seek alteration or addition of charges under Section 216 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the trial court's power to do so is not curtailed merely because the issue is brought to its notice through an application filed by either party. The Court observed that the power under Section...
Andhra Pradesh High Court Acquits Accused In ACB Trap Case, Says FIR Lodged After Investigation Began
The Andhra Pradesh High Court has acquitted two persons accused of bribery in a trap operation after finding that the investigating officer had conducted what the court described as a “table investigation”, holding that the FIR and crucial investigation records were prepared after the trap proceedings and not in accordance with law.[2026 LiveLaw (AP) 107]The accused no. 1 was a...
S.311 CrPC Meant To Elicit Truth, Not Favour Either Side: Rajasthan High Court Allows Summoning Of Prosecutrix's School Record In POCSO Case
While allowing an application under Section 311 CrPC at the "fag end" of a POCSO trial, the Rajasthan High Court held that the purpose of the provision is not to favour or disfavour the prosecution or the accused, but to naturally unravel the truth to exercise just decision in a case. [2026 LiveLaw (Raj) 263]Section 311 CrPC empowered the courts to summon, recall, or re-examine any witness or...