Criminal Law
Preliminary Verification Closure Not Equivalent To Closure Report Under CrPC: J&K&L High Court Refuses To Quash FIR
The Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has held that the High Court cannot interfere under its inherent jurisdiction to quash an FIR merely because a preliminary verification had earlier recommended closure, when subsequent material collected during inquiry discloses the commission of a cognizable offence.The Court clarified that a preliminary verification closure measure only...
Delhi High Court Upholds Maintenance To Woman From Second Marriage Despite No Formal Divorce From First Husband
The Delhi High Court has upheld a Family Court order granting maintenance to a woman from her second marriage despite the absence of a formal divorce decree from her first husband, observing that the expression “wife” under Section 125 CrPC must receive a liberal interpretation to further the provision's social justice objective.Justice Saurabh Banerjee dismissed a revision petition filed...
Production Of Accused Before Magistrate U/S 170 CrPC Doesn't Mean Arrest Or Judicial Custody: Rajasthan High Court Quashes Bailable Warrants
Rajasthan High Court set aside the bailable warrants against accused in a forgery case, holding that once the investigating agency did not think it was proper to arrest the accused during investigation, issuance of bailable or non-bailable warrants should be done by the Court only where the accused was charged with henious crime or was likely to abscond or tamper with evidence. The bench...
Maternal Grandmother Taking Care Of Child Can Maintain Minor's Plea Under Sec 125 CrPC: P&H High Court
The Punjab & Haryana High Court has held that a petition under Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) seeking maintenance on behalf of a minor child is maintainable even when filed by the maternal grandmother, if she is the one actually caring for the child.The Court underscored that beneath the technical objection of maintainability lay a deeper issue—whether a...
How Should Courts Try Proclaimed Offenders? Allahabad High Court Explains 'Trial In Absentia' Procedure U/S 356 BNSS
In a significant judgment, the Allahabad High Court recently detailed an exhaustive step-by-step procedure for conducting criminal trials in the absence of a proclaimed offender as per Section 356 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023. A bench of Justice Praveen Kumar Giri termed the provision as a 'landmark' one for introducing the concept of 'Trial in Absentia' into...
Supreme Court Clarifies: Section 480(3) BNSS Bail Condition Not Applicable To Offences Punishable Up To Seven Years
In a significant order passed on 22nd April 2026, the Supreme Court settled an important question of bail jurisprudence that trial court across country had been getting wrong since Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS) came into force. In Narayan v. State of Madhya Pradesh, SLP (Crl.) No. 7011 of 2026, a division bench comprising Justice J.K. Maheshwari and Atul S. Chandurkar held that the mandatory conditions prescribed under Section 480 (3) BNSS do not apply to non-bailable offences...
S.125 CrPC | Objective Of Provision Defeated As Exploitation Of Women Continues Due To Legal Loopholes: Rajasthan High Court
The Rajasthan High Court, while rejecting a maintenance application under Section 125 CrPC, filed by a woman whose marriage was void due to the subsistence of her and her husband's earlier marriage, described the situation as “unfortunate” and expressed sympathy for the petitioner.The bench of Justice Anoop Kumar Dhand highlighted the legal loopholes that defeated the objective of...
Magistrate Doesn't Require Prior Sanction To Direct FIR Registration Under S.156(3) CrPC : Supreme Court
The Supreme Court today held that a Judicial Magistrate does not require prior sanction under Section 196/197 of the Code of Criminal Procedure for directing the registration of FIR under Section 156(3) of the CrPC."The requirement of prior sanction under Section 196 and 197 CrPC (or corresponding provisions in the BNSS) operates at the stage of taking cognizance and does not extend to...
Magistrate's Power Under S.204(4) CrPC To Dismiss Complaint Must Be Exercised Judiciously With Reasoned Orders: Kerala High Court
The Kerala High Court has held that the Magistrate's power to dismiss criminal complaints under Section 204(4) of Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) must be exercised judiciously and supported by reasoned orders rather than invoked mechanically.Justice Syam Kumar V.M. was delivering judgment in a criminal miscellaneous case, which challenged the dismissal of a complaint filed by the petitioner...
Final Maintenance Order Under Section 125 CrPC Prevails Over Interim Relief Under Hindu Marriage Act: Karnataka High Court
The Karnataka High Court has upheld a final maintenance order under Section 125 CrPC while simultaneously setting aside an interim maintenance order under Section 24 Hindu Marriage Act passed in separate proceedings, holding that continuance of both results in overlapping financial liability of the husband which is illegal. The single-judge bench of Justice Dr. K. Manmadha Rao noted in the...
Rajasthan High Court Quashes Case U/S 498A IPC Against Sister-In-Law, Says Relatives Often Implicated In 'Heat Of Moment'
While quashing cognizance under Section 498A, IPC, against the married sister-in-law of the deceased, Rajasthan High Court observed that it was common that most of the matrimonial complaints were filed in the heat of the moment, wherein the relatives of far-relation were also implicated as accused. Justice Anoop Kumar Dhand held that ordinarily, in matrimonial disputes, the women was subjected...