Calcutta High Court
“No Dying Declaration, No Proof Of Cruelty”: Calcutta High Court Acquits Husband In S.498A IPC Case After 24 Years
The Calcutta High Court has set aside the conviction of a man under Section 498A of the IPC, holding that the prosecution failed to prove any act of cruelty or dowry-related harassment that could have driven his wife to commit suicide. Justice Chaitali Chatterjee Das observed that the evidence on record was marked by vague allegations, contradictions and emotional assertions, and that the prosecution story lacked the foundational facts necessary to sustain a conviction for cruelty. The Court...
Calcutta High Court Acquits Man In Rape Case, Says Complaint Filed “Out Of Grudge” After Breakdown Of Relationship
The Calcutta High Court has set aside the conviction of a man found guilty of rape in 2008, holding that the prosecution's case suffered from contradictions, material omissions and lack of corroboration — especially the complainant's admission that she subsequently married the accused and lived with him as his wife.Justice Chaitali Chatterjee Das, deciding the criminal appeal in CRA 76 of 2009 (Mithun Paul v. State of West Bengal), observed that the written complaint itself concealed the fact of...
Advocate May Be Member Of Several Bar Associations, But Can Only Vote Once: Calcutta HC Flags Duplicate Entries In Bar Council Election List
“An advocate may be a member of several Bar Associations, but can cast only one vote. The admitted irregularity of duplicate and cross-district voter entries is unthinkable and strikes at the foundation of a free, fair, transparent election,” the Calcutta High Court held while intervening in the final electoral roll for the Jalpaiguri Bar Association booth in the 12th West Bengal Bar...
Calcutta High Court Flags 39-Year Delay In Murder Case, Directs Magistrate To Commit Case To Sessions Court Within Six Weeks
The Calcutta High Court, sitting at the Jalpaiguri Circuit Bench, has expressed strong displeasure over a criminal case pending for nearly four decades without even reaching the stage of committal to the Sessions Court. Justice Jay Sengupta directed the jurisdictional magistrate to complete the committal proceedings within six weeks, calling the delay “very unfortunate” and emphasising...
Calcutta High Court Quashes Bigamy Case Under BNS After Parties Settle Dispute; Says S.82(2) Requires Complaint Case Under BNSS
The Calcutta High Court, sitting at the Jalpaiguri Circuit Bench, has quashed criminal proceedings arising out of allegations of bigamy under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), after noting that the dispute between the parties had been fully settled and that one of the offences invoked could not have been prosecuted through a police case at all. Justice Jay Sengupta passed the order...
TET-Qualified Teacher Cannot Rely On Fake Marksheet To Secure Approval Of Appointment: Calcutta High Court
The Calcutta High Court has dismissed an appeal filed by Abhishek Maity seeking a direction upon West Bengal State University to treat a purported 2014 post-review marksheet as genuine and to issue him a pass certificate accordingly. A Division Bench of Justices Tapabrata Chakraborty and Partha Sarathi Chatterjee upheld the Single Judge's refusal, holding that the marks claimed by the...
'Inability To Explain Death Inside Matrimonial Home Crucial': Calcutta High Court Upholds Life Sentence For Husband In Wife's Murder
The Calcutta High Court's Jalpaiguri Circuit Bench has upheld the conviction and life sentence of a man found guilty of murdering his wife inside their matrimonial home, stressing that his complete failure to explain the circumstances of her death was a decisive factor in affirming guilt. The Division Bench of Justice Debangsu Basak and Justice Biswaroop Chowdhury noted that the incident...
'Alleged Offence Took Place On Road During School Hours, Absence Of Independent Witness Casts Doubt': Calcutta HC Sets Aside POCSO Conviction
"When the incident is alleged to have occurred on a public road during school hours, the absence of a single independent witness casts grave doubt on the prosecution case,” the Calcutta High Court observed while setting aside a conviction under Section 4 of the POCSO Act.The Jalpaiguri Circuit Bench acquitted a man sentenced to life imprisonment under Section 4 of the POCSO Act, holding...
Threats To Publish Intimate Photos Not 'Abetment': Calcutta High Court Affirms Acquittal In Man's 2015 Suicide Case
The Calcutta High Court's Circuit Bench at Jalpaiguri has refused to overturn the 2019 acquittal of two men accused of abetting the suicide of a Jalpaiguri resident, holding that the prosecution failed to establish any proximate act of instigation, intentional aid, or continuous conduct linking the accused to the victim's death. The Court reiterated that past threats or strained...
Calcutta High Court Closes Defamation Case Against TV Show Which Called CESC 'Big Thief', Depicted Employees As Osama Bin Laden
The Calcutta High Court has accepted unconditional apologies from the makers and anchor of the investigative TV show Khoj Khabar in a 22-year-old defamation suit filed by CESC Limited, imposing only token damages and costs. The Court, presided over by Justice Krishna Rao, noted that the 2004 broadcasts had used highly inflammatory language—branding CESC as indulging in...
Calcutta High Court Upholds KMC's Power To Revise Property Valuation For Levying Property Tax In ₹11.24 Crore Dispute
The Calcutta High Court has upheld the constitutional validity of Section 3 of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Act, 2022, which expanded and retrospectively validated the Corporation's power to revise annual property valuation. Justice Gaurang Kanth held that the amendment—introduced to cure defects noticed in earlier litigation—falls squarely within the State...
Right To Adopt Cannot Be Defeated By Procedural Delay: Calcutta High Court
The Calcutta High Court has held that a prospective adoptive parent cannot be deprived of the right to adopt merely because the child crosses the statutory age limit during pendency of court proceedings, particularly when the delay is attributable to the judicial process itself. Justice Shampa Dutt (Paul), allowing a civil revision petition, set aside an order of the District Judge, Nadia,...