A. Hindu Marriage Act, 1955—Section 13—Divorce—Ground of cruelty—Unrebutted testimony of wife—Held, Specific instances of harassment, physical and mental ill-treatment and dowry-related demands pleaded by wife and reiterated in her affidavit remained unchallenged in cross-examination, as no suggestion was put to her disputing those incidents—Husband’s evidence regarding provision of amenities and purchase of property in wife’s name could not nullify the uncontroverted evidence of cruelty—Finding of cruelty justified on the evidence on record. (Paras 10, 13)B. Hindu Marriage Act, 1955—Section 13—Mental cruelty—Subsequent conduct of parties—Protracted matrimonial litigation—Held, Subsequent events and conduct of spouses during pendency of divorce proceedings can be considered to determine the pattern of behaviour...

A. Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881—Sections 138, 141 and 142—Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016—Sections 14 and 17—Dishonour of Cheques—Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process—Held—NCLT order initiating CIRP was set aside by NCLAT on 11.10.2017, before the cheques were presented and dishonoured on 29.11.2017—Prima facie, the petitioners could not claim that control over the company’s bank account continued to vest in the Interim Resolution Professional on the date of dishonour—Their plea of absence of authority to operate the account required further examination. (Paras 7-9, 12, 17)B. Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881—Section 138—Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016—Section 96—Dishonour of Cheques—Blocked Bank Account—Quashing of Complaint—Held—Petitioners’ plea that the company’s bank account was...

A. Hindu Marriage Act, 1955—Sections 5, 11 and 16—Validity of Second Marriage—Held—Marriage contracted during subsistence of an earlier marriage is void, but subsequent marriage after dissolution of the first marriage is valid, subject to proof that neither party had a subsisting marital tie—Long cohabitation, birth of a child and mutual acknowledgment of marital relationship raise presumption in favour of a valid marriage—Earlier declaratory decree recognising marital status, being a judgment in rem, could not be ignored in absence of proof that the woman’s previous husband was alive when such decree was passed. (Paras 14-21).B. Hindu Marriage Act, 1955—Section 13(1)(i)—Divorce—Effect of Divorce Decree—Held—Marriage between deceased and his first wife having been dissolved by a decree of divorce in 1974, the divor...

A. Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 — Section 482 — Quashing of complaint and summoning order — Prima facie case — Scope of inherent jurisdiction — Petition seeking quashing of complaint alleging robbery, wrongful confinement, voluntarily causing hurt and criminal intimidation—Complainant’s allegations supported by his statement on oath and found sufficient to disclose a prima facie case—Held, at the preliminary stage, the High Court cannot undertake a mini-trial or assess the reliability and genuineness of allegations—Inherent power to quash criminal proceedings must be exercised sparingly, and criminal proceedings should not ordinarily be scuttled before the parties have an opportunity to lead evidence—Petition dismissed. (Paras 21–25, 30–36)B. Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 — Sections 156(3) and 202 — Police rep...

A. Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023—Section 290—Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881—Section 138—Proclaimed Person—Compromise—Withdrawal of Main Complaint— Proceedings under Section 290 BNS may constitute an independent offence — however, where such proceedings arose solely from non-appearance in a Section 138 NI Act complaint and the substantive complaint was subsequently compromised and withdrawn, continuation of Section 290 proceedings serves no useful purpose — Such continuation amounts to abuse of process of law — FIR and consequential proceedings were therefore quashed. [Paras 8–11, 14] B. Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973—Section 195—Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023—Section 290—Proclaimed Person—FIR—Cognizance—Mandatory Co...

A. Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023—Section 483(3)—Bail—Cancellation—Grounds—Supervening Circumstances— Cancellation of bail stands on a distinct and narrower footing than refusal of bail at the initial stage — Bail once granted cannot be cancelled merely because another view is possible — Cogent, compelling and overwhelming circumstances such as misuse of liberty, interference with justice, tampering, intimidation, absconding or violation of bail conditions are required — Mere apprehension unsupported by cogent material is insufficient. [Paras 6–8] B. Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023—Section 483(3)—Cancellation of Bail—Grant of Bail Order—Illegality/Perversity—Material Non-consideration— Bail may also be cancelled where the ...

A. Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881—Sections 138, 139—Criminal Procedure Code, 1973—Section 482—Dishonour of Cheque—Quashing of Complaint and Summoning Order—Scope of Interference— Where the complaint and preliminary evidence prima facie disclosed the ingredients of the offence, and the accused did not dispute the signature or issuance of the cheque, the statutory presumption under Section 139 operated in favour of the complainant; whether the cheque was issued towards a legally enforceable liability was a matter to be tested at trial; exercise of inherent jurisdiction under Section 482 being exceptional, the High Court could not undertake a detailed examination of the merits or embark upon appreciation of evidence at the threshold. [Paras 8–12] B. Criminal Procedure Code, 1973—Sect...

A. Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023—Section 528—Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005—Sections 12, 18 to 23—Quashing—Specific Allegations—Mini-Trial— Where the complaint discloses specific allegations of physical, mental and economic abuse against the husband and mother-in-law, supported by earlier complaint, medical record and istridhan documents, proceedings cannot be quashed at the threshold. High Court cannot appreciate disputed evidence or conduct a mini-trial in exercise of limited inherent jurisdiction. [Paras 10–16] B. Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023—Section 528—Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005—Section 12—Quashing—Sister-in-law—Omnibus Allegations—Specific Role— Mere implication of ...

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...

A. Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881—Sections 138, 147—Compounding of offence after conviction—Where parties settled the cheque dispute for Rs.11,90,000/- and complainant consented to compounding, High Court can compound the offence even after conviction and dismissal of appeal, relying upon Damodar S. Prabhu v. Sayed Babalal H., (2010) 5 SCC 663—Conviction and sentence set aside and accused acquitted—Amount deposited before Trial Court directed to be released to complainant. (Paras 5–8) B. Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023—Section 528—Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881—Section 147—Settlement of cheque dishonour case—On payment of entire settled compensation, continuation of criminal proceedings held unwarranted—Accused directed to pay Rs.20,000/- litigation co...