A. Hindu Marriage Act, 1955—Section 13(1)(ia)—Divorce—Cruelty—False and baseless criminal complaints filed by wife against husband and his family—Resulting in harassment, mental agony and loss of reputation—Held, such conduct amounts to mental cruelty warranting dissolution of marriage. [Paras 19, 46, 50–51] B. Hindu Marriage Act, 1955—Section 13(1)(ia)—Divorce—Irretrievable breakdown—Parties living separately for over 17 years with no resumption of cohabitation—Held, though irretrievable breakdown is not a statutory ground, long separation coupled with absence of reconciliation constitutes mental cruelty—Divorce justified. [Paras 52, 57–58] C. Hindu Marriage Act, 1955—Section 25—Permanent alimony—No application for perman...

A. Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023—Sections 318(4), 316(2), 61(2)—Criminal Procedure Code, 1973—Section 482—Quashing of criminal proceedings—Partnership dispute—Allegations of cheating and criminal breach of trust arising out of business disagreement—Trial Court rightly directed investigation after preliminary inquiry—At the stage of quashing, Court should not appreciate evidence—Criminal proceedings may be quashed where allegations do not prima facie constitute an offence or are inherently improbable—However, where materials exist suggesting commission of a cognizable offence, quashing would lead to miscarriage of justice—Petitioner's failure to cooperate with investigation and remaining absconding weighed against grant of relief—Held, not a fit case for quashing at...

A. Penal Code, 1860—Section 498A—Cruelty—Conviction—Conviction under Section 498A set aside due to lack of cogent evidence—Acquittal under Section 304B established absence of proof of cruelty or harassment in connection with dowry demand leading to suicide—Alleged dying declaration based on statement to parents found vague and unreliable—Prosecution failed to prove the case beyond reasonable doubt—Appeal allowed and conviction set aside. [Paras 15–16] B. Penal Code, 1860—Section 304B—Dowry death—Acquittal under Section 304B upheld as prosecution failed to establish that soon before her death the deceased was subjected to cruelty or harassment in connection with dowry demand—In absence of such proof, essential ingredients of dowry death not made out. [Para 11]...

. Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973—Section 362—Review/recall/modification of judgment—Scope of power to recall or review criminal court’s final order is extremely limited—Once a judgment is signed, it cannot be altered except for correcting clerical or arithmetical errors—No review on merits is permissible—Application seeking modification of final revisional order amounts to re-arguing the case and is not maintainable—No error apparent on face of record found, hence recall refused. [Paras 8 to 10, 13 to 15] B. Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973—Section 362—Error apparent on face of record—Distinction from appeal—Only self-evident errors can justify review—Errors requiring elaborate reasoning cannot be treated as “error apparent”—Review ju...

A. Magistrate’s Power under Bharatiya Nagarik Surakhsha Sanhita, 2023—Section 175(3)—Before directing police investigation, Magistrate must exercise judicial discretion through a structured procedure—Includes verifying prior recourse to police authorities, affidavit-backed application, and conducting independent inquiry—Safeguards aim to prevent abuse of process. B. Preconditions & Inquiry Requirement—Magistrate must be duly empowered, examine application under Section 173(4), ensure affidavit compliance, and consider police submissions—“Inquiry” (u/s 2(1)(k)) means judicial examination short of trial and must be conducted personally, not delegated. C. Twin Tests & FIR Distinction—Order for investigation requires (i) disclosure of cognizable offence and (ii) suffici...

A. Prevention of Money-laundering Act, 2002—Sections 8(1), 17(4), 20, 21—Adjudicating Authority (Procedure) Regulations, 2013—Rule 13(2)—Show Cause Notice—Relied Upon Documents (RUDs)— Non-supply of complete RUDs alleged—Service of notice through electronic mode (email/PDF) held valid—However, compliance with Rule 13(2) requires supply of complete relied upon documents—Held, it is for Adjudicating Authority to determine whether documents sought are in fact “relied upon documents”—If found so and not supplied, Authority must direct Enforcement Directorate to furnish the same before proceeding further—Opportunity to file effective reply is integral to fair adjudication—Writ disposed of with directions. (Paras 17, 20, 28-30) B. Prevention of Money-launder...

A. Arbitration—Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996—Section 34—Setting aside award—Awards were set aside where the respondent failed to prove their existence and validity—Absence of signed copies and supporting arbitration records led the Court to conclude that no valid awards existed—The purported awards were held vitiated by fraud, patent illegality, and violation of public policy. B. Limitation—Section 34(3)—Limitation to challenge an award begins only upon receipt of a signed copy—Since the petitioner never received signed awards and only photocopies were produced, limitation had not commenced; petitions were held maintainable. C. “No Award” challenge under Section 34—Section 34 permits challenge even on the ground of non-existence of an award—Courts...

A. Administrative Law—Blacklisting—Petitioners banned from carrying out fumigation treatments under NSPMs-12 and 22 without prior notice or hearing—Clause 2.5 of NSPM-12 requires issuance of show cause notice and suspension thrice within five years before blacklisting—No suspension recorded for petitioners—Held, blacklisting order quashed for violation of natural justice and statutory guidelines. [Paras 5, 15, 28–29] B. Criminal Law—Presumption of innocence—Petitioners involved in ongoing criminal proceedings—Court held that presumption of innocence applies until guilt is proven after proper trial—Blacklisting based solely on allegations without adjudication impermissible. [Paras 17, 19, 28] C. Principles of Natural Justice—Blacklisting and banning without fair hearin...

A. Commercial Courts Act, 2015—Section 2(1)(c)(vii)—Commercial dispute—Suit arising out of agreement concerning immovable property used exclusively for trade or commerce—Plaintiff acknowledged existence of registered lease deed and accepted rent/occupation charges after expiry of lease—Issue involved interpretation of lease deed and jural relationship between parties—Held, suit qualifies as commercial dispute under Section 2(1)(c)(vii). [Paras 18, 24–29] B. Transfer of Property Act, 1882—Section 106—Lease agreement post notice under Section 106—Determination of jural relationship between landlord and tenant—Plaintiff claimed eviction of defendants as trespassers but referred to registered lease deed—Held, lease agreement must be interpreted to decide nature of rela...

A. Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996—Section 34—Challenge to arbitral award—Tribunal relied on personal knowledge and expertise instead of material evidence—Held, such reliance violates fundamental policy of Indian law and principles of natural justice—Arbitral tribunal must adjudicate solely on evidence produced by parties and in accordance with contract terms. [Paras 17–59] B. Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996—Section 18—Equal treatment of parties—Tribunal applied double standards by accepting appellant’s pre-retrieval reports and discarding respondent’s post-retrieval reports without valid justification—Delay in producing reports corresponded with retrieval of Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM)—Violation of Section 18 observed. [Paras 61–71] C....