A. Constitution of India—Article 142—Matrimonial Dispute—Amicable Settlement through Mediation—Divorce by Mutual Consent—Dissolution of Marriage— Where the parties settled their matrimonial dispute through mediation and voluntarily entered into a written Settlement Agreement, and had been living separately since February 2024, the Supreme Court exercised jurisdiction under Article 142 and dissolved their marriage solemnized on 27.11.2023 by a decree of divorce by mutual consent. [Paras 2–3, 7–9] B. Indian Penal Code, 1860—Sections 323, 406, 498-A and 506—Matrimonial Dispute—Settlement—Quashing of FIR—Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973—Section 125—Maintenance Proceedings—Quashing— In view of the amicable settlement between the husband and...
A. Finance Act, 1979—Section 38(3) and (4)—Foreign Travel Tax—Delayed Payment—Penalty—Non-payment and Delay—Distinction— Where Foreign Travel Tax (FTT) collected from passengers was deposited belatedly, such delayed payment cannot be equated with “failure to pay” or non-payment so as to attract Section 38(3)—Section 38(3) applies to non-payment of FTT, whereas delayed deposit of FTT falls within the ambit of Section 38(4) read with Rules 4 and 9 of the Foreign Travel Tax Rules, 1979—Further, penalty is not automatic merely upon breach of the statutory timeline; the adjudicating authority must consider whether penalty is warranted, and only thereafter determine its quantum within the prescribed statutory range—Where delay was satisfactorily explained and the demand dra...
A. Code of Civil Procedure, 1908—Section 44-A—Execution of Foreign Decree—Reciprocating Territory—Foreign Decree—Principle of Comity of Courts— A decree passed by a superior Court of a reciprocating territory is, prima facie, executable in India in accordance with Section 44-A CPC—Courts in India are required to give due weightage to such decree while considering interlocutory measures in execution proceedings, consistent with the principle of comity of courts and reciprocal enforcement of judgments—Where a foreign money decree remained substantially unsatisfied and the judgment debtor was prima facie found to be attempting to camouflage or dissipate assets so as to defeat execution, vacation of status quo protection without adequate security would obstruct the efficacy of the decree—A...
A. Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985—Sections 8-A, 21 and 22—Drugs (Control) Act, 1950—Sections 5 and 13—Commercial Quantity—Codeine Phosphate—Recovery of 720 Bottles of Cough Syrup—Regular Bail— Where 720 bottles of Onrex cough syrup containing codeine phosphate were recovered from the appellant, stated to be above commercial quantity, yet the appellant had remained in custody since 04.06.2025 and the trial was not likely to conclude in the near future, with only two of the 23 prosecution witnesses having been examined, a case for grant of regular bail was made out. [Paras 4–10] B. Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973—Regular Bail—Prolonged Custody—Delay in Trial—Number of Prosecution Witnesses—Criminal Antecedent— Prolonged incarc...
A. Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973—Section 439—Regular Bail—Economic Offence—Prolonged Custody—Completion of Investigation—Supplementary Charge-sheet— Where the appellant was not named in the original FIR, the primary allegations of direct inducement of investors pertained to other accused, the appellant had remained in custody since March 2025, and the supplementary charge-sheet had already been filed with investigation substantially complete and largely based on documentary evidence, continued pre-trial detention was held unwarranted and regular bail was granted subject to stringent conditions. [Paras 2–5] B. Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Act, 2019—Sections 21 and 23—Himachal Pradesh Protection of Interest of Depositors (in Financial Establishments) Act, 1999&mdash...
A. Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973—Section 439—Regular Bail—Prolonged Custody—Investigation Complete—Charge-sheet Filed— Where the accused is of advanced age and has remained in custody for a considerable period, continued incarceration is not warranted particularly when investigation in the case has been completed and charge-sheet has already been filed—The fact that the alleged transactions had taken place much prior to registration of the FIRs and there was considerable delay in lodging the FIRs is also a relevant circumstance while considering grant of bail—In the present case, appellant aged 74 years had undergone approximately six months' incarceration and charge-sheets had been filed in both cases—Regular bail accordingly granted subject to conditions imposed by the Trial C...
