Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023—Section 447—Criminal Procedure Code, 1973—Section 173(2)—Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988—Section 13(1)(a) read with Section 13(2)—Transfer of pending trials upon investigation being taken over by CBI—Held, where investigation into the offences was, pursuant to directions of the High Court, taken over and completed by the CBI after re-registration of the FIR, and a final report under Section 173(2) Cr.P.C. was filed before the Court of the Special Judge, Anti-Corruption, CBI, Dehradun—the notified Court having jurisdiction to try cases investigated by the CBI—continuation of the connected miscellaneous criminal cases arising out of the earlier charge-sheets before the Court of the Special Judge, P.C. Act, Kumaon Region, Haldwani, would not be ...

Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023—Section 447—Criminal Procedure Code, 1973—Section 125—Transfer of case—Maintenance proceedings—Convenience of applicant residing away from the court of institution—Participation through video conferencing—Held, transfer of proceedings under Section 125 Cr.P.C. from the Family Court, Almora, to the Family Court, Haridwar, sought on the ground of the applicant's alleged permanent shift to Haridwar and the resultant hardship of travel, cannot be granted where the record shows that the applicant has already participated in the proceedings through video conferencing, appeared in person and tendered her evidence before the trial Court despite the claimed shift, and is, in fact, working and residing in District Sirmaur, Himachal Pradesh, and not at Harid...

A. Criminal Procedure Code, 1973—Section 482—Hindu Marriage Act, 1955—Section 13B—Quashing of criminal proceedings—Matrimonial dispute—Parties obtained divorce by mutual consent and settled all grievances—Continuation of criminal proceedings arising from FIR under Sections 498-A, 504 IPC and 3/4 Dowry Prohibition Act would serve no purpose once matrimonial discord itself stands resolved—Held, criminal proceedings quashed to prevent abuse of process of law and to enable the parties to lead a peaceful life. [Paras 4, 7, 8, 11, 12, 13] B. Criminal Procedure Code, 1973—Section 482—Scope of inherent powers—High Court can quash proceedings in the interest of justice where prosecution is unlikely to result in conviction, especially in matrimonial disputes resolved amicably&mda...

A. Criminal Procedure Code, 1973—Section 482—Indian Penal Code, 1860—Section 376—Quashing of FIR/charge sheet—Physical relationship on alleged false promise of marriage—Consent—Held, where the complainant and the applicant came in contact through a dating application, developed a relationship over a considerable period during which the applicant frequently visited the complainant, and the first and subsequent instances of physical relations took place with the free consent of the complainant, the subsequent failure of the relationship to culminate in marriage cannot retrospectively convert consensual physical relations into an offence under Section 376 IPC on the false pretext of marriage—Reliance placed on Biswajyoti Chatterjee v. State of West Bengal, (2025) 5 SCC 749, and Samadhan v. Stat...

Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023—Section 528—Indian Penal Code, 1860—Sections 323, 498A, 504, 506—Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961—Sections 3 and 4—Compounding of non-compoundable offences—Matrimonial dispute settled amicably—Held, though the offences alleged are non-compoundable, in exercise of inherent jurisdiction under Section 528 BNSS (corresponding to Section 482 Cr.P.C.), such offences arising out of a matrimonial dispute can be permitted to be compounded where the parties have amicably settled all their disputes, relying on Gian Singh v. State of Punjab, (2012) 10 SCC 303, Dimpey Gujral v. Union Territory, Chandigarh, (2013) 11 SCC 497, B.S. Joshi v. State of Haryana, (2003) 4 SCC 675, and Nikhil Merchant v. CBI, (2008) 9 SCC 677—Since the applicant no.1 and the complainant ...

Criminal Procedure Code, 1973—Section 482—Indian Penal Code, 1860—Sections 376(2)(n), 323, 506—Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961—Sections 3/4—Quashing of charge sheet and summoning order—Long-standing relationship progressing to engagement ceremony—Consensual physical relations—Held, where the FIR and material on record disclosed that the relationship between the applicant and the victim had continued for about six years, that the parents of the victim had themselves visited the applicant's house for an engagement ceremony with an understanding that marriage would follow, and that no evidence of the alleged obscene videos or photographs was produced by the victim or collected during investigation, the case is not one of physical relations obtained by threat or misconception of fact, but ...

Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023—Sections 137(2), 87, 64(1)—Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012—Sections 5/6—Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006; Constitution of India—Article 21—Bail—Marriage of minor victim with applicant—Prolonged incarceration—Held, where the minor victim, recovered from the custody of the applicant, consistently admitted in her statement under Section 183 BNSS as well as in her cross-examination during trial that she had married the applicant of her own accord, though such marriage is voidable under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 on account of her minority, and where the applicant has been in continued incarceration since 22.01.2025 with the trial already commenced and the victim already examined, denial of bail at this stage would ...

A. Provincial Small Cause Courts Act, 1887—Section 25—Revision against eviction decree—Scope of interference—Held: Revisional jurisdiction under Section 25 is confined to examining legality, regularity, and perversity of findings—Where the Trial Court's findings on existence of landlord-tenant relationship, arrears of rent, validity of notice, and eviction were based on proper appreciation of pleadings and evidence, no interference was warranted in revision. (Paras 21–30) B. Civil Procedure—Pleadings and Evidence—Evidence beyond pleadings inadmissible—Held: A party cannot improve its case through evidence without foundational pleadings—Revisionists, having never pleaded in the written statement that they had vacated the tenanted premises and shifted to another house, could...

A. Court Fees Act, 1870—Section 7(v); Civil Procedure Code, 1908—Section 115—Court fee in suit for possession—Held: Where the plaintiff, not being in possession of the suit property, sought mandatory injunction coupled with possession of land and house and himself valued the property at ₹90 lakh, court fee was payable on the market value of the property under Section 7(v) of the Court Fees Act—The contention that valuation should be based on the municipal rental value was rejected in the absence of any pleading regarding rental value in the plaint. (Paras 16–23) B. Court Fees Act, 1870—Section 7(v)—Substance of plaint governs court-fee—Held: Determination of court fee depends not merely on the form of the relief claimed but on the real substance of the plaint—Where the amend...

Civil Procedure Code, 1908—Order XXXIX Rules 1 and 2—Temporary Injunction—Dispute Regarding Will and Management of Ashram Property—Held: At the stage of deciding an application for temporary injunction, the Court is required only to examine whether a prima facie case, balance of convenience, and irreparable injury exist and not to finally adjudicate upon the validity of the rival claims or the genuineness of the Will—Where the plaintiff relied upon the latest registered Will executed in his favour and his name had already been mutated in the municipal records, the Trial Court rightly found a prima facie case and restrained the defendants from interfering with the plaintiff's possession and management of the Ashram property—The appellate court declined to interfere with the discretionary order of inj...