A. Indian Penal Code, 1860—Sections 304 Part II and 324—Culpable Homicide Not Amounting to Murder—Intention—Where accused came to the house without any predetermined intention to assault and, only upon being questioned by deceased, picked up an axe and assaulted him, occurrence did not constitute murder—Conviction under Section 304 Part II IPC held justified as culpable homicide not amounting to murder—Conviction upheld. [Paras 16–17].B. Indian Evidence Act, 1872—Section 118—Child Witness—Evidentiary value—Evidence of child witness cannot be rejected merely on account of age or possibility of tutoring—Where child witness is competent, withstands cross-examination and testimony inspires confidence, conviction can be based upon such evidence—Corroboration is a rule of prudence and caution rather than an absolute ru...

A. Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881—Sections 138, 118 and 139—Dishonour of Cheque—Legally enforceable debt—Presumption under Sections 118 and 139 does not dispense with requirement of establishing legally enforceable debt—Where complainant failed to produce loan account statement or other material showing that Rs.48,515 was actually due on the date of issuance of cheque, and complainant was unable to state the exact amount repaid and outstanding, essential ingredient of Section 138 remained unproved—Acquittal upheld. [Paras 7, 10–12].B. Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881—Sections 138, 118 and 139—Cheque issued as security—Defence of misuse—Accused specifically pleaded that cheque was issued as security while availing loan and that part of loan had already been repaid—Complainant failed to produce counter-slip or othe...

A. Indian Penal Code,1860—Sections 147,148,149—Unlawful Assembly—Five or More Persons—Common Object—Proof— To attract Section 149 IPC,the prosecution must establish the existence of an unlawful assembly consisting of five or more persons at the place of occurrence—the mere fact that five persons were charge-sheeted is insufficient where the evidence does not establish their presence at the spot—where the prosecution evidence itself creates doubt regarding the presence of some accused,conviction with the aid of Section 149 cannot be sustained. [Paras 15–18] B. Indian Penal Code,1860—Sections 323,149—Assault—Injured Witness—Eye-Witness—Contradictory Attribution of Knife Blow—Benefit of Doubt— Though the testimony of an injured witness ordinari...

A. Bombay Rents,Hotel and Lodging House Rates Control Act,1947—Section 12(3)(b)—Arrears of Rent—Regular Payment—Tender/Deposit—Mandatory Compliance— The requirement of payment or tender of rent “regularly” under Section 12(3)(b) is mandatory—the tenant seeking protection against eviction must pay or tender rent with reasonable punctuality at the intervals when it falls due—clock-like precision is not required,but persistent defaults for intervals of 2,3 or 4 months cannot be treated as substantial compliance—even subsequent clearance of all arrears does not confer discretionary power upon the Court to relieve the tenant from the statutory consequence. [Paras 8–8.1] B. Bombay Rents,Hotel and Lodging House Rates Control Act,1947—Section 12(3)(b)—Arrears o...

A. Code of Civil Procedure, 1908—Order 7, Rule 11(a),(d)—Rejection of Plaint—Cause of Action—Bar by Law—Section 47—Execution Proceedings— At the stage of considering an application under Order 7 Rule 11, the Court is primarily required to examine the averments in the plaint—the plaint itself disclosed the complete history of earlier decree, assignment and execution proceedings and the appellants' participation therein—the rights claimed by the appellants had already been adjudicated by the Executing Court and attained finality—no fresh or subsisting cause of action was disclosed and the suit was barred by Section 47 CPC. [Paras 15–17] B. Code of Civil Procedure, 1908—Section 47—Execution, Discharge or Satisfaction of Decree—Separate Suit—Maint...

A. Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881—Sections 118, 138 and 139—Dishonoured Cheque—Legally Enforceable Debt or Liability—Burden of Proof— In a prosecution under Section 138, complainant must first establish the existence of a legally enforceable debt or liability before presumptions under Sections 118 and 139 can operate—Alleged sale of bananas worth Rs.3,15,000/- was not supported by documentary or other cogent evidence—Failure to establish date, quantity and value of the alleged transaction rendered the foundational liability unproved—Acquittal of accused, therefore, was held justified. [Paras 8–9, 12] B. Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881—Sections 118, 138 and 139—Cheque—Material Alteration—Alteration in Amount without Consent—Validity— Cheque orig...

A. Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005—Sections 12, 18 to 23—Domestic Violence Proceedings—Husband’s Relatives—Specific Role—Omnibus Allegations—Quashing— Where the complaint under Section 12 contains detailed allegations against the husband and certain female relatives, but against the father-in-law and brothers-in-law contains only vague, general and omnibus allegations without any specific act individually attributable to them constituting physical, emotional or economic abuse, continuation of proceedings against such relatives would amount to abuse of process and is liable to be quashed. However, relatives cannot be quashed merely because they are relatives where the complaint discloses specific overacts, active participation or direct involvement. [Paras 10–13, 16...

A. Criminal Procedure Code, 1973—Section 125—Maintenance—Legally wedded wife—Petitioner No.1's marriage annulled under Section 11 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 for contravening Section 5(i)—Held, term 'wife' under Section 125 Cr.P.C. includes only legally wedded wife, and a woman whose marriage is null and void due to an earlier surviving marriage is not entitled to maintenance under this provision—Live-in relationships—Presumption of marriage for maintenance eligibility requires cohabitation for a reasonably long period—Petitioner No.1 having cohabited with Respondent No.1 for a mere three months, held, she does not qualify for maintenance under live-in relationship principles either. [Paras 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17] B. Criminal Procedure Code, 1973—Section 125...

A. Land Acquisition Act, 1894—Section 6 Proviso—Limitation for Declaration—Lapse of Acquisition—A declaration under Section 6 must be issued within the statutory period of one year from the date of publication of the notification under Section 4, as mandated by the proviso to Section 6—A declaration issued beyond the prescribed period is void, resulting in the acquisition proceedings lapsing by operation of law—Such statutory lapse cannot be cured or revived by any subsequent judicial order. [Paras 44, 45, 50] B. Land Acquisition Act, 1894—Section 4—Power of High Court under Article 226—Shifting of Notification Date—The power to direct that the effective date of a notification under Section 4 be shifted or treated differently, in order to balance competing equities where acqui...

A. Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971—Section 15—Bar of Civil Court's Jurisdiction—Where the property in question answers the definition of "public premises" under the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971, Section 15 expressly bars the jurisdiction of civil courts to entertain suits or proceedings relating to eviction of occupants, removal of unauthorised constructions, or recovery of rent or damages, as such matters fall within the exclusive jurisdiction of the authorities constituted under the Act. [Paras 5–7, 9, 10] B. Public Premises Act, 1971 vis-à-vis Rent Control Legislation—Overriding Effect—The Supreme Court has consistently held, including in Ashoka Marketing Ltd. v. Punjab National Bank and Vita case, that the Publi...