A. Penal Code, 1860—Section 366A—Procuration of Minor Girl—Misapplication of Provision—Conviction under Section 366A set aside as ingredients of inducement for illicit intercourse with another person were not made out—Evidence showed the accused subjected the minor girl to sexual acts himself, not that she was procured for another person—Trial court misapplied the provision. (Paras 52, 53) B. Penal Code, 1860—Sections 361, 363, 359—Kidnapping from Lawful Guardianship—Conviction Modified—Accused took a minor girl under 16 years out of the custody of her lawful guardian without consent—Ingredients of Sections 361 and 363 were clearly established—Conviction modified from Section 366A to Section 363, considering the correct legal classification and reduced punishment p...

A. Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881—Sections 138 and 139—Presumption in Favour of Holder—Dishonour of Cheque—Where issuance of cheque is admitted, a statutory presumption under Section 139 arises in favour of the complainant regarding existence of legally enforceable debt or liability—The trial court erred in acquitting the accused without any rebuttal evidence on record—As the accused failed to discharge the burden of rebuttal, the presumption remained unrebutted—Acquittal set aside and conviction recorded. (Paras 5, 23) B. Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881—Section 138—Service of Statutory Notice—Presumption and Effect—Mere plea of non-service of notice is unsustainable when the accused receives summons and fails to pay the cheque amount within 15 days thereafter—T...

Civil Procedure Code, 1908 (CPC)—Order 39 Rule 3—The grant of an ex parte ad interim injunction, especially one in the nature of a mandatory injunction, must be backed by compelling and exceptional circumstances—The proviso to Rule 3 specifically requires the court to record reasons for dispensing with prior notice to the opposite party—Failure to do so constitutes a violation of the statutory mandate and renders such an order procedurally illegal—Courts must apply a higher threshold of judicial scrutiny when issuing mandatory injunctions at the interim stage, given their irreversible nature—In the absence of recorded reasons, the order reflects non-application of mind and cannot be sustained in law—The High Court’s supervisory jurisdiction under Article 227 of the Constitution of India empo...

Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881—Sections 118 and 139—Dishonour of Cheque—Presumption under Sections 118 and 139—Financial Capacity—Reversal of Acquittal—In this case, the High Court examined whether the First Appellate Court erred in acquitting the accused by setting aside the conviction under Section 138 of the N.I. Act—The complainant had issued a cheque for ₹7,00,000/- which was dishonoured due to insufficient funds—The Trial Court had convicted the accused based on documentary evidence and the presumption under Sections 118 and 139—The First Appellate Court reversed the conviction citing the complainant’s failure to prove financial capacity—The High Court held that the accused had admitted to issuance and signature of the cheque, thereby attracting statutory presumpt...

Civil Procedure Code, 1908 (CPC)—Order 11 Rule 5(4)—Its application to the denial of cross-examination, the Court held that adverse inference arising from a party’s failure to produce documents is a discretionary evidentiary measure, not a procedural barrier to the right to cross-examine—The power to draw an adverse inference may only be exercised at the conclusion of the trial after considering all evidence, and is always rebuttable—Denying the right to cross-examine based on an order for adverse inference is unsustainable and risks undermining justice—The Court further emphasized that the right to cross-examine is a fundamental element of natural justice, which cannot be denied except in exceptional circumstances—The decision to reject an application to deny cross-examination was upheld, affirmi...

A. Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881—Section 138—Dishonour of cheque—Service of statutory notice—Notice served on relative of accused—No evidence that accused was aware of notice—Service on relative not sufficient—No substantial compliance with Section 138(b)—Notice deemed not served on accused—Conviction under Section 138 liable to be set aside. (Paras 3, 9, 11, 23, 24) B. Criminal Procedure Code, 1973—Section 482—Quashing of proceedings—Notice service and cause of action—Question of fraudulent refusal or evasion of notice service is a matter of fact—Premature to quash without evidence of evasion—Complaint must prove accused’s knowledge of notice to presume service—Absence of such proof requires acquittal. (Paras 13, 14, 16) C. Evid...

Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 , Section 138—Against Acquittal—Cheque Dishonour—The complainant, a financial company, alleged that the accused issued a cheque for ₹7,50,000/- towards the settlement of a vehicle loan—However, the account statement (Ex.P-8) showed an outstanding of only ₹4,09,729.08 as of the date of the cheque—The complainant failed to produce any written settlement agreement justifying the higher amount—The accused, in his reply (Ex.P-6), denied the existence of such a settlement and claimed the cheque was issued blank and misused—The Trial Court found material discrepancies and gave the benefit of doubt to the accused—The High Court held that the complainant had failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt and affirmed the acquittal, dismissing the appeal. Resu...

Evidence Act, 1872—Section 114—This appeal arising from a conviction under Section 302 IPC for the murder of the accused’s wife, the court examined the evidence and held that the killing occurred due to grave and sudden provocation, falling under Exception 1 to Section 300 IPC—The accused and the deceased had a history of marital discord, and the incident took place during a sudden quarrel at night without premeditation or prior intent to kill—The prosecution failed to establish dowry harassment, and the number of stab wounds inflicted in the dark was not sufficient to infer deliberate murder—Relying on the Supreme Court precedents, including Surinder Kumar and Dauvaram Nirmalkar, the court emphasized that loss of self-control due to grave provocation must be judged by a reasonable person’s standa...

Constitution of India, 1950—Article 22(5)—Preventive detention under the Karnataka Prevention of Dangerous Activities Act, 1985 must adhere strictly to constitutional safeguards under Article 22(5) of the Constitution of India—The detenu’s right to make a representation must be respected by ensuring timely communication, independent consideration by the State, and prompt disposal—Delays in communicating the rejection of representation or failure to inform the detenu of their rights may vitiate the detention—Detention orders must be based on proximate and relevant grounds; stale or irrelevant incidents or reliance on acquitted/closed cases under inapplicable provisions (Section 2(g)) are impermissible—The subjective satisfaction of the detaining authority must rest on cogent material, and delays in...

The petitioner, a Principal Debtor, challenged a Sale Notice dated 21.01.2025 issued under the SARFAESI Act concerning the mortgaged property of the Guarantor—The petitioner contended that the loan was sanctioned by Canara Bank’s Hong Kong Branch, governed by Hong Kong law, and thus SARFAESI proceedings in India were without jurisdiction—The Court rejected this contention, holding that the mortgage—created by deposit of title deeds in India—constituted a valid “security interest” under the SARFAESI Act, enforceable regardless of the governing law of the loan agreement—The Court emphasized that statutory remedies under the SARFAESI Act cannot be contracted out of by private agreements—It also held that proceedings under the SARFAESI Act and execution of a Hong Kong arbitral award can pr...