A. Penal Code, 1860—Section 498-A read with Section 34—Cruelty to married woman—Proof— Mere omnibus and general allegations by the parents of the deceased that the accused used to ill-treat or harass her, without specific instances or particulars of the nature of cruelty, are insufficient to attract Section 498-A—General allegation of suspicion regarding character, by itself, does not establish the statutory offence—(Paras 45-46, 59, 63).B. Penal Code, 1860—Section 306 read with Section 34—Abetment of suicide—Instigation or inducement— A solitary incident of beating or quarrelling by the husband shortly before the suicide, without evidence showing that the accused intended or desired to drive the deceased to commit suicide, does not constitute abetment, inducement or instigation to suicide—Where the dying declaration...

A. Penal Code, 1860—Sections 447 and 324 read with Section 34—Criminal trespass and voluntarily causing hurt—Appreciation of evidence— Where the complainant’s version in the witness box materially differed from the version contained in the FIR/complaint regarding the manner of assault and individual roles attributed to the accused, such variance on crucial aspects could not be treated as a mere minor discrepancy—(Paras 5, 8, 9).B. Evidence—Ocular testimony—Material contradictions— Where the complainant, her son and the alleged eyewitness attributed different roles and gave materially inconsistent accounts regarding the manner of assault, and the complainant’s own son did not support material parts of her testimony, the prosecution evidence became unsafe for reliance—(Paras 6-9).C. Evidence—Medical evidence—Injuri...

A. Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988—Sections 7, 13(1)(d) and 13(2)—Illegal gratification—Demand and acceptance/obtainment—Essential ingredients— Proof of demand and acceptance of illegal gratification by the public servant is a sine qua non for establishing guilt under Sections 7 and 13(1)(d). Mere recovery of tainted currency, in the absence of reliable proof that the accused demanded and accepted/obtained the gratification, cannot sustain conviction. (Paras 10-12, 18-20)B. Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988—Section 20—Presumption—Foundational facts— The statutory presumption under Section 20 can arise only after the prosecution establishes the foundational facts of acceptance or obtainment of illegal gratification by the accused. Where the tainted currency was accepted and handled by another accused, anthracene trace...

A. Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988—Sections 7, 13(1)(d) and 13(2)—Illegal gratification—Demand and acceptance—Proof— Proof of demand of illegal gratification is an essential foundational fact for establishing the offences under Sections 7 and 13(1)(d). Mere acceptance or recovery of currency notes, without reliable proof of demand, is insufficient to sustain conviction. Demand and acceptance may be proved by direct or circumstantial evidence, but the prosecution must establish the relevant facts beyond reasonable doubt. (Paras 11, 19-23)B. Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988—Section 20—Presumption—Foundational facts— The statutory presumption under Section 20 can arise only after the prosecution establishes the foundational facts necessary for its invocation, particularly the demand and acceptance of illegal gratificat...

A. Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985—Section 42—Secret information—Compliance— Where a police officer receives secret information while at the police station and has sufficient time to act, he is required to record the information in writing and forthwith communicate a copy to his immediate superior before proceeding with search and seizure. Total non-compliance is impermissible; delayed compliance is permissible only where satisfactorily explained by circumstances of urgency. Failure to produce the recorded information/Station Diary entry, despite admission of its existence, casts serious doubt on compliance with Section 42. (Paras 17-19)B. Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985—Section 42—Mandatory compliance—Effect of non-compliance— Section 42 requires exact and definite compliance; whi...

A. Penal Code, 1860—Sections 326, 323, 504 read with Section 34—Grievous Hurt—Assault with Wooden Log—Evidence of Injured Witness—Injured witness PW5 consistently deposed that accused No.1 assaulted him on the head with a wooden log after accused Nos.2 and 3 caught hold of him and accused No.4 assaulted him with footwear—His testimony was substantially corroborated by PW1 and PW3, whose evidence remained intact in cross-examination—Medical evidence of PW9 and PW11 established head/brain injuries and supported the possibility of injuries being caused by the wooden log—Minor omissions did not render the injured witness's account doubtful—Conviction of accused No.1 under Section 326 IPC upheld. [Paras 6–15]B. Penal Code, 1860—Sections 323, 504 read with Section 34—Common Intention—Specific Roles—Participation of A...

A. Motor Vehicles Act, 1988—Section 166—Compensation—Injury claim—Assessment of compensation— Where the appellant, a practising Advocate, sustained an intracapsular fracture of the neck of the femur in a motor vehicle accident resulting in permanent physical impairment and lifelong discomfort, the Tribunal erred in awarding only Rs.1,50,000/- without adequately considering compensation towards pain and suffering, permanent disability, future medical expenses and other consequential losses—The High Court enhanced the compensation by awarding an additional sum of Rs.2,00,000/- under various heads, including pain and suffering, permanent disablement, future medical expenses and litigation expenses. (Paras 3 to 9) B. Motor Vehicles Act, 1988—Section 166—Assessment of compensation—Perman...

A. Scheduled Tribes Certificate—Caste Claim Verification—Pre-constitutional documents carry greater probative value in determining the validity of a Scheduled Tribe claim and ordinarily prevail over subsequent conflicting caste entries unless their authenticity is successfully disproved. (Paras 9, 11, 15) B. Scheduled Tribes Certificate—Affinity Test—The affinity test is only a corroborative tool and cannot be treated as the sole or decisive basis for rejecting a caste claim supported by reliable documentary evidence. (Paras 12, 18) C. Scheduled Tribes Certificate—"Thakur" Scheduled Tribe—Pre-constitutional records consistently recording the claimant's caste as "Thakur" (Scheduled Tribe) constitute strong evidence of tribal status and cannot be displaced merely by later inc...

A. Motor Vehicles Act, 1988—Sections 166, 168—Death claim—Assessment of notional income—Notification dated 17.03.2017 issued by Ministry of Labour and Employment relied upon to determine notional income of a driver at Rs. 10,000/- per month—Tribunal erred in assessing income at Rs. 6,000/- per month—Deceased’s income reassessed at Rs. 10,000/- per month—Future prospects at 25% added—Resulting in enhancement of compensation. [Paras 9, 10, 13] B. Motor Vehicles Act, 1988—Sections 166, 168—Death claim—Enhancement of compensation—Separate consortium of Rs. 44,000/- awarded to each of the appellants—Funeral expenses and loss of estate granted under conventional heads—Total compensation enhanced to Rs. 16,31,948/- with interest at 6% per annum from date...

A. Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973—Section 125—Hindu Marriage Act, 1955—Sections 5(1)(i), 11—Maintenance—Second marriage—Validity—Claim for maintenance by woman alleging temple marriage—Failure to prove dissolution of her earlier marriage—Marriage with respondent during subsistence of first marriage is void—Woman not a “legally wedded wife” and not entitled to maintenance under Section 125 CrPC—Family Court rightly rejected claim. [Paras 9 to 10] B. Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973—Section 397—Revisional jurisdiction—Scope—Revisional court to examine legality, propriety or correctness of findings—Re-appreciation of evidence not permissible unless findings are perverse or based on no evidence—No error or illegality fou...