Criminal Law
'Priest Who Conducted Ceremony Need Not Be Examined To Prove Marriage': Calcutta High Court Sets Aside Acquittal In Bigamy Case
The Calcutta High Court has held that insisting on the examination of the priest who conducted the second day's marriage ceremonies to prove a Hindu marriage stretches the standard of proof "beyond rational, logical and legal limits." Setting aside a 30-year-old acquittal in a bigamy case, the Court observed that once several witnesses consistently testify to the marriage and...
'Mere Telephone Records Can't Prove Illicit Affair' : Supreme Court Upholds Acquittal Of Woman & 2 Men In Husband's Murder Case
Mere production of telephone records cannot substitute substantive proof of an illicit affair leading to murder, the Supreme Court has held while upholding the acquittal of a woman accused of murdering her husband along with her alleged lover and another co-accused in 2007. The Court ruled that the prosecution failed to establish an unbroken chain of circumstances necessary to sustain...
Frame Murder As Main Charge, S. 304-B IPC As Alternative If 'Dowry Death' Appears Homicidal: Allahabad High Court Directs UP Courts
The Allahabad High Court has issued a mandatory direction to all the trial courts across Uttar Pradesh that if evidence collected during an investigation indicates a 'homicidal' death inside a matrimonial home, the main charge must be framed under Section 302 IPC (Murder) and an alternative charge under Section 304-B IPC (Dowry Death). A bench of Justice Salil Kumar Rai and Justice Dr...
Driver Can't Be Held Negligent For Sudden Tyre Burst; Vehicle Owner Alone Liable To Pay Compensation: Karnataka High Court
The Karnataka High Court has recently held that a driver cannot be held negligent for a sudden tyre burst, thereby, exonerating the driver and fastening liability solely on the owner of the vehicle. [2026 LiveLaw (Kar) 244]“…The manner of accident shows it is a tyre burst which is not in the hands of the driver and he cannot held to be negligent for the sudden burst of the tyre. The...
S. 19 JJ Act | Children's Court Must Pass Reasoned Order Before Trying Child As Adult: Supreme Court
In an important direction for the Children Courts across the country, the Supreme Court on Monday (July 13) has held that a Children's Court cannot proceed to try a child in conflict with law as an adult without first passing a reasoned order under Section 19(1) of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015. Holding that this requirement is mandatory, a bench of...
Long Continuous Consensual Relationship Not 'Rape': Allahabad High Court Discharges Man, Notes Financial Dispute Between Parties
The Allahabad High Court recently observed that a long, continuous physical relationship between consenting adults cannot be termed 'rape' when a promise to marry fails, especially when the underlying dispute is predominantly civil and financial in nature. Allowing two connected criminal appeals, a bench of Justice Santosh Rai discharged the accused (Saurabh Pal Singh) of all...
Bombay High Court Suspends Sentence Of Mother, Alleged Paramour Convicted Of Drowning 10-Year-Old Boy In Canal
The Bombay High Court recently granted bail and suspended the lifetime rigorous imprisonment imposed on a woman and her alleged lover, both of whom were convicted for killing the woman's son as he allegedly learnt about their affair. Sitting at the Kolhapur bench, a division bench of Justice Milind Jadhav and Justice Nandesh Deshpande noted that the motive attributed to the convicts...
P&H High Court Applies 'Descending Scale' Sentencing Model, Commutes Death Sentence For 6-Yr-Old's Rape-Murder But Bars Release Before 50 Yrs
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has commuted the death sentence imposed on a man convicted for rape and murder of a six-year-old girl, but directed that he shall not be released unless he serves a minimum actual sentence of 50 years. [2026 LiveLaw (PH) 228]In doing so, the Division Bench of Justice Anoop Chitkara and Justice Ramesh Chander Dimri applied the "descending scale" model...
Victim Not A 'Sterling Witness', Her Family Was Present In House: Why Allahabad High Court Upheld Acquittal In 2014 Rape Case
The Allahabad High Court last week dismissed a state appeal challenging the acquittal of a man accused of rape as it observed that it was highly improbable for the crime to have been committed while the victim's children and other family members were present inside the house. The High Court also noted a material discrepancy in the statement of the victim with regard to the commission of...
Section 354 IPC Not Covered By Section 42 POCSO Act, Trial Court Erred In Not Awarding Separate Sentence: Delhi High Court
The Delhi High Court has observed that a trial court erred in not awarding a separate sentence for the offence under Section 354 IPC (assault or criminal force to a woman with intent to outrage her modesty) in a case involving sexual assault on a six-year-old girl, clarifying that the provision is not among the IPC offences covered by Section 42 of the Protection of Children from Sexual...
Empty Berths Sold "Like Vegetables In A Market" By Ticket Checkers: Calcutta High Court In Train Murder-Robbery Case
The Calcutta High Court has come down heavily on the functioning of Travelling Ticket Examiners (TTEs), observing that the practice of illegally allotting vacant berths to unreserved passengers for money is the primary reason behind several drugging-and-robbery incidents on trains. The Court remarked that TTEs "sell empty berths in trains like vegetables in a market" and directed that a copy...