A. Chhattisgarh Rajya Suraksha Adhiniyam, 1990—Section 5—Externment—Sections 5(a) and 5(b)—Conditions Precedent—Objective Material—Subjective Satisfaction— An order of externment, being an extraordinary measure directly affecting the fundamental right of free movement under Article 19(1)(d) of the Constitution, cannot be passed routinely or on mere ipse dixit—For invoking Section 5(a), the District Magistrate must have objective material enabling a bona fide and informed subjective satisfaction that the movements or acts of the person are causing or calculated to cause alarm, danger or harm to persons or property—Mere registration of multiple criminal cases, by itself, does not justify externment—The order must disclose, at least in broad terms, the material and reasons establish...
A. Delhi Co-operative Societies Act, 1972—Sections 61 and 76—Arbitration—Membership of Co-operative Housing Society—Entitlement to Allotment of Plot— Where claimant asserted membership of a co-operative housing society and consequent entitlement to allotment of a plot, the Arbitrator and Tribunal could not presume continuance of membership merely because the claimant's name appeared in a membership list—Where the record contained material showing resignation from membership, acceptance thereof, transfer of share to another member, subsequent rejection of application for fresh membership and rejection of request for deposit towards allotment of plot, such documents were material to determination of the foundational question of membership—Failure to consider such relevant documentary evidence re...
A. Constitution of India—Article 136—Special Leave Petition—Family Courts Act, 1984—Custody of Minor Child—Visitation Rights—Orders of High Court—Compliance— Where High Court, after noticing that mother had relocated from Bengaluru to Pune, had specifically modified the father's visitation rights by prescribing communication on alternate days and physical custody once a month, Family Court could not disregard the said binding directions while considering subsequent application concerning custody—Family Court was required to act consistently with the subsisting order of the High Court and could not record findings contrary to facts already noticed and determined therein—Petitioner directed to forthwith comply with directions of High Court—Special Leave Petition disposed ...
Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985—Sections 20(b) and 29(1)—Bail—Article 21 of the Constitution of India—Section 37—Incarceration—Trial likely to take time— Where petitioner was implicated on the statement of co-accused, no contraband was recovered from his conscious possession, he had undergone about seven months of custody, and trial was likely to take some time, Supreme Court, keeping in view the principles under Article 21 and the twin conditions prescribed under Section 37 of the NDPS Act, directed that petitioner be enlarged on regular bail pending trial, subject to satisfaction of Trial Court—Special Leave Petition disposed of accordingly. (Paras 2–6; Order) ...
A. Constitution of India—Arts. 246, 254—Legislative competence—Repugnancy—U.P. Regulation of Urban Premises Tenancy Act, 2021—Presidential assent— Regulation of landlord-tenant relationship in respect of houses and buildings falls within the Concurrent Legislative field and not exclusively within Entry 18 of List II—Where provisions of the U.P. Regulation of Urban Premises Tenancy Act, 2021 were repugnant to the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 and the Provincial Small Cause Courts Act, 1887 read with the U.P. Civil Laws (Amendment) Act, 1972, all referable to the Concurrent List, such repugnancy could prevail in the State only upon compliance with Art. 254(2) by reservation of the State legislation for consideration of the President and obtaining Presidential assent—Impugned Act, having been ...
A. Special Marriage Act, 1954—Section 27(1)(d)—Divorce—Mental cruelty—Conduct of wife—Unsubstantiated grave allegations against husband and his family—Held, where a wife makes serious allegations such as molestation of the minor child by the mother-in-law, misappropriation of her parental property, dowry demands and forcible abortion, but fails to support such allegations by contemporaneous complaints, independent evidence, medical material or documentary proof, and her own admissions in cross-examination materially undermine those allegations, such conduct may constitute mental cruelty—In the present case, the allegations were not merely unproved but were of such a grave nature as to humiliate and seriously demean the husband and his family. [Paras 56(v), 59, 66-72] B. Special Marriage Ac...
A. Provincial Small Cause Courts Act, 1887—Section 25—Code of Civil Procedure, 1908—Order VII Rules 11(a) and 11(d)—U.P. Regulation of Urban Premises Tenancy Act, 2021—Section 38—Eviction Suit—Maintainability and Jurisdiction— Order VII Rule 11(a) and (d) CPC ke application par plaint ko whole as a whole read kiya jana hai; defence ya disputed questions of fact ko ordinarily consider nahi kiya ja sakta—Where plaint discloses landlord-tenant relationship, default, notice and claim for eviction and arrears, it discloses cause of action—Statutory bar under Section 38 must be apparent from plaint itself. (Paras 28–30, 42–43, 50–51) B. U.P. Regulation of Urban Premises Tenancy Act, 2021—Sections 4, 21 and 38—Absence of Written Tenancy Agreement—J...
A. Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881—Section 138—Appeal against acquittal—Scope of appellate interference—An appellate Court, while examining an acquittal U/s 138 of the NI Act, is not required to substitute its own view merely because another view is possible; interference is warranted only where the view adopted by the Trial Court is impossible, perverse, wholly unsustainable or manifestly illegal—Where the Trial Court has taken a reasonable view on the evidence, the acquittal deserves to be maintained. (Para 12 and 25) B. Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881—Sections 118 and 139—Presumption in favour of holder—Acquittal in cheque dishonour case—Standard of appellate scrutiny—The general restrictions governing interference with an acquittal cannot be applied with identical rigour...
A. Specific Relief Act, 1963—Co-sharer—Injunction against construction on joint property—A co-sharer cannot ordinarily be restrained from raising construction on joint property merely because the property has not been partitioned; however, where the construction would diminish the value or utility of the common property, materially prejudice the rights or enjoyment of other co-sharers, or amount to ouster of a co-owner, injunction can be granted. In the present case, defendant’s denial of plaintiff’s co-ownership and proposed construction over the only vacant portion of the joint property would prejudice the rights of the other co-owners and amount to ouster; injunction therefore rightly granted. (Paras 15–19) B. Civil Procedure Code, 1908—Section 100—Second appeal—Substantial quest...
A. Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023—Section 438 (corresponding to Section 397 CrPC)—Revisional jurisdiction—Scope—High Court, while exercising revisional jurisdiction, cannot reappreciate evidence as an appellate court and interfere with concurrent findings unless there is perversity, glaring contradiction, illegality or miscarriage of justice warranting interference. (Paras 12–13, 28–30) B. Indian Forest Act, 1927—Sections 41, 42—HP Forest Produce Transit (Land Routes) Rules, 1978—Rule 20—Conviction for violation of transit requirements—Specific accusation/charge necessary—Where the accused was not specifically informed of the alleged violation of Rule 20, conviction on such ground causes prejudice; prosecution must further establish by reliable and scient...
A. Indian Penal Code, 1860—Sections 366 and 376—Kidnapping/abduction and rape—Appreciation of evidence—Held—Material contradictions between the victim's statement under Section 164 CrPC and her deposition regarding the place of occurrence, coupled with medical and FSL evidence showing no recent sexual intercourse, rendered the prosecution case unreliable. Conviction could not be sustained on such inconsistent evidence. (Paras 8-9, 13) B. Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012—Sections 3, 4, 29 and 30—Age of victim—Presumption—Proof of minority—Held—Presumptions under Sections 29 and 30 cannot dispense with proof of the foundational fact that the victim was a child. Age must be established in accordance with law; a school certificate issued by the Headm...
A. Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881—Sections 138 & 141—Dishonour of Cheque—Sole Proprietary Concern—Separate Arraignment—Not Necessary— A sole proprietary concern has no independent legal or juristic existence apart from its proprietor—the proprietor and proprietary concern are legally one and the same person—therefore, where the cheque is issued from the account of a sole proprietary concern and the proprietor is himself prosecuted, separate arraignment of the proprietary concern as an accused is not necessary—the principle in Aneeta Hada v. Godfather Travels & Tours (P) Ltd. requiring arraignment of the principal offender is applicable where the principal offender is a separate juristic entity and not to a sole proprietary concern. (Paras 17–20) B. Code of Criminal P...
Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881—Section 143(3)—Dishonour of Cheque—Expeditious Trial—Time Limit— In a complaint under Section 138 of the Act, the trial is required to be conducted as expeditiously as possible, with an endeavour to conclude it within six months from the date of filing of the complaint—where the proceedings had remained pending due to the respondent’s non-appearance and pending exemption application, the Trial Court was directed to take necessary measures to secure his presence and endeavour to conclude the trial within six months from production of the certified copy of the order. (Paras 6–7) ...
A. Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881—Section 147—Section 138—Dishonour of Cheque—Compounding After Conviction— An offence under Section 138 is compoundable at any stage, including after conviction and dismissal of appeal or revision—voluntary settlement between the parties can be accepted notwithstanding that no further proceedings remain pending. (Paras 12–15) B. Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023—Section 528—Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881—Section 147—Inherent Powers—Quashing of Conviction and Sentence— The High Court may exercise its inherent jurisdiction to give effect to a settlement and compound an offence under Section 138 even after conviction and sentence have attained finality in revision—upon valid settlement, the conviction and sentenc...