A. Indian Penal Code, 1860—Section 294—Obscene acts and words—Essential ingredients—Prosecution must establish both utterance of obscene words or commission of an obscene act in a public place or near a public place and annoyance caused thereby to others—Failure to examine any witness to establish the essential ingredient of annoyance renders conviction unsustainable. (Paras 7-10)B. Indian Penal Code, 1860—Section 294—Criminal revision—Appreciation of evidence—Previous enmity and material contradictions—Investigating Officer admitting previous enmity between accused and complainant; panch witness attributing the alleged obscene abuses to another person and not the accused—Prosecution failing to establish the essential ingredients of the offence and defence raising a probable case creating doubt regarding prosecution ...

A. Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960—Section 35(4)—Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Care and Maintenance of Case Property Animals) Rules, 2017—Rules 4 and 5—Maintenance charges for seized cattle—Judicial discretion—Rules framed under the Act cannot override the parent statute—Where Section 35(4) permits exemption from charges on account of the owner's poverty, the power to grant complete exemption includes the power to reduce the prescribed charges in an appropriate case—Revisional Court justified in fixing maintenance charges at Rs.100 per animal per day instead of Rs.200 or Rs.300 claimed by the petitioner-Trust. (Paras 7-9, 12)B. Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960—Section 35(4)—Seized cattle—Determination of maintenance charges—Reasonableness—Notification dated 02-07-2019 issued by Maharashtr...

A. Land Acquisition Act, 1894 — Section 28-A — Re-determination of compensation — Limitation — Application filed within three months from judgment of High Court or Supreme Court — Maintainability — Applications under Section 28-A rejected as not filed within three months from Reference Court judgment, though filed within three months from Supreme Court judgment — Held, in view of Banwari v. Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd., (2024) 12 SCR 463, application under Section 28-A can be filed within three months from judgment of High Court or Supreme Court, as the case may be — Impugned rejection order unsustainable. (Paras 3-8, 10-11)B. Land Acquisition Act, 1894 — Section 28-A — Re-determination of compensation — Effect of subsequent authoritative declaration of law — Petitioner s...

A. Scheduled Tribes—Caste Claim Verification—Invalidation of Tribe Claim—A caste claim cannot be invalidated on the basis of adverse caste entries unless the Caste Scrutiny Committee establishes a clear and reliable nexus between such entries and the claimant's admitted genealogy. Failure to prove such linkage renders the order of invalidation unsustainable. (Paras 12, 15, 17, 18) B. Evidence—Adverse Documentary Entries—Burden of Proof—Where the claimant disputes the relationship with persons named in adverse caste records, the burden lies upon the Caste Scrutiny Committee to establish the connection. In the absence of such proof, adverse entries cannot be relied upon to reject the caste claim. (Paras 17, 18) C. Evidence—Pre-Constitutional Documents—Pre-Constitutional public docume...

A. Criminal Procedure Code, 1973—Section 311—Summoning of Witnesses—The power under Section 311 CrPC is discretionary and must be exercised judiciously to summon or recall a witness only where such evidence is essential for arriving at a just decision. The provision is intended to aid the discovery of truth and not to be exercised arbitrarily. (Paras 5, 8, 9) B. Criminal Procedure Code, 1973—Section 311—Defence Witnesses—An application to summon defence witnesses after recording the accused's statement under Section 313 CrPC cannot be allowed merely to fill lacunae in the defence case or to delay the trial. Where the accused had adequate opportunity to lead evidence but consciously chose not to do so, rejection of such application is justified. (Paras 2–4, 12, 14) C. Criminal Procedure C...

A. Electricity Act, 2003—Consumer Grievance Redressal Forum (CGRF)—Jurisdiction—Dispute relating to retrospective recovery of subsidy by way of "Debit Bill Adjustment" falls within the jurisdiction of the CGRF, as it concerns the legality of recovery of an already granted subsidy and not the initial grant or refusal of subsidy. Objection to jurisdiction rejected. [Paras 14, 15] B. Electricity Act, 2003—Subsidy—Retrospective Recovery—Recovery of previously granted VM Subsidy through "Debit Bill Adjustment" held impermissible where the subsequent Government Resolution contained no provision authorising retrospective recovery and the distribution licensee failed to establish the consumer's ineligibility during the relevant period. [Paras 12, 13, 18] C. Electricity Act, 2003&md...

A. Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005—Sections 2(f), 2(q) and 12—Domestic Relationship—Married Sisters of Husband Living Separately—Held: For maintaining proceedings under the Domestic Violence Act, the existence of a “domestic relationship” arising out of living together in a shared household is an essential prerequisite—Married sisters of the husband, who have long been residing in their respective matrimonial homes and have never lived with the aggrieved woman in a shared household, do not satisfy the requirements of Sections 2(f) and 2(q) of the Act—Mere relationship by marriage or occasional visits to the parental home is insufficient to constitute a domestic relationship—Proceedings under the Act against such relatives are not maintainable. (Paras 8–11). ...

A. Criminal Procedure Code, 1973—Section 125—Maintenance—DNA test—Repeated applications—Application seeking DNA test to determine paternity filed after earlier similar applications stood rejected—Such orders having attained finality—Held, filing repeated applications on same issue amounts to abuse of process of law—Trial court justified in rejecting application. [Paras 8–10] B. Criminal Procedure Code, 1973—Section 125—DNA testing—Requirement of judicial order—Mere consent of opposite party insufficient to direct DNA test—Specific judicial order required for such examination—Application filed after long lapse of time without any subsisting direction held untenable. [Paras 8–10] Result: Application for DNA testing rightly rejecte...

A. Penal Code, 1860—Sections 363, 366-A, 376-AB, 506—Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012—Sections 6, 10—Conviction—Sustainability—Inconsistent and unreliable evidence—Benefit of doubt—Conviction for kidnapping and penetrative sexual assault set aside—Material contradictions between testimony of prosecutrix and FIR version—Victim’s version not consistent with mother’s account—Evidence not of sterling quality—Medical evidence does not support prosecution case—No injuries, no conclusive opinion of sexual assault—Prosecution failed to establish foundational facts—Conviction unsustainable—Accused entitled to benefit of doubt. [Paras 5, 6, 7, 9, 10] B. Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012—S...

A. Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881—Sections 138, 147—Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973—Section 482 (BNSS—Section 528)—Compounding of offence—Post-conviction stage—Offence under Section 138 NI Act is compoundable at any stage, even after conviction has attained finality—Section 147 has overriding effect over CrPC—High Court can exercise inherent powers under Section 482 CrPC/Section 528 BNSS to quash conviction on settlement between parties—Refusal to permit compounding would defeat legislative intent of encouraging settlement—Conviction and sentence quashed on compromise. [Paras 11, 17, 21, 23 to 25]  B. Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881—Sections 138, 147—Nature of offence—Offence under Section 138 is primarily civil in nature with compensatory...