Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881—Sections 118, 138, 139—Dishonour of cheque—Presumption—Power of Attorney holder—Financial capacity—Appeal against acquittal—Power of Attorney holder is competent to depose on behalf of complainant if he has personal knowledge of transaction—Mere omission to cite such witness in initial witness list is not a ground to discard credible evidence—Once execution of cheque is proved, presumption under Sections 118 and 139 operates in favour of complainant and in absence of rebuttal by accused, conviction must follow—Financial capacity of complainant need not be proved unless specifically challenged by accused—Acquittal based on hyper-technical grounds set aside and conviction restored. [Paras 9, 10, 11] ...

A. Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881—Section 138—Cheque dishonour—Appeal against acquittal—Financial capacity of the complainant—Accused may challenge complainant's financial capacity to lend cheque amount during trial to discredit prosecution—Unchallenged capacity presumes accused's acceptance, relieving complainant of proof burden—In this case, no dispute was raised regarding advancement of ₹2,50,000/=—Hence, no burden lay on complainant to prove financial capacity—Acquittal on this ground unsustainable—The order of acquittal set aside—Appeal allowed. (Para 10 and 11) B. Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881—Section 138—Cheque dishonour—Complaint filed by a close friend as a power of attorney holder—Power of Attorney Holder of the co...

Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005—Sections 12, 23—Criminal Procedure—Power of Magistrate—Legal Maxim—Actus Curiae Neminem Gravabit—Interim injunction restraining alienation of property—Third-party purchaser prejudicially affected—Magistrate has power to modify/vacate own interim order to rectify apparent mistake—Relief cannot be denied on ground that declaration of title lies with civil court—Court has duty to undo prejudice caused by its own order—No person should suffer due to act of Court—Mistake of Court must be corrected to secure ends of justice—Application for vacating injunction rightly maintainable and ought to be allowed. [Paras 9 to 12] ...

A. Family Court Act, 1984 / Domestic Violence Act, 2005—Conflicting Orders—Exceeding Jurisdiction: A Family Court order restraining the appellant from residing in the matrimonial home, despite an earlier protection order issued by the Judicial Magistrate, was held improper and set aside—The Family Court cannot act in a manner that effectively reviews or overrides a Magistrate’s order. B. Reconsideration of Interlocutory Orders—The Family Court was directed to reconsider the interlocutory application, taking into account all relevant factors, including subsequent orders from the Judicial Magistrate—Reconsideration is to be completed within a specified period, ensuring both parties are heard and due process is followed. ...

A. Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023—Section 528—Inherent Jurisdiction of High Court; Quashing of Proceedings: The High Court may exercise its inherent powers to quash criminal proceedings where disputes between parties have been amicably settled, particularly in cases involving non-grave offences, and continuation of prosecution would not serve the ends of justice. B. IPC, 1860—Sections 420 & 34—Cheating and Criminal Conspiracy; Quashing of Proceedings: Where parties have genuinely resolved their disputes and the aggrieved party does not wish to continue prosecution, and no public interest is implicated, criminal proceedings can be quashed to secure justice. C. CrPC, 1973—Quashing of Proceedings; Settlement of Dispute: A bona fide and genuine settlement between parties, especially in offence...

A. Kerala High Court Act, 1958—Section 5(i)—Maintainability of Writ Appeal: A writ appeal against an interim order is maintainable if the order substantially affects rights or liabilities or causes prejudice, and not merely on procedural grounds. B. Constitution of India, 1950—Articles 226 & 227—Appealability: While jurisdiction under Article 226 differs from Article 227, orders passed under Article 226 can be challenged by way of writ appeal when the principal nature of the order affects rights substantially. C. SARFAESI Act, 2002—Sections 17 & 18—Alternative Remedy: Writ petitions under Article 226 should not be entertained where an effective statutory remedy, such as appeal to the Debt Recovery Appellate Tribunal (DRAT) with mandatory pre-deposit, is available. D. SARFAESI Act, 2002&...

A. IPC, 1860—Sections 120B & 420—Criminal Conspiracy and Cheating; PCA, 1988—Sections 13(1)(d) & 13(2)—Abuse of Official Position: Conviction under Section 420 IPC requires proof of intention to cheat at the inception of the transaction—Evidence showing that a loan was converted into an ordinary loan with higher interest due to construction inability, and subsequently repaid, negates any deceitful intention or pecuniary gain—Acquittal was ordered where no loss to the bank or wrongful gain to the accused was established beyond reasonable doubt. B. Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988—Sections 13(1)(d) & 13(2)—Dishonest Intention: The essence of the offence is dishonest intention and obtaining pecuniary advantage by corrupt means—Acquittal was justified when there was no evi...

A. Kerala Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act, 2007—Sections 15(1)(a) & 2(p)(iii)—Known Rowdy—The petitioner was classified as a “known rowdy” due to recurrent involvement in criminal activities, including recent offenses under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, forming the basis for initiating externment proceedings. B. Kerala Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act, 2007—Section 15(1)(a)—Externment Order; Bail Consideration: While no law prohibits externment of a person on bail, the authority must consider whether existing bail conditions are sufficient to prevent further criminal activity. C. Kerala Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act, 2007—Section 15(1)(a)—Sufficiency of Bail Conditions—The authority examined the petitioner’s violation of prior bail conditio...

Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973—Section 482—Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881—Section 138—Quashing of Proceedings—Drawer and Account Holder Distinction—Petition under Section 482 CrPC seeking quashment of prosecution under Section 138 NI Act—Allegation that cheque was drawn on account maintained by proprietary concern through its proprietor (first accused), but cheque was signed by second accused as authorised signatory of proprietor—Complaint itself disclosed that signatory was not the account holder and account holder had not signed the cheque—Under Section 138 NI Act, criminal liability arises only against “drawer” who maintains the account and draws the cheque—In case of individual/proprietorship concern, neither non-signatory account holder nor signatory who is n...

Constitution of India, 1950—Articles 14, 16, 23; Equal Pay for Equal Work—Medical Education—Senior Residents Performing Duties of Assistant Professors—Senior Residents undergoing bonded service after completing DM/MCh courses and discharging the duties of Assistant Professors are entitled to the minimum pay scale of Assistant Professors—The principle of equal pay for equal work applies even to contractual employees and those under bonded service; deviation from this principle violates Articles 14 and 16—Regulations of 2019 and 2022 mandate appointment as Assistant Professors upon completion of DM/MCh—While appointment to the post requires a sanctioned vacancy, lower remuneration during bonded service despite performing higher duties may constitute forced labour under Article 23, and the government...