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...

Appeal Won't Lie Under S.374 CrPC/415 BNSS Against Sessions Court's Reversal Of Acquittal : Supreme Court

Against an order passed by the Sessions Court in exercise of appellate jurisdiction, the proper remedy is to file a revision.

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...

'1.45 Lakh Cases Pending Without Closure Report Despite Completed Investigation': Chhattisgarh High Court Seeks DGP's Reply

The Chhattisgarh High Court has directed the Director General of Police to file an updated status report on cases in which investigations have been completed but closure reports have not yet been filed before the competent courts. The Court noted that despite a reduction in the backlog, over 1.45 lakh such cases remained pending.A Division Bench of Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice...

PC Act | Decision To Refuse Prosecution Sanction Can't Be Reviewed On Same Materials : Supreme Court

The Supreme Court recently observed that an order denying sanction to prosecute a public servant under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 cannot be reviewed by the appropriate authority unless fresh material emerges which was not available at the earlier instance. "A mere change of opinion per se on the same materials cannot be a ground for review or reconsideration of an earlier...

Patna High Court Quashes FIR Against GATE AIR 45 Holder, Says Student Protest Was In 'Youthful Exuberance'

The Patna High Court has quashed an FIR lodged against an engineering student accused of vandalism and assault during a protest over internal assessment marks, observing that the incident was merely “an act of protest undertaken by a number of students in youthful exuberance” and that continuation of the proceedings would unfairly jeopardise the petitioner's future.A Single Judge Bench...

Maintenance Granted Under HAMA Can't Be Enhanced Under Section 127 CrPC: Orissa High Court

The Orissa High Court has held that a Family Court cannot exercise its jurisdiction under Section 127 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) to enhance maintenance amount when the original maintenance order was passed under the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956 (HAMA). [2026 LiveLaw (Ori) 86]While setting aside the impugned order which was passed on such jurisdictional error, the...

Promise To Marry Doesn't Ordinarily Vitiate Consent If Both Parties Know Woman Is Already Married: Rajasthan High Court

While setting aside charges framed against a man for offences including repeated rape under Section 376(2)(n) IPC, the Rajasthan High Court held that where both parties are conscious that the prosecutrix's first marriage is subsisting, it would ordinarily be difficult to conclude that she was induced into a physical relationship solely on the promise of marriage.The bench of Justice...

S.125 CrPC | Woman Can't Claim Maintenance As Live-In Partner Without Pleading Or Proving Such Relationship: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court has held that a woman seeking maintenance under Section 125 Cr.P.C. cannot invoke the protection extended to live-in partners where she has neither pleaded such a relationship nor established that a marriage took place. It held that this is all the more so where the man has categorically denied having any relationship with her.Justice Lakshmi Kant Shukla...