Criminal Law
Acid Burns Must Have Lasting Impact To Attract S. 326A IPC: Allahabad High Court Alters Acid Attack Conviction To S. 324 IPC
The Court holds a simple burn healing within 13 days does not attract Section 326A IPC; converts conviction to Section 324 IPC.
Citing Victim's Privacy, Kerala High Court Denies CCTV Copies To POCSO Accused, Allows Counsel To View Footage
The Kerala High Court, in a recent order, struck a balance between the accused's right to fair trial and the victim's right to privacy by permitting the accused's counsel to view a CCTV footage taken at the place of occurrence while refusing to give a copy of the same in order to safeguard a POCSO victim's privacy. [2026 LiveLaw (Ker) 609]Justice Jobin Sebastian directed the trial judge to...
Routine Instructions, Reprimand Not Instigation: Gujarat High Court Quashes FIR Against Two Doctors Accused Of Abetting Resident's Suicide
Court clarified it doesn't condone ragging, but institutional friction or misconduct doesn't automatically amount to instigation.
Client Hurling Casteist Slurs At Lawyer In Her Office Amounts To 'Public View' Under SC/ST Act: Karnataka High Court
The Karnataka High Court has held that an advocate's office would constitute a “place within public view” under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, if members of the public or clients are present.Justice M. Nagaprasanna was hearing a petition filed by a woman and her mother seeking to quash criminal proceedings against them for the...
Meghalaya High Court Quashes POCSO Case Against Man Living With Survivor, Directs Authorities To Ensure Welfare Benefits For Her And Child
The Meghalaya High Court has quashed a POCSO case against a man who was living with the survivor as husband and wife and had a child with her, after noting that the survivor, who had attained majority, did not object to quashing the proceedings. The Court considered the police verification report and the report of the Secretary, High Court Legal Services Committee, before allowing the...
POCSO Victim's Deposition Must Be Recorded In-Camera Even If She Attains Majority By The Time Trial Begins: Gujarat High Court
The Gujarat High Court has ruled that merely because an alleged victim turned 18-years-old at the time of commencement of POCSO trial, would not mean that provisions of POCSO Act which provide for in-camera deposition of the victim would not apply. [2026 LiveLaw (Guj) 300]The court was hearing a plea claiming that the victim had attained age of majority and thus the petitioner must get...
Supreme Court Upholds Conviction Of Former Sub Registrar In Disproportionate Assets Case
The Supreme Court upheld the conviction of a former Sub-Registrar under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (PC Act) for possessing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income. It also held that once the prosecution establishes the disproportion with reference to known sources of income, the burden squarely rests on the accused to show that the assets were acquired from...
Wife's Stay At Parental Home For Less Than 2-Years Not Desertion: Karnataka High Court Rejects Husband's Divorce Plea
The Karnataka High Court has held that a wife residing for less than two years at her parental home prior to presentation of divorce plea by husband is not a ground for the husband to claim desertion by wife. In doing so the court dismissed the husband's appeal challenging a Family Court order that rejected his divorce petition. A Division Bench of Justice D.K. Singh and Justice H....
Allahabad High Court Seeks UP Govt's Response To Supreme Court's 'Stillborn' Observation On UP Gangsters Act
The Allahabad High Court has sought a response from the Uttar Pradesh Government on the Supreme Court's August 2026 observations that the Uttar Pradesh Gangsters and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act, 1986, is 'stillborn'.A Bench of Justice Rajeev Singh also stayed criminal proceedings against an accused booked under the Act while noting that the Supreme Court had held that the Act does...
Defamation Complaint Can't Be Referred To Police For Investigation Under Section 156(3) CrPC: Karnataka High Court
The Karnataka High Court has held that a Magistrate cannot refer a private complaint alleging defamation punishable under Section 500 IPC to the police for investigation under Section 156(3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).Consequently, Justice H.P. Sandesh quashed the Trial Court's order that referred the defamation case to police for probe and subsequently took cognizance based on...
Moneylenders In Maharashtra Must Produce Licence At Threshold In Cheque Bounce Cases: Supreme Court
The Supreme Court on Thursday (October 29) clarified that its May 2026 judgment in M/s Mansi Finance (Chennai) Ltd. v. M. Lalitha & Ors. should not be understood as having laid down a pan-India precedent that unlicensed money lenders can maintain complaints under Sections 138 and 141 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 over loans advanced against negotiable instruments.The Court...
