'Very Sorry State Of Affairs': Gujarat High Court Laments IOs' Absence With Case Papers, Failure To Properly Assist State Counsel

The Gujarat High Court has lamented the absence of Investigating Officers with investigation papers of the concerned matter as well as failure in giving proper instructions to the State's counsel to assist the court. [2026 LiveLaw (Guj) 249]Granting regular bail to a man booked in a murder case, the court further observed that if where IO is present they do not have knowledge about...

HP High Court Directs DGP To Issue Guidelines On Proving Age Of Child Victims, Cites Repeated Investigative Lapses

The Himachal Pradesh High Court has directed the Director General of Police, Himachal Pradesh, to circulate Section 94 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 along with necessary guidelines to all Investigating Officers, after observing that prosecution cases have failed due to lapses in collecting evidence relating to the age of child victims.A Division Bench...

Scolding Minor & Refusing To Return His Ball Which Damaged Shop Not Abetment Of Child's Suicide U/S 305 IPC: Karnataka High Court

The Karnataka High Court has held that refusal by a shopkeeper to hand back a playing ball to a minor and asking him to bring his father to take back the ball after which he allegedly got upset and died by suicide, does not amount to abetment of suicide of a child under Section 305 IPC. Section 305 concerns the offence of abetment of the suicide of a child or an insane person. To establish...

Absence Of Railway Ticket No Bar For Bona Fide Passenger To Claim Accident Compensation: AP High Court

The Andhra Pradesh High Court has held that the absence of a railway ticket from a deceased passenger's belongings, by itself, does not mean that he was travelling without a ticket. [2026 LiveLaw (AP) 216]In doing so, a Single Judge Bench of Justice Balaji Medamalli allowed an appeal filed by the parents of a deceased passenger and set aside the Railway Claims Tribunal's order dismissing...

'Sad State Of Affairs': Allahabad High Court Slams SP, DM Over Failure To Display Fairness In Gang Chart Approval

The Allahabad High Court on Tuesday slammed the Superintendent of Police (SP) and District Magistrate (DM) posted in Bahraich district for being 'unmindful' of Constitutional Court Judgments requiring application of mind and display of fairness while approving gang charts under the Uttar Pradesh Gangsters and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act, 1986.A bench of Justice Manish Mathur...

Orissa High Court Alters Murder Conviction Of 72-Yr-Old To Culpable Homicide, Applies 'Transfer Of Malice' Rule

The Orissa High Court has recently modified a Sessions Court's order convicting a man for commission of murder of his sister-in-law in 2008 by altering the same to one for culpable homicide not amounting to murder. [2026 LiveLaw (Ori) 111]For partially upholding the guilt of the appellant, the Bench of Justice Manash Ranjan Pathak (now transferred) and Justice Sashikanta Mishra applied...

NDPS Act | 'Unexplained 5-Day Gap In Custody Of Samples, Breach Of S.52A' : Supreme Court Acquits Two Men After 20 Years

The Supreme Court on Wednesday (September 16) set aside the convictions of two individuals after twenty years in an NDPS Act case for the alleged recovery and possession of charas in a commercial quantity, after finding that the prosecution had failed to establish the link in the chain of custody of the seized contraband. The Court noted an unexplained gap of five days between the date on...

S. 180 BNSS | Allahabad High Court Asks DGP To Make Audio-Video Recording Of Witness Statements Mandatory For IOs

The Allahabad High Court has directed the Director General of Police (DGP), Uttar Pradesh, to consider making audio-video recording of statements recorded under Section 180 BNSS 'mandatory', observing that such a step would make criminal investigations more transparent and fair. A bench of Justice Arun Kumar Singh Deshwal passed the direction while dealing with a bail application filed by...

Karnataka High Court Convicts Lawyer For Contempt Over Shouting, Appearing Intoxicated Before Trial Court; Sends Him To 1-Day Jail

The Karnataka High Court has sentenced an advocate to a one-day simple imprisonment along with fine of Rs 2,000 under Contempt of Courts Act, accused of interrupting court proceedings in an intoxicated state, shouting at a Judicial Magistrate, and making scandalous and unfounded allegations against judicial officers.The Division Bench of Justice Anu Sivaraman and Justice Venkatesh Naik T...

Employee's Conviction For Serious Crime Doesn't Permit Automatic Pension Forfeiture; Hearing Must Be Given: Rajasthan High Court

The Rajasthan High Court has set aside an order of the State that stopped and forfeited petitioner's entire pension on the ground of a conviction and imprisonment under the Prevention of Corruption Act (“the Act”), in the background of the fact that no notice was serviced upon the petition before passing of the order.The bench of Justice Anand Sharma affirmed that even where conviction...

PC Act | Handover Of Bribe To Intermediary Not Enough To Prove Public Servant's Guilt : Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Wednesday (September 16) held that merely establishing that money changed hands between a complainant and an intermediary who invoked the name of a public servant cannot, by itself, prove that the public servant accepted a bribe. “The prosecution has, at its best, established that money changed hands between a complainant and an intermediary who invoked the...

Courts Releasing Illegally Arrested Accused Must Permit Same Day Re-Arrest After Compliance With Formalities: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court recently directed that courts, releasing an illegally arrested accused, must permit police to re-arrest accused on the same day after compliance with procedural formalities. [2026 LiveLaw (Ker) 506]Justice A. Badharudeen held:“all Criminal Courts shall ensure that while setting an accused at his liberty, finding his arrest as illegal, the Courts shall pass an order on...