A. Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881—Sections 118, 138 and 139—Dishonour of cheque—Legally enforceable debt—Accused admitting his signature on cheque for Rs. 2,60,000 issued in favour of complainant—Statutory presumptions of consideration and discharge of liability arising in favour of holder—Accused alleging that he had borrowed only Rs. 1,00,000, repaid the amount with interest and issued signed blank cheque as security—Mere plea of security cheque not sufficient to exclude applicability of Section 138 where underlying liability remains due—Accused required to rebut presumptions by raising probable defence on preponderance of probabilities—Failure to establish repayment through reliable evidence or contemporaneous documents, coupled with absence of reply to statutory demand notice, rendered defence insufficient—Convic...

A. Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023—Sections 210, 223—Taking of cognizance—Complaint case—Examination of complainant—Magistrate examining complainant on oath under Section 223 after applying judicial mind to complaint—Such examination itself indicates that cognizance has already been taken, since examination under Section 223 follows or accompanies taking of cognizance under Section 210—No separate formal order recording cognizance necessary—Introduction of the word “while” in Section 223, in contrast to Section 200 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, signifies that examination of complainant takes place during taking of cognizance and not before it—Distinction between pre-cognizance stage, involving direction for investigation under Section 175(3), and post-cognizance stage, involving investigation unde...

A. Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881—Section 138—Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023—Section 528—Dishonour of Cheques—Legally Enforceable Debt—Held—Where liability of Rs.15,00,000, issuance of three cheques and their dishonour were admitted, statutory ingredients of Section 138 prima facie stood satisfied—Defence of repayment and adjustment of liability raised disputed questions requiring trial. (Paras 6-8, 10.2)B. Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881—Sections 56 and 138—Part-payment After Drawing of Cheque—Effect—Held—Part-payment made after drawing a cheque but before its presentation must be endorsed under Section 56 read with Section 15—However, payment of Rs.50,000 made before issuance of the cheques could not attract the principle in Dashrathbhai Trikambhai Patel in the absence of material showing dischar...

A. Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973—Section 164—Confession—Admissibility—Confessional statement of accused recorded by Magistrate held inadmissible where policewoman/head constable remained present during recording and also signed the confession—Presence of police personnel created possibility of police pressure or influence and voluntariness of confession could not be accepted—Conviction based solely on such confession therefore unsustainable. [Paras 15–19, 22–23] B. Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973—Section 235(2)—Sentencing—Admission of guilt during hearing on sentence—Evidentiary value—Admission made by accused during sentence hearing cannot be treated as additional evidence for recording conviction—Section 235(2) operates only after Court has alread...

A. Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023—Section 415(2)—Appeal against Conviction—Maintainability—Appeal against judgment of conviction and sentence passed by Special Court under the NDPS Act maintainable under Section 415(2) BNSS—Appellate Court examined legality of conviction under Sections 22(c) and 25 NDPS Act and reappreciated the evidence relating to search, seizure, sampling and custody of contraband. [Paras 2, 43]B. Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985—Sections 42 and 57—Search and Seizure—Chance Recovery—Where vehicle was intercepted during random checking without prior information regarding commission of an offence under the NDPS Act, Section 42(1) is not attracted—Information subsequently reduced into writing after recovery cannot be treated as prior information contemplated by Section 42�...

A. Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita,2023—Section 528—IPC,1860—Sections 503,506,34—Quashing of Criminal Proceedings—Criminal Intimidation—Ingredients—Common Intention— For an offence under Section 506 IPC,the complaint or charge-sheet must disclose a specific threat of injury to the person,reputation or property of the victim with the requisite intention to cause alarm or compel an act or omission—mere allegations of a broken relationship,refusal to acknowledge a relationship or other surrounding circumstances do not constitute criminal intimidation in the absence of such threat—where no offence under Section 506 is made out,the foundational requirement for applying Section 34 IPC is also absent. [Paras 17–20,25,28–29] B. Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita,2023&md...

A. Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005—Section 29—Appeal—Limitation—Condonation of Delay—Welfare Legislation— Rejection of an application seeking condonation of delay in filing an appeal under Section 29, though interlocutory in form, finally terminates the statutory appellate remedy and is amenable to revisional scrutiny—In proceedings under the beneficial and welfare-oriented Domestic Violence Act, Courts should ordinarily prefer adjudication on merits rather than shut out an appeal on limitation—Procedural technicalities should not defeat substantial justice. [Paras 18, 21–25]. B. BNSS, 2023—Section 438(2)—Revision—Interlocutory Order—Condonation of Delay—Final Effect— The character of an order is not determined merely by its l...

A. Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881—Section 147—Section 138—Dishonour of Cheque—Compounding After Conviction— An offence under Section 138 is compoundable at any stage, including after conviction and dismissal of appeal or revision—voluntary settlement between the parties can be accepted notwithstanding that no further proceedings remain pending. (Paras 12–15) B. Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023—Section 528—Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881—Section 147—Inherent Powers—Quashing of Conviction and Sentence— The High Court may exercise its inherent jurisdiction to give effect to a settlement and compound an offence under Section 138 even after conviction and sentence have attained finality in revision—upon valid settlement, the conviction and sentenc...

A. Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973—Section 311—Criminal Trial—Defence Evidence—Fair Opportunity—The power under Section 311 Cr.P.C. is wide and may be exercised at any stage where the evidence of a witness is essential for a just decision of the case—the accused must be afforded a fair and reasonable opportunity to adduce defence evidence, particularly where such evidence is necessary to rebut statutory presumptions under the Negotiable Instruments Act. (Paras 9–14) B. Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973—Section 311—Closure of Defence Evidence—Recall—Last Opportunity—Where defence evidence had been closed due to the accused’s repeated absence, but denial of such evidence would prejudice a fair trial, the Magistrate’s order refusing recall was set aside&md...

A. Criminal Procedure Code, 1973—Sections 145 and 146—Proceedings relating to dispute over immovable property—Condition precedent for assumption of jurisdiction—Held: Jurisdiction under Sections 145 and 146 Cr.P.C. can be invoked only where the Magistrate is satisfied that a dispute concerning land or water is likely to cause a breach of peace and the question of actual possession requires determination—Where possession of the disputed property is an admitted fact, the essential jurisdictional requirement is absent and proceedings under Sections 145/146 Cr.P.C. are not maintainable. (Paras 9, 11, 13 & 14) B. Criminal Procedure Code, 1973—Section 145—Determination of possession by Magistrate—Held: The Magistrate is required to determine which party was in actual possession of the dispu...