Criminal Law
'Plea Of Alibi' Must Be Proved In Trial, IO Cannot Unilaterally Accept It To Be True To File Final Report: Allahabad High Court
The Allahabad High Court has explicitly ruled that an accused's “plea of alibi” must be proved by leading evidence during a criminal trial and the Investigating Officer (IO) cannot unilaterally accept it to be true to file a Final Report. A bench of Justice Vivek Kumar Singh held that it would be "gross illegality” if the IO files a final report relying on the statements...
No Prescribed Format For Providing Written Grounds Of Arrest: Delhi High Court Upholds NDPS Accused's Custody
The Delhi High Court has refused bail to an accused booked under the NDPS Act, holding that there is no legislatively or judicially prescribed format for communicating written grounds of arrest and that substantial compliance with the constitutional requirement would suffice in the facts of the case. [2026 LiveLaw (Del) 646]Justice Girish Kathpalia observed that the arrest memo prepared by...
S.8 Evidence Act | From False NCR To Absconding: Allahabad High Court Weighs Man's 'Conduct' To Uphold Conviction For Wife's Murder
The Allahabad High Court (Lucknow Bench) on Wednesday upheld the life sentence of a man convicted of murdering his wife as it found his deceptive actions, like giving false assurances, lodging a false police report and eventually absconding, as “relevant conduct” under Section 8 of the Indian Evidence Act. A bench of Justice Rajnish Kumar and Justice Babita Rani thus dismissed the...
Does Refusal By Family Members To Accept Court Notice Amount To Valid Service? Orissa High Court Answers
The Orissa High Court has reiterated that when an addressee refuses to receive summons/notice and the same is thus affixed to the outer door or some other conspicuous part of his house, the Court can presume its valid and sufficient service upon him as per illustration (f) of Section 114 of the Evidence Act read with Section 27 of the General Clauses Act and Order V Rule 9(5) as well as Rule...
'Rape Is A Legal Conclusion, Not A Medical Condition': Allahabad High Court Relies On Victim's Sole Testimony To Uphold 1985 Conviction
Noting that the offence of rape is a legal conclusion and not a medical one, the Allahabad High Court on Thursday confirmed the conviction of a man in connection with a 1983 rape case. The Court clarified that if the testimony of a prosecutrix is free from any basic infirmity, it is sufficient to sustain a conviction even if the medical evidence doesn't strictly corroborate...
Rajasthan High Court Issues Notice On Law Student's Plea Alleging Misbehaviour By Principal, Non-Functional Grievance Redressal Committee
The Rajasthan High Court has issued notices to S.S. Jain Subodh Law College affiliated with Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar Law University and its Principal, over allegations of misbehaviour by the Principal with the student.The bench of Justice Shubha Mehta issued notice on the student's plea which further alleges that the College has not complied with the mandatory requirement of having a...
Appeal Against Conviction Can't Be Dismissed Merely Because Party Or Counsel Is Absent, Must Be Adjudicated On Merits: AP High Court
The Andhra Pradesh High Court has held that the absence of the appellant or his counsel is not a ground to dismiss a criminal appeal against conviction for non-prosecution, observing that the appellate court must decide the appeal on merits after examining the record. [2026 LiveLaw (AP) 119]Justice Dr. Venkata Jyothirmai Pratapa allowed a criminal revision petition filed by a convict in a...
Custodial Assault To Extract Confession Not Official Duty, No Prior Sanction Needed To Prosecute Police Officers: Bombay High Court
Assaulting a suspect for a confessional statement would never be an act in discharge of official duty of any police officer, held the Bombay High Court while refusing to discharge three policeman, who had allegedly assaulted a man— forcing him to confess to a murder offence. [2026 LiveLaw (Bom) 319]Sitting at the Kolhapur bench, single-judge Justice Sandesh Patil noted that in the instant...
Karnataka High Court Grants ₹20 Lakh Towards 'Lifetime Caretaker' Expenses To Woman Left Permanently Disabled In Road Accident
The Karnataka High Court has awarded Rs.20 lakhs towards caretaker expenses for the next 50 years to a 34-year-old woman who suffered severe head injuries in a motorcycle accident, rendering her permanently disabled. [ 2026 LiveLaw (Kar) 240]Opining that extreme cognitive deficit and her inability to go back to her avocation would amount to 100 per cent loss of earning capacity, the...
'OK Not To Be OK': Sikkim High Court Cites Demi Lovato Song, Urges State To Strengthen Children's Mental Health Measures After Teen's Suicide
Citing upbeat self-love anthem by singer Demi Lovato and Marshmello— "OK Not To Be Okay", the Sikkim High Court today implored the State government to strengthen its measures for improvement of mental health of children.The "deep sense of worry" was expressed after the division bench of Chief Justice A Muhamed Mustaque and Justice Bhaskar Raj Pradhan read the suicide note of a 16-year-old...
Compassionate Employment To Dependent Of Deceased Not 'Pecuniary Advantage' For Calculating Accident Compensation: Chhattisgarh High Court
The Chhattisgarh High Court has held that compassionate appointment granted to a dependent of a deceased employee cannot be treated as a "pecuniary advantage" liable to be deducted while determining compensation under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. The Court observed that compassionate appointment flows from the service conditions of the deceased employee and is not a benefit arising out of...