Oral Partition Can Be Proved Through Oral Evidence, Long Separate Possession: Jharkhand High Court

The Jharkhand High Court has held that oral partition can be accepted on the basis of oral evidence where parties have been separately possessing and enjoying their respective shares for several decades. The Court observed that although there was no written partition, the witnesses had proved that the properties had already been partitioned and the parties were separately enjoying...

7-Year Consensual Relationship Cannot Be Treated As Rape Over Subsequent Refusal To Marry: Jharkhand High Court

The Jharkhand High Court has held that where a physical relationship between two adults continued for over seven years, and there was no specific allegation that the man had no intention to marry the woman when he made the promise, the allegations at best disclosed a consensual physical relationship and did not constitute rape on a false promise of marriage.A Single Judge Bench of Justice...

Registered Sale Deed Cannot Validate Transfer Of Adivasi Land In Violation Of Chhotanagpur Tenancy Act: Jharkhand High Court

The Jharkhand High Court has held that a registered deed executed in violation of Section 46(1) of the Chhotanagpur Tenancy Act, 1908 cannot be recognised as a valid transaction, observing that even a registered deed cannot validate a transaction prohibited by the statute.A Single Judge Bench of Justice Sanjay Kumar Dwivedi was hearing a writ petition challenging the order dated May 10,...

Fees Paid To Medical College Cannot Be Treated As 'Entrustment' Under Section 406 IPC: Jharkhand High Court

The Jharkhand High Court has held that payment of fees by a student or his parents to a medical college is a standard financial or contractual transaction and cannot be treated as “entrustment” of property for attracting the offence of criminal breach of trust under Section 406 of the Indian Penal Code.A Single Judge Bench of Justice Anil Kumar Choudhary made the observation while...

Jharkhand High Court Quashes Cheating Case Against Flipkart, E-Kart Employees Over Missing Shipments

The Jharkhand High Court has quashed criminal proceedings against an E-Kart Logistics official and a member of the Flipkart security team, observing that allegations of non-return of shipments could not constitute offences of criminal breach of trust or cheating against the individual employees when the alleged entrustment of property was to Flipkart, a company.A Single Judge Bench of...

Jharkhand High Court Transfers Probe Into Disappearance Of Minor Girl Missing Since 2020 To CBI; Cites Cross-State Digital Trails

The Jharkhand High Court has transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) the investigation into the disappearance of a minor girl who has remained untraced since October 2020, observing that the case involves grave complexity, cross-jurisdictional dimensions and digital trails extending across multiple States.A Division Bench of Justice Sujit Narayan Prasad and Justice Sanjay...

Jharkhand High Court Reduces Sentence In ₹300 Bribe Case From 1993, Says Accused Has Suffered 'Agony Of Trial' For Three Decades

The Jharkhand High Court has reduced the sentence imposed on a man in a 1993 corruption case involving a demand of ₹300 for processing the provident fund dues of the complainant, taking note of the fact that he had faced the “agony of the trial” for three decades.A Single Judge Bench of Pradeep Kumar Srivastava, while considering the quantum of sentence under Section 7 of the...

Onerous Bail Conditions Amount To 'Granting Bail With One Hand And Taking It Away With Other': Jharkhand High Court

The Jharkhand High Court has observed that imposing an inherently onerous or incapable-of-compliance condition while granting bail would amount to “granting bail with one hand and taking it away with the other.”A Single Judge Bench of Justice Sanjay Kumar Dwivedi made the observation while considering a petition seeking modification of a 2014 anticipatory bail order which required...

Former Congress Minister Yogendra Sao Acquitted In NTPC Protest Case; Jharkhand High Court Finds No Evidence Of Assault Or Instigation

The Jharkhand High Court has acquitted former Congress minister and MLA Yogendra Sao in a criminal case arising from a 2010 protest during the inauguration of an NTPC project office in Hazaribag, after finding that there was no specific evidence that he had assaulted anyone or instigated the gathering.A Single Judge Bench of Justice Pradeep Kumar Srivastava set aside the concurrent findings...

Jail Manual Rules Govern Disciplinary Action, Cannot Be Used To Prove Criminal Charge: Jharkhand High Court

The Jharkhand High Court has held that responsibilities fixed upon jail officials under the Jail Manual may be relevant for disciplinary action or dereliction of duty, but cannot be used to prove a criminal charge, which must be determined on the basis of the ingredients of the offence under the penal statute.A Single Judge Bench of Justice Pradeep Kumar Srivastava made the observation...

Criminal Summons Cannot Be Issued Against A 'Designation' Without Naming Person Holding It: Jharkhand High Court

The Jharkhand High Court has held that summons in a criminal case cannot be issued against a post or designation without mentioning the name of the person holding that post.A Single Judge Bench of Justice Anil Kumar Choudhary observed that a post is not a juristic person and quashed criminal proceedings against two petitioners who had been summoned merely by their posts.The Court was hearing...

Jharkhand High Court Closes Suo Motu Case Over 2022 Latehar Court Attack; Calls For Security Cover For Judicial Officers

The Jharkhand High Court has disposed of a suo motu PIL initiated after the 2022 attack and vandalism at the Latehar Civil Court, while observing that a comparable level of personal security should be ensured for judicial officers serving across all districts of the State.A Division Bench of Chief Justice M.S. Sonak and Justice Rajesh Shankar observed that there was no reason for the...