'Intent Is To Wreak Vengeance': Allahabad High Court Discards Dying Declaration, Acquits Husband & In-Laws In Murder Case

The Allahabad High Court last week acquitted a husband and his family members in a 2017 murder and dowry death case while discarding the deceased's dying declaration, after observing that it was made with the intent to “wreak vengeance” rather than state the truth. A bench of Justice Ajay Bhanot and Justice Divesh Chandra Samant thus set aside the trial court's judgment that...

Bonafide Purchaser Of Court-Auctioned Property Can't Be Prosecuted For Cheating Without Proof Of Conspiracy: AP High Court

The Andhra Pradesh High Court has held that a bonafide purchaser of a property earlier sold in a court auction cannot be prosecuted for cheating and forgery in the absence of material showing that he conspired with the vendor or had knowledge of the earlier court auction. [2026 LiveLaw (AP) 118]The order was passed by Justice K. Sreenivasa Reddy while allowing a criminal petition filed by...

S. 311 CrPC | Court Can't Refuse To Examine Witness Merely Because He Is A 'Surrendered Maoist': Orissa High Court

The Orissa High Court has held that a trial Court cannot decline to summon a witness, under Section 311 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC), to examine and record his testimony merely on the ground that he has previously been a Maoist. [2026 LiveLaw (Ori) 72]While setting aside the trial Court order denying to summon a surrendered Maoist as a witness, the Bench Dr. Justice...

Manual Scavenging: Delhi High Court Quashes FIR Against Junior Engineer In 2017 Delhi Jal Board Sewer Deaths Case

The Delhi High Court has quashed an FIR and all consequential criminal proceedings against a Junior Engineer of the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) in connection with the 2017 sewer deaths case, holding that criminal prosecution cannot continue when the accused has already been exonerated on merits in departmental proceedings on identical allegations. [2026 LiveLaw (Del) 638]Justice Vikas Mahajan...

Acid Attack Leading To Death By Septicemia Months Later Constitutes Murder: Uttarakhand High Court Upholds Conviction

The Uttarakhand High Court has upheld the conviction of an accused under Sections 302, 326A and 504 of the Indian Penal Code, holding that the death of an acid attack victim due to septicemic shock more than two months after the incident did not break the chain of causation. The Court observed that where the medical evidence establishes that septicemia resulted from infected ante-mortem acid...

S. 145 Evidence Act | Allahabad High Court Clarifies Procedure To Contradict Witnesses Using Omissions In S. 161 CrPC Statements

The Allahabad High Court last week clarified the exact procedure under Section 145 of the Indian Evidence Act, read with Section 162 of the CrPC, which needs to be adopted for contradicting a witness during a trial based on omissions in his previous statement made to the police u/s 161 of the CrPC. A bench of Justice JJ Munir and Justice Vinai Kumar Dwivedi held that a...

Karnataka High Court Quashes FIR Over Allegedly Anti-National Social Media Post After Woman Undertakes Not To Make Similar Posts

The Karnataka High Court has recently quashed an FIR registered against a 24-year-old woman hailing from Mangaluru for her allegedly anti-national and anti-Hindu social media posts, accepting her affidavit of regret and an undertaking to exercise caution in the future.[ 2026 LiveLaw (Kar) 241]A single-judge bench of Justice M. Nagaprasanna allowed the petition filed by Afeefa Fathima, a...

Orissa High Court Refuses To Quash FIR Against Doctor Accused Of Helping Husband Cheat Women Through Sham Marriages

The Orissa High Court has recently denied to quash criminal case against a doctor-wife accused of being an accomplice to her husband in inducing multiple women to illegally enter into marriage with the latter in order to exploit them financially.Noting that a charge-sheet has already been submitted in the case, the Bench of Dr. Justice Sanjeeb Kumar Panigrahi was not inclined to grant any...

2020 Bengaluru Riots: Karnataka High Court Grants Bail To Fairoz Pasha After 5 Years In Jail, Cites Parity With Co-Accused

The Karnataka High Court has recently granted bail to 2020 Bengaluru Riots accused Fairoz Pasha by reasoning that he had undergone incarceration for over 5 years and that his co-accused have already been granted the relief sought for. [ 2026 LiveLaw (Kar) 240]The Division Bench of Justices Mohammad Nawaz and G.Basavaraja held in the appeal preferred by Pasha that, on the ground of parity,...

Allahabad High Court Seeks Explanation From Family Court Judge For Granting Maintenance To Wife Despite Remarriage

The Allahabad High Court, on Tuesday, sought explanation from Additional Principal Judge, Family Court, Jhansi as to why maintenance was granted to a wife from her first husband, when the wife had disclosed about her remarriage after divorce.It is the revisionist's case that the parties were granted a divorce decree on 30.07.2025 by the Additional Principal Judge, Family Court, Jhansi. It...

S.31 CrPC/ S.25 BNSS | Court Can't Order Consecutive Sentences For Offences Committed In 'Single Transaction': Orissa High Court

The Orissa High Court has held that a Court, while convicting and imposing punishment on an accused for commission of more than one offence, cannot order respective sentences to run consecutively if the offences are committed in a 'single transaction'.Reiterating the Apex Court ruling in O.M. Cherian alias Thankachan v. State of Kerala & Ors. (2014), the Bench of Justice V. Narasingh...

'Impulsive Young Men Lured By Wealth, Not Professional Killers': Bombay High Court Commutes Death Penalty In Kidnap-Murder Case

The Bombay High Court recently, while commuting the death sentence of two men to 30 years jail term— for kidnapping and killing a young boy, observed that the two convicts were 'typical young men' who were 'baffled' as their plan to become wealthy did not work and so for 'immediate solution' they killed the boy.A division bench of Justice Bharati Dangre and Justice Manjusha Deshpande...