Wrong Cheque Number, Wrong Amount In Plea Strikes At 'Root' Of Fair Trial: Calcutta High Court Quashes Cheque Bounce Case

The Calcutta High Court has held that a criminal trial under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act cannot be sustained where the accused was asked to answer a completely different cheque transaction at the stage of recording the plea under Section 251 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Holding that such a defect strikes at the root of a fair trial, the Court set aside the six-month...

Kerala High Court Cautions Young Lawyers Taking Up Pleas To Unfreeze Bank Accounts Linked To Cyber Fraud

Future of legal system is in safe hands, provided these sharp minds are nurtured with proper guidance, Court said.

Supreme Court Orders States/UTs To Frame Policy For Early Release Of Elderly And Terminally Ill Prisoners

The Supreme Court today directed all States and Union Territories to prepare and notify, within three months, a policy governing the early or premature release of elderly and terminally ill prisoners, while also prescribing a technology-based framework to process such cases.A bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta issued the directions in a PIL filed by the National Legal...

Suicide Abetment | 'Persistent Humiliation Touching Domestic Life & Dignity Can Amount To Instigation': Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court last week refused to discharge a man accused of abetting the suicide of his alleged paramour's husband, observing that the persistent humiliation of a person, particularly when it touches upon their domestic life and dignity, can amount to instigation. A Bench of Justice Santosh Rai thus denied relief to appellant Chandrajeet Singh while taking into account...

Holding 10-Year-Old Girl's Hand To Propose Marriage Does Not Outrage Modesty, No 'Bad Intention': Jharkhand High Court

The Jharkhand High Court has held that merely holding the hand of a 10-year-old girl while proposing marriage, without any sexual or improper intention, does not amount to outraging modesty under Section 354 of the Indian Penal Code.A Single Judge Bench of Justice Rajesh Kumar allowed a criminal appeal and acquitted a man convicted under Section 354 IPC, holding that the essential ingredients...

MD Not Liable For Content In Newspaper Unless Specific Role Alleged: J&K&L High Court Quashes Complaint Against TOI's Vineet Jain

The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has quashed a criminal complaint and the proceedings emanating therefrom against Vineet Jain, Managing Director of M/s Binnet Coleman and Co. Ltd., which owns the newspaper "Times of India", holding that the petitioner cannot be held liable for the content published in the newspaper in the absence of specific allegations against him.A Bench...

Delhi High Court Cancels Bail Granted To Teacher Accused In Janakpuri School Rape Case

The Delhi High Court has set aside the bail granted to a teacher accused in the Janakpuri school rape case involving the alleged sexual assault of a three-year-old nursery student. [2026 LiveLaw (Del) 657]Justice Saurabh Banerjee observed that a child of such tender age cannot be expected to disclose every detail of the incident at the first instance and that the victim's subsequent...

1981 Acid Attack On Father | Allahabad High Court 'Anguished' As Trial Judge Ignored Homicide Charge, Awarded Son Mere 3-Yr Term

The Allahabad High Court on Wednesday expressed its "deep anguish" over a Gorakhpur trial court's decision to convict a man under Section 326 of the IPC and sentence him to a mere 3 years of imprisonment for causing the homicidal death of his own father by pouring acid upon him. "…Trial Judge, by a manifest misappreciation of the evidence and a complete failure to apply the...

Supreme Court Acquits 3 Men In 1979 Murder Case, Cites Glaring Infirmities In Prosecution

Two other accused died during the pendency of the appeal in the SC, and another accused died while the appeal was pending in the High Court.

Suicide Abetment | Threatening To Force Debtor's Wife Into Prostitution Can't Be Treated As Mere Loan Recovery Tactic: Gujarat High Court

The threat directly assaults the core dignity, honor, and sanctity of the family unit, Court said.

Chhattisgarh High Court Expresses Concern At Repeated Lapses In NDPS Probes; Directs Action Against Erring Officials

The Chhattisgarh High Court has expressed serious concern over repeated procedural lapses in investigations under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, observing that despite settled legal principles, investigating officers continue to disregard mandatory statutory safeguards, resulting in acquittals in serious NDPS cases. The Court directed the Director General of...

Mere Refusal To Marry Is Not Abetment Of Suicide, Police 'Casually' Invoking S.306 IPC: Uttarakhand High Court

The Uttarakhand High Court has observed that Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code (Abetment of Suicide) appears to be “casually and too readily resorted to by the police” and that trial courts should exercise great caution and circumspection and should not adopt a “play it safe” syndrome by mechanically framing charges under it. The Court further observed that to attract the...