A. Specific Relief Act, 1963—Section 16(c)—Specific performance—Readiness and willingness—HELD—The plaintiff seeking specific performance must prove continuous readiness and willingness to perform the essential terms of the contract, including financial capacity and conduct demonstrating intention to complete the transaction. Failure to apply for mandatory purchase permission within the stipulated period, pay the balance consideration or obtain the agreed power of attorney disentitles the purchaser to specific performance. (Paras 17-19, 24-27).B. Specific Relief Act, 1963—Specific performance—Time as essence of contract—Agreement to sell immovable property—HELD—The general principle that time is not ordinarily the essence of contracts relating to immovable property cannot be applied mechanically, particularly where the...

A. Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881—Section 138—Statutory demand notice—Deemed service—Held, the presumption of service of notice arises only where the notice is dispatched by registered post to the correct address of the drawer—A notice returned undelivered may be deemed served if correctly addressed, unless the drawer rebuts the presumption under Section 27 of the General Clauses Act, 1897 and Section 114 of the Evidence Act, 1872—Where the notice was admittedly sent to an incorrect address, deemed service could not be presumed. (Paras 16, 20-24)B. Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881—Section 138—Statutory notice—Incorrect address—Effect—Held, the complainant had mentioned the accused’s address as Block B, House No. 418, whereas the statutory notice was dispatched to Block B, House No. 420 and was returned undelivere...

A. Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881—Sections 118 and 139—Presumption as to consideration and legally enforceable debt—Rebuttal—Held, the statutory presumption in favour of the cheque holder is rebuttable and does not remain conclusive once evidence is adduced to the contrary—The accused may rebut the presumption by demonstrating, from the complainant’s own evidence or through independent material, that the complainant lacked financial capacity to advance the alleged loan—Where cross-examination renders the complainant’s financial capacity doubtful, the Court must assess the totality of evidence and determine whether a probable defence has been established. (Paras 13, 19-24)B. Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881—Section 138—Dishonour of cheque—Complainant’s financial capacity to advance loan—Held, where the complaina...

A. Motor Vehicles Act, 1988—Section 149(2)(a)(ii)—Insurance policy—Fake driving licence—Liability of insurer—Driving licence of offending vehicle’s driver proved to be fake—Owner having checked the licence, conducted driving test and engaged the driver on being satisfied about its apparent genuineness—Mere falsity of licence insufficient to absolve insurer unless it is proved that the insured knew or had reason to believe that the licence was fake and nevertheless permitted the driver to operate the vehicle—Insurer’s plea for exoneration rejected and liability to indemnify the owner upheld. (Paras 50-63)B. Motor Vehicles Act, 1988—Sections 149 and 168—Overloading of passenger bus—Breach of insurance policy—Vehicle carrying passengers beyond permitted seating capacity—Mere overloading not, by itself, constitut...

A. Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973—Appeal against acquittal—Scope of appellate interference—Appellate Court must give due weight to trial Court’s assessment of witness credibility and presumption of innocence—Where two views are possible, acquittal cannot be reversed merely because another view is possible—Interference warranted only in exceptional cases involving compelling circumstances or perversity (Paras 15–20)B. Indian Evidence Act, 1872, Section 118—POCSO Act, 2012, Sections 4, 6 and 8—Sexual offences against minor—Testimony of prosecutrix—Conviction may be based on sole testimony of prosecutrix if it inspires confidence and is reliable—Corroboration is not an inflexible rule of law—Where testimony is inconsistent or untrustworthy, Court may seek assurance from other evidence (Paras 25–38)C. Indian Pena...

A. Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, Section 103(1)—Criminal Procedure—Regular bail—Successive bail application—Earlier bail petition dismissed—Subsequent bail application maintainable only upon showing substantial change in circumstances having a direct bearing on the earlier rejection—Court required to consider grounds of earlier rejection and record fresh reasons for taking a different view—In absence of any substantial change in circumstances, reconsideration would amount to impermissible review of earlier order—Petition dismissed (Paras 8 to 11, 15, 18)B. Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, Section 103(1)—Regular bail—Murder—Appreciation of evidence at bail stage—Two prosecution witnesses not supporting prosecution case—Bail Court cannot assess credibility, reliability or contradictions in testimony of witnesses exa...

A. Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881—Section 138—Dishonour of cheque—Repeated presentation of cheque and successive statutory notices—Maintainability of prosecution—Earlier decision in Sadanandan Bhadran v. Madhavan Sunil Kumar, (1998) 6 SCC 514, holding successive presentation and prosecution impermissible, overruled by MSR Leathers v. S. Palaniappan, (2013) 1 SCC 177—Prosecution based on second or subsequent dishonour permissible, provided requirements of proviso to Section 138 are satisfied—Appellate Court erred in holding repeated presentation of cheque and issuance of successive notices impermissible. (Paras 15-20)B. Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881—Sections 118 and 139—Presumption of consideration and legally enforceable debt—Rebuttable presumption—Presumption arising in favour of cheque holder is not absolute a...

A. Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881—Sections 138, 118(a) and 139—Dishonour of cheque—Legally enforceable debt or liability—Presumption in favour of holder—Accused admitting signature on cheque but alleging misuse of blank signed cheque—Presumption under Sections 118(a) and 139 arises upon admission or proof of execution of cheque—Mere plea that cheque particulars were filled in by complainant does not invalidate cheque—Burden lies upon accused to rebut statutory presumption by probable defence—Bare denial of loan or liability insufficient—Accused failing to rebut presumption—Conviction under Section 138 upheld (Paras 21-26, 31)B. Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881—Section 138—Financial capacity of complainant—Loan advanced to accused—Accused challenging complainant’s capacity to lend ₹75,000—No reply to s...

A. Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973—Sections 397 and 401—Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023—Sections 438 and 442—Criminal revision—Scope of revisional jurisdiction—Revisional Court does not act as an appellate Court and cannot undertake an elaborate reappreciation of evidence or substitute its own conclusions for concurrent findings of conviction—Interference permissible where findings are perverse, grossly erroneous, unreasonable or legally untenable, based on irrelevant or no material, or where relevant material has been ignored or judicial discretion exercised arbitrarily (Paras 13-14)B. Indian Penal Code, 1860—Section 354—Outraging modesty of woman—Evidence of victim—Victim aged about six years at the time of incident—Minor discrepancies in her testimony and that of her cousin regarding the circumstances ...

A. Himachal Pradesh Police Act, 2007—Sections 114 and 115—Public intoxication and disturbance of public peace—Criminal trial—Examination of accused—Trial Court convicting accused for abusing police officials while allegedly intoxicated, with conviction affirmed by Appellate Court—Trial Court record showing that statement under Section 313 CrPC was stated to have been recorded, but no such statement was available on record—Failure to examine accused under Section 313 CrPC deprives him of valuable opportunity to explain incriminating circumstances appearing against him. (Paras 5-7, 15)B. Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973—Section 313—Examination of accused—Procedural safeguard—Non-compliance—Recording of statement under Section 313 CrPC is a valuable procedural safeguard enabling accused to explain circumstances appear...