A. Hindu Marriage Act, 1955—Sections 13(1)(ia) and 13(1)(ib)—Divorce—Cruelty and Desertion—Denial of Opportunity—Cross-Examination and Evidence— Where wife was denied effective opportunity to cross-examine husband and lead evidence in support of her defence, decree of divorce on ground of desertion could not be sustained—Matter remanded for fresh adjudication after affording fair and meaningful opportunity to both parties. [Paras 10–13] B. Hindu Marriage Act, 1955—Sections 9, 13(1)(ia) and 13(1)(ib)—Divorce and Restitution of Conjugal Rights—Connected Proceedings—Common Trial— Where divorce petition and petition for restitution of conjugal rights between same parties involved substantially interconnected matrimonial issues, both proceedings ought to be tried ...

A. Hindu Marriage Act, 1955—Sections 13(1)(ia), 13(1)(ib)—Divorce—Cruelty and Desertion—Proof—Appreciation of Evidence— Where, on re-appreciation of the evidence, the husband established that the wife had treated him with cruelty and had deserted him within the meaning of Sections 13(1)(ia) and 13(1)(ib), the contrary finding of the Family Court could not be sustained. The husband was consequently entitled to a decree of divorce. [Paras 15–18] B. Hindu Marriage Act, 1955—Section 25—Permanent Alimony—Divorce—Long-Drawn Litigation—Financial Relief— While dissolving the marriage and having regard to the long-drawn litigation between the parties, the Court may award permanent alimony under Section 25 with a view to secure the financial interests of the spouse and...

A. Indian Penal Code, 1860—Sections 366 and 376—Kidnapping/abduction and rape—Appreciation of evidence—Held—Material contradictions between the victim's statement under Section 164 CrPC and her deposition regarding the place of occurrence, coupled with medical and FSL evidence showing no recent sexual intercourse, rendered the prosecution case unreliable. Conviction could not be sustained on such inconsistent evidence. (Paras 8-9, 13) B. Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012—Sections 3, 4, 29 and 30—Age of victim—Presumption—Proof of minority—Held—Presumptions under Sections 29 and 30 cannot dispense with proof of the foundational fact that the victim was a child. Age must be established in accordance with law; a school certificate issued by the Headm...

A. Civil Procedure Code, 1908 — Order V Rule 1, Order VIII Rules 1 & 10, Section 151 — Karnataka Amendment Act, 2024 — Written Statement — 120-day limit — Held, the 120-day period is ordinarily mandatory and the right to file written statement stands forfeited thereafter; however, the amendment cannot be construed as completely extinguishing the limited judicial discretion preserved under Rule 10 and Section 151 CPC, as recognized in Salem Advocate Bar Association (2005) — In exceptional and compelling circumstances, where refusal to accept the written statement would result in grave miscarriage of justice or manifest injustice, the Court may exercise narrowly confined discretion, for reasons to be recorded and ordinarily upon realistic costs; such discretion is not to be exercised routinely or mech...

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A. Criminal Procedure Code, 1973—Sections 125 & 127—Maintenance—Adult Children: Adult children are not entitled to maintenance under Section 125 unless physical or mental disability renders them incapable of earning. [Paras 8–12] B. Criminal Procedure Code, 1973—Section 125—Maintenance—Wife: Wife’s maintenance enhanced to ₹15,000/- per month, considering the husband’s income and cost of living. [Paras 9–10] C. Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956—Section 20—Maintenance—Marriage Expenses: Marriage expenses for the unmarried daughter enhanced to ₹10,00,000/- considering the father’s financial capacity. [Paras 11–12] ...

A. Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005—Sections 12, 20 and 22—Domestic violence—Maintenance, alternative accommodation and compensation—Held: Where both the Trial Court and the Appellate Court, on appreciation of oral and documentary evidence, concurrently conclude that the aggrieved wife was subjected to domestic violence, the award of monetary relief, maintenance for the wife and minor child, and expenses towards alternative accommodation does not call for interference in revision merely because the husband disputes the findings. However, compensation under Section 22 must remain fair and proportionate to the facts of the case and the financial condition of the respondent. In the present case, while the monthly maintenance and accommodation charges were found to be reasonable and were affirm...

A. Civil Procedure Code, 1908—Order XXI—Execution of decree—Executing Court cannot travel beyond the decree—Property not forming part of the plaint, suit schedule or decree cannot be introduced at the execution stage by unilateral alteration of the execution schedule—Delivery of possession based on such tampered execution records held illegal and vitiated. B. Karnataka Land Revenue Act, 1964—Land records proceedings—Revenue authority's order founded on manipulated execution records held unsustainable—Revisional authority rightly relied on village maps, survey records and boundary descriptions to conclude that the disputed property vested in the Railways. C. Railways—Title to acquired land—Historical acquisition records, Gazette notifications, survey maps and long, unint...

A. Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881—Sections 138 & 141—Vicarious liability of Director—Complaint must specifically aver and demonstrate how and in what manner the Director was in charge of and responsible for conduct of company’s business—Mere designation as Director is insufficient—Absence of specific allegations regarding role and responsibility renders prosecution against such Director unsustainable. (Paras 9–9.5) B. Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881—Section 138—Cheque issued from joint account—Liability of joint account holder—Criminal liability for dishonour is confined to the drawer/signatory of the cheque—Mere status as joint account holder, without being a signatory to the dishonoured cheque, does not attract prosecution under Section 138. (Para 10) C...

A. Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881—S. 138—Companies Act, 1956/2013—Ss. 560(5)/248(5), 250—Effect of dissolution/strike-off of company on cheque subsequently issued in its name—Once a company is struck off and stands dissolved, it loses its juristic personality and any act done on its behalf thereafter is void ab initio unless restored under S. 252 of the Companies Act, 2013—A cheque issued in the name of, or purportedly by, a dissolved company is not a legally enforceable instrument, there being no valid drawer/account-holder in the eye of law, and, correspondingly, the account cannot be said to be "maintained" by the erstwhile Director who no longer has authority or control to give effective instructions to the bank—Proceedings under S. 138, which presuppose a validly issued cheque dra...