'Police Can't Refuse FIR Over Non-Production Of Evidence In Sexual Harassment Complaint; Can't Shift Burden On Prosecutrix': Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court has observed that the police cannot refuse to register an FIR on a sexual harassment complaint moved before it merely because the Prosecutrix has not produced WhatsApp chats, call recordings or other material evidence in support of her allegations. The Court further observed that the burden of conducting a lawful investigation cannot be shifted upon the prosecutrix at the stage when she approaches the police with information disclosing cognizable offences. A bench of...

Playing Cards For Money At Home In Absence Of 'Profit-Making' Element Not Offence Under Gambling Act: Gujarat High Court

The Gujarat High Court has held that merely playing cards in a house for money does not necessarily make the house a "common gaming house" to invoke offences under Gujarat Prevention of Gambling Act in absence of element of profit-making. The court was hearing a plea by five accused persons seeking quashing of an FIR under Gujarat Prevention of Gambling Act.The prosecution alleged that the...

Supreme Court Restores Rape Case Acquittal As Forensic Evidence Contradicts Prosecution Version

The Supreme Court on Tuesday (August 11) restored the acquittal of a man for an offence of rape of a minor, holding that the absence of blood on the victim's clothes and the lack of any injury on her body, as reflected in the forensic and medical evidence, created a grave doubt about the prosecution's case. A bench of Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and Justice Atul S. Chandurkar set aside the Himachal Pradesh High Court's judgment which had reversed the trial court's decision of acquittal, and convicted...

Acceptance Of Final Report Doesn't Bar Further Investigation: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court has held that acceptance of a final report by a Judicial Magistrate does not bar the investigating agency from carrying out further investigation under Section 173(8) CrPC.A bench of Justice Vivek Kumar Singh made the observation while dismissing an application challenging an order of the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Mainpuri, which had permitted further investigation in a nearly two-decade-old murder case. The Court also clarified that an accused has no right to be...

No Inflexible Rule That Alibi Can Be Proved Only In Trial : Supreme Court Quashes S. 498A IPC Case Against BSF Personnel

The Supreme Court on Tuesday (August 11) held that the documentary evidence, including official service records establishing the accused's absence from the place of occurrence, constitutes unimpeachable material that can be considered at the threshold stage for quashing of the criminal case. The Court said that the rule that an accused must ordinarily prove alibi during trial is not an inflexible rule and cannot be interpreted as an absolute bar against considering reliable and undisputed...

Patna High Court Directs CBI Probe Into Missing Man After Alleged Detention, Custodial Violence By Excise Officials, Slams Police Inaction

The Patna High Court has transferred to the CBI the investigation into the disappearance of a man who allegedly went missing after being detained and brutally assaulted by Excise Police officials in Bhojpur district.A Division Bench of Justice Rajeev Ranjan Prasad and Justice Alok Kumar Sinha said that the case presented “rare and exceptional” circumstances warranting transfer of the...

Mere Ownership Of Land Where Transformer Is Installed Insufficient To Prosecute For Electrocution Death: Karnataka High Court

Clarifying the criminal liability for electrocution deaths, the Karnataka High Court has quashed criminal proceedings against a doctor who was charge-sheeted for the death of a labourer due to electrocution on her agricultural land. [2026 LiveLaw (Kar) 289]The single judge bench of Justice Anant Ramanth Hegde held that mere ownership of property where a transformer is installed cannot...

Jharkhand High Court Upholds Mother's Life Sentence For Killing 4 & 2-Year-Old Sons, Says 'Instead Of Protecting, She Devoured Them'

The Jharkhand High Court has upheld the conviction and life sentence of a woman for the murder of her two minor sons, aged four and two years.A Division Bench of Justice Rongon Mukhopadhyay and Justice Arun Kumar Rai found that the circumstances on record pointed towards the woman's involvement in the killings. The Court dismissed her appeal against a 2021 trial court judgment convicting her...

Orissa High Court Denies Pre-Arrest Bail To Journalist Booked For Claiming Odisha Minister Offered Him Bribe

The Orissa High Court has recently denied anticipatory bail to the editor of a digital media platform for his alleged defamatory remarks against the State Education Minister Nityananda Gond over multiple errors found in school textbooks.The petitioner Sudhanshu Sekhar Rout, who is the Editor-in-Chief of an online news platform called 'Focus Plus', allegedly made certain comments claiming that the Minister of School and Mass Education attempted to bribe him to suppress reports regarding alleged...

Mother Can't Settle POCSO Case Registered Against Father For Sexually Assaulting Minor Daughter: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court recently observed that the mother of a minor cannot settle or compromise the criminal case initiated against the father for sexually assaulting or sexually harassing their minor daughter. [2026 LiveLaw (Ker) 437]Dr. Justice Kauser Edappagath denied bail to a man, who was arrested for sexually assaulting his minor daughter, and refused to accept that the case has...

'Omnibus Statement' To Elicit Different Views Not Blasphemous: Karnataka High Court Quashes FIR Against News Anchor Over Remarks On Prophet

The Karnataka High Court has recently quashed an FIR registered against Suvarna News anchor Ajit Hanumakkanavar for allegedly making disrespectful remarks about Prophet Mohammad during a televised debate. [2026 LiveLaw (Kar) 288]The single judge bench of Justice Ravi V Hosmani, while allowing the petition, observed that another complaint was registered against petitioner and Manager of...

'Hydroponic Weed' Is 'Ganja'; Growing Method Does Not Change Its Legal Status: Allahabad High Court Grants Bail In NDPS Case

Allahabad High Court observes that hydroponic weed is cannabis/ganja and its cultivation method does not change its legal status; the Court grants bail after noting that the 2.3 kg recovery was below commercial quantity.