Criminal Law
Hurling Caste Abuse Near Gate Of Premises May Fall Within 'Public View': Telangana High Court Denies Anticipatory Bail Under SC/ST Act
The Telangana High Court has held that allegations of caste-based abuse hurled near the entrance of a house and an adjoining public road may prima facie satisfy the requirement of having occurred in "public view" under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. [2026 LiveLaw (Tel) 106]Adding that the question of whether the incident was actually witnessed...
Attempting To Remove Salwar, Pressing Chest Not Attempt To Rape; Amounts To Outraging Modesty : Patna High Court
The Patna High Court has held that allegations of attempting to remove a woman's salwar and physically molesting by pressing her chest, without evidence of penetration or any overt act unequivocally establishing an intention to commit rape, do not constitute the offence of attempt to rape.Observing that the allegations "at best" disclosed an offence of outraging the modesty of a woman...
Orissa High Court Sets Aside POCSO Conviction, Orders Victim To Refund Compensation As She Turned Hostile
The Orissa High Court has recently set aside the judgment of a Special Court under the POCSO Act, which found a man guilty of committing repeated penetrative sexual assault with a minor girl, on account of lack of substantial evidence connecting the accused to the crime and even the victim turning hostile against the prosecution. [2026 LiveLaw (Ori) 79]Giving relief to the accused-appellant,...
'Priest Who Conducted Ceremony Need Not Be Examined To Prove Marriage': Calcutta High Court Sets Aside Acquittal In Bigamy Case
The Calcutta High Court has held that insisting on the examination of the priest who conducted the second day's marriage ceremonies to prove a Hindu marriage stretches the standard of proof "beyond rational, logical and legal limits." Setting aside a 30-year-old acquittal in a bigamy case, the Court observed that once several witnesses consistently testify to the marriage and...
'Mere Telephone Records Can't Prove Illicit Affair' : Supreme Court Upholds Acquittal Of Woman & 2 Men In Husband's Murder Case
Mere production of telephone records cannot substitute substantive proof of an illicit affair leading to murder, the Supreme Court has held while upholding the acquittal of a woman accused of murdering her husband along with her alleged lover and another co-accused in 2007. The Court ruled that the prosecution failed to establish an unbroken chain of circumstances necessary to sustain...
Frame Murder As Main Charge, S. 304-B IPC As Alternative If 'Dowry Death' Appears Homicidal: Allahabad High Court Directs UP Courts
The Allahabad High Court has issued a mandatory direction to all the trial courts across Uttar Pradesh that if evidence collected during an investigation indicates a 'homicidal' death inside a matrimonial home, the main charge must be framed under Section 302 IPC (Murder) and an alternative charge under Section 304-B IPC (Dowry Death). A bench of Justice Salil Kumar Rai and Justice Dr...
Driver Can't Be Held Negligent For Sudden Tyre Burst; Vehicle Owner Alone Liable To Pay Compensation: Karnataka High Court
The Karnataka High Court has recently held that a driver cannot be held negligent for a sudden tyre burst, thereby, exonerating the driver and fastening liability solely on the owner of the vehicle. [2026 LiveLaw (Kar) 244]“…The manner of accident shows it is a tyre burst which is not in the hands of the driver and he cannot held to be negligent for the sudden burst of the tyre. The...
S. 19 JJ Act | Children's Court Must Pass Reasoned Order Before Trying Child As Adult: Supreme Court
In an important direction for the Children Courts across the country, the Supreme Court on Monday (July 13) has held that a Children's Court cannot proceed to try a child in conflict with law as an adult without first passing a reasoned order under Section 19(1) of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015. Holding that this requirement is mandatory, a bench of...
Long Continuous Consensual Relationship Not 'Rape': Allahabad High Court Discharges Man, Notes Financial Dispute Between Parties
The Allahabad High Court recently observed that a long, continuous physical relationship between consenting adults cannot be termed 'rape' when a promise to marry fails, especially when the underlying dispute is predominantly civil and financial in nature. Allowing two connected criminal appeals, a bench of Justice Santosh Rai discharged the accused (Saurabh Pal Singh) of all...
Bombay High Court Suspends Sentence Of Mother, Alleged Paramour Convicted Of Drowning 10-Year-Old Boy In Canal
The Bombay High Court recently granted bail and suspended the lifetime rigorous imprisonment imposed on a woman and her alleged lover, both of whom were convicted for killing the woman's son as he allegedly learnt about their affair. Sitting at the Kolhapur bench, a division bench of Justice Milind Jadhav and Justice Nandesh Deshpande noted that the motive attributed to the convicts...