Criminal Law
Witness Testimony Recorded Without S.299 CrPC Order Can't Be Later Used Against Accused Who Absconded : Supreme Court
The Supreme Court on Friday (July 31) observed that evidence recorded in a trial against one accused cannot be used against an absconding accused in a subsequent trial unless an order under Section 299 Cr.P.C. / Section 335 BNSS was passed establishing the two jurisdictional facts, i.e., the accused was absconding and that there was no immediate prospect of arresting him. A bench...
Allahabad High Court Acquits Husband Sentenced To Life Term For Killing Wife In 1979, Cites 4-Year Delay In FIR
The Allahabad High Court on Thursday acquitted a man who had been sentenced to life imprisonment for the alleged murder of his wife in 1979 after finding that there was an unexplained delay of more than 4 years in lodging the FIR, coupled with contradictory medical evidence regarding the cause of death.Observing that the prosecution had not been able to establish the guilt of the...
AP High Court Orders ACB Probe Into Alleged Fraud On Court In Land Dispute Case, Questions Lawyers' Conduct
The Andhra Pradesh High Court recalled an order disposing of two writ petitions relating to a valuable piece of land in Kakinada and has directed the Anti-Corruption Bureau to inquire into the allegations of the order being obtained by playing "fraud" on the court. [2026 LiveLaw (AP) 167]A Single Judge Bench of Justice Harinath N allowed the review petitions filed by Jayendra Nagar...
Madras High Court Issues Guidelines For Direct Bank Transfer Of Compensation In Motor Accident Cases
The Madras High Court has issued directions for disbursing compensation in motor accident cases by way of direct bank transfer. [2026 LiveLaw (Mad) 360] The bench of Justice N Sathish Kumar and Justice M Jothiraman directed the Registrar General of the Madras High Court to issue a circular, after obtaining necessary administrative sanction from the Chief Justice, to all Motor...
Orissa High Court Orders ₹30,000 Compensation For Man's Prima Facie Illegal Arrest Through Forged NBW
The Orissa High Court has ordered payment of ₹30,000 as compensation to a 63-year-old man after finding that he was prima facie illegally arrested and detained on the basis of a counterfeit non-bailable warrant (NBW). [2026 LiveLaw (Ori) 87]The Court also directed separate enquiries by the Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate (SDJM), Bhubaneswar and the Deputy Commissioner of Police...
Karnataka High Court Directs Trial Court To Consider Prajwal Revanna's Objections To Pendrive Evidence In Rape Case
The Karnataka High Court on Friday (July 31) directed the trial court to consider the objections raised by former MP and expelled Janata Dal (Secular) leader Prajwal Revanna to the marking of a pen drive as evidence, in a rape case filed against him.Justice M Nagaprasanna disposed of Revanna's petition after recording the State's submission that it had no objection to the trial court...
Pressuring Spouse To Sign Divorce & Child Custody Papers Doesn't Constitute 'Cruelty': Patna High Court
The Patna High Court has held that merely pressuring a spouse to sign divorce and child custody papers during matrimonial negotiations does not constitute the offence of cruelty under Section 85 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. The Court observed that such conduct neither amounts to harassment for an unlawful demand of property nor to wilful conduct likely to drive a woman to suicide...
OTT Fame Shalini Passi Moves Orissa High Court To Quash Criminal Case For Posting Jagannath Temple's Inner Premise Photo
Reality television personality and art collector Shalini Passi has filed a petition before the Orissa High Court seeking to quash the cognizance order and the impending criminal proceeding registered against her for capturing photo of Lord Jagannath temple's inner premise and posting the same through her Instagram handle.As per the prosecution allegations, an FIR was registered under Section...
Relief For Ex-Congress MLA Vinay Kulkarni: Karnataka High Court Stays Conviction In 2016 Yogesh Goudar Murder Case, Grants Bail
The Karnataka High Court on Friday (July 31) stayed the conviction of former Congress MLA Vinay Kulkarni for the murder of BJP Zilla Panchayat member Yogesh Goudar in 2016, until his appeal challenging the conviction is disposed of.The court also suspended his life sentence and directed he be released subject to certain conditions. Kulkarni had challenged the conviction in an appeal; he had...
Externment Of Gang Member Under Police Act Requires Satisfaction About Gang's Activities, Not Individual Alone: Bombay High Court
The Bombay High Court has held that the "subjective satisfaction" required for passing an externment order under Section 55 of the Maharashtra Police Act, 1951 against a gang or body of persons is fundamentally different from the satisfaction required under Section 56 for externment of an individual. The Court observed that while Section 55 requires the authority to be satisfied about...
POCSO | Putting Vibrating Machine On Victim's Vaginal Opening Amounts To Penetrative Sexual Assault & Rape: Kerala High Court
The Kerala High Court recently clarified that putting a vibrating machine on the victim's vaginal opening amounts to 'penetrative sexual assault' punishable under the POCSO Act as well as rape punishable under the Indian Penal Code. [2026 LiveLaw (Ker) 416]Justice A. Badharudeen referred to Section 3 of the POCSO Act [Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act], which defines...