NDPS Act | 'Unexplained 5-Day Gap In Custody Of Samples, Breach Of S.52A' : Supreme Court Acquits Two Men After 20 Years

The Supreme Court on Wednesday (September 16) set aside the convictions of two individuals after twenty years in an NDPS Act case for the alleged recovery and possession of charas in a commercial quantity, after finding that the prosecution had failed to establish the link in the chain of custody of the seized contraband. The Court noted an unexplained gap of five days between the date on...

Karnataka High Court Convicts Lawyer For Contempt Over Shouting, Appearing Intoxicated Before Trial Court; Sends Him To 1-Day Jail

The Karnataka High Court has sentenced an advocate to a one-day simple imprisonment along with fine of Rs 2,000 under Contempt of Courts Act, accused of interrupting court proceedings in an intoxicated state, shouting at a Judicial Magistrate, and making scandalous and unfounded allegations against judicial officers.The Division Bench of Justice Anu Sivaraman and Justice Venkatesh Naik T...

Employee's Conviction For Serious Crime Doesn't Permit Automatic Pension Forfeiture; Hearing Must Be Given: Rajasthan High Court

The Rajasthan High Court has set aside an order of the State that stopped and forfeited petitioner's entire pension on the ground of a conviction and imprisonment under the Prevention of Corruption Act (“the Act”), in the background of the fact that no notice was serviced upon the petition before passing of the order.The bench of Justice Anand Sharma affirmed that even where conviction...

PC Act | Handover Of Bribe To Intermediary Not Enough To Prove Public Servant's Guilt : Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Wednesday (September 16) held that merely establishing that money changed hands between a complainant and an intermediary who invoked the name of a public servant cannot, by itself, prove that the public servant accepted a bribe. “The prosecution has, at its best, established that money changed hands between a complainant and an intermediary who invoked the...

Karnataka High Court Issues Contempt Notice To Top Officials Over Failure To Compensate Kodagu Homestay Owner For Illegal Arrest

The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday [September 16] issued notice to the Chief Secretary and the Additional Chief Secretary, Home Department in a contempt petition alleging wilful disobedience of a direction to pay Rs 5 lakhs as compensation for the illegal arrest of a Kodagu homestay owner over a US woman's rape.The Division Bench of Justices Jayant Banerji and Geetha K.B was hearing a...

Seat Belts In Cars : Supreme Court Asks Centre To Consider Suggestions For Stricter Enforcement

The Supreme Court has disposed of a public interest litigation seeking effective implementation and enforcement of mandatory seat belt usage, child restraint systems and first-aid kits in vehicles, while granting liberty to the petitioner to forward a copy of his petition to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways for consideration of his recommendations.The Court observed that...

Insurer Not Liable If Learner's Licence Holder Not Accompanied By Instructor With Valid License At The Time Of Accident: Karnataka High Court

The Karnataka High Court has held that an insurance company won't be liable if a vehicle driven by a learner's license holder met with an accident, and the driver failed to prove compliance with Rule 3 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, such as being accompanied by an instructor with valid license when the accident happened. [2026 LiveLaw (Kar) 360]The single judge bench of...

JJ Act | Rajasthan High Court Directs 1% Reservation For Youth Leaving Care Homes, Flags 'Mechanical' Juvenile Assessments

Taking serious note of the lapses in preliminary assessments of a minors under Section 15 of the Juvenile Justice Act (“JJ Act”), the Rajasthan High Court has ordered constitution of a panel of Clinical psychologists, psychiatrists, and experts in Child psychology in each district.The bench of Justice Anoop Kumar Dhand further highlighted the harsh reality faced by the “care leavers”,...

Predicate Offence Acquittal Must Attain Finality To End PMLA Proceedings; Appeal Can't Be 'Blanket Shield': Jharkhand High Court

The Jharkhand High Court has held that an acquittal in a predicate offence must attain finality before it can bring money laundering proceedings against the accused to an end, observing that an acquittal which remains open to appellate challenge cannot be used as a “blanket shield” against proceedings under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA).A Single Judge Bench of...

Karuvatta Murder Case: Kerala High Court Upholds JJB Order Allowing Escorted Movement Of Minors For Evidence Collection

The Kerala High Court on Tuesday (September 15) upheld the order of the Juvenile Justice Board, Alappuzha that allowed the escorted movement of the children in conflict with law (CCLs) for evidence collection in the Karuvatta murder case. [2026 LiveLaw (Ker) 505]The case refers to the murder of a 67-year-old man on August 17, 2026 allegedly by his 13-year-old granddaughter and three other...

MACT | Pay Protection No Bar To Compensation For Loss Of Future Income If Post Is Reduced Following Accident: Karnataka High Court

The Kalaburagi Bench of the Karnataka High Court has held that a Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) cannot deny compensation under the head of loss of future income merely because the claimant's salary has been protected pursuant to being assigned a lower position/reduction in post after a road accident. The court said that reliance on pay protection benefit without examining the loss...

Witness Protection In UAPA Cases Can't Be Prosecution's Sword To Curtail Right Of Cross-Examination: Madras High Court Issues Directions

The Madras High Court recently held that the provision of witness protection under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act is aimed at protecting the witness from any threat and should not be used as a sword in the prosecution's hand to curtail the accused's right to cross-examination. The bench of Justice Anita Sumanth and Justice Sunder Mohan added that whenever the prosecution files...