Evidence Act, 1872—Sections 3 and 119—Inconsistent Witness Testimonies—Under Sections 3 and 119 of the Evidence Act, 1872, the credibility of a witness is fundamental to the prosecution’s case—The reliability of testimony is assessed based on consistency, coherence, and corroboration with other evidence—In the present case, the prosecution's case was significantly weakened due to contradictions and inconsistencies in the depositions of key witnesses, including PW-1, PW-2, PW-3, and PW-6—Material discrepancies emerged between their statements recorded during the investigation and their testimonies before the court—These inconsistencies cast serious doubt on the veracity of their accounts and the overall prosecution narrative—The High Court emphasized that when key prosecution witnes...

Civil Procedure Code, 1908—Order 1 Rule 10(2)—Necessary Party vs. Proper Party—Under Order 1 Rule 10(2) of the Civil Procedure Code, 1908, the court has the discretion to add or delete parties in a suit to ensure effective adjudication—The distinction between a necessary party and a proper party is crucial in determining whether a party should be impleaded in a proceeding—A necessary party is one without whom no effective decree can be passed—Their presence is essential for the court to grant complete relief, and their absence would render the decree ineffective or unenforceable—In contrast, a proper party is one whose presence may not be indispensable for deciding the matter but whose participation enables the court to comprehensively and conclusively adjudicate upon all issues in dispute—I...

Civil Procedure Code, 1908—Order 21 Rule 35—Limitations of Executing Court's Power—Under Order 21 Rule 35 of the Civil Procedure Code, 1908, the executing court is bound to execute a decree as it stands, without altering or modifying its terms—The scope of the executing court’s jurisdiction is limited to ensuring compliance with the decree, and it cannot entertain objections that effectively challenge the decree’s validity or seek its modification—In the present case, the High Court reaffirmed the settled legal principle that an executing court must execute the decree in its precise terms and cannot go beyond its mandate—While judgment-debtors are entitled to raise objections, such objections must be confined to issues concerning the execution process and not the substantive rights alrea...

Evidence Act, 1872—Sections 3 and 157—Witness Credibility and Consistency—For a conviction to be sustained, the credibility of witnesses is paramount—Under Sections 3 and 157 of the Evidence Act, 1872, a witness’s statement must be consistent and trustworthy to establish guilt beyond a reasonable doubt—If material contradictions exist in their testimony, such inconsistencies can render their evidence unreliable, leading to an acquittal or the grant of the benefit of the doubt to the accused—In this case, the court examined whether the testimonies of key prosecution witnesses were credible and consistent—The judgment emphasized that contradictions on crucial aspects such as the sequence of events, presence at the scene, or prior statements could weaken the prosecution’s case—The c...

Civil-Criminal Dispute—Land Dispute with Criminal Overtones—F.I.R. and Complaint Analysis—Quashing of Impugned Order—The petitioner contends that the dispute with the opposite party is essentially civil in nature and has been improperly given a criminal hue—It is submitted that a previous F.I.R. (Kotwali P.S. Case No. 755/2008) had been registered on 13.11.2008 against the petitioner for offences under Sections 341, 323, 427, 447, 385, and 34 of the IPC—Following investigation, the police submitted a charge-sheet indicating that the matter was civil, and the petitioner was exonerated—However, a subsequent criminal complaint, alleging dacoity and filed on the same date, escalated the matter—The petitioner argues that the complaint, which lacks a supporting affidavit as required by settled law...

Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC)—Section 482—The petitioner, a claimant in a commercial dispute, was awarded compensation by the Tribunal, which directed the Corporation to refund Rs. 1,19,17,678.57 with interest, along with other payments such as earnest money, bank guarantee, and security amount—The petitioner also sought the release of seven trucks seized by the authorities, which were part of a confiscation proceeding under the E.C. Act—The learned Sessions Judge set aside the District Magistrate's order of confiscation and ordered the release of the trucks, affirming that there was no mens rea on the petitioner’s part—Subsequently, the petitioner argued that the criminal proceedings initiated by the BSFC were motivated by an ulterior motive to protect its own officials—Based on the ar...

The petitioners challenged the order dated 09.03.2017 passed by the learned Sub Judge-II, Dumraon, Buxar, rejecting their amendment application under Order VI Rule 17 of the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC)—The petitioners, in a partition suit, sought to amend their plaint by adding certain lands, which they claimed to have been omitted due to lack of knowledge and unavailable documents—The amendment petition was filed after the evidence of both parties had been closed, and the case was nearing the final stage—The learned trial court rejected the amendment petition, citing the delay in filing and failure to show due diligence before the commencement of trial—The petitioners failed to explain the delay in seeking the amendment and did not demonstrate that they could not have raised the issue earlier—The court als...

Civil Procedure Code, 1908—Order 6 Rule 17—This civil revision, the petitioners challenged the order dated 30.06.2017 passed by the learned Sub Judge-VI, Gopalganj in Title Suit No. 589 of 2005, whereby their amendment petition filed under Order VI Rule 17 CPC was rejected—The plaintiffs, who sought partition of ancestral property, filed the amendment at the final stage of trial after examination of witnesses had been completed—The amendment aimed to incorporate several new facts, properties, and genealogical details allegedly omitted due to the old age of the original plaintiff—The trial court rejected the amendment, holding that it was filed belatedly without showing due diligence—The High Court, after analyzing the proviso to Order VI Rule 17 CPC and citing relevant Supreme Court precedents including...

Civil Procedure Code, 1908—Order 1 Rule 10(2)—Scope of Impleadment—Plaintiff is Dominus Litis—Impleadment of Parties Who Have No Relief Claimed Against Them Is Impermissible—Proper or Necessary Party Must Be Shown—The High Court set aside the trial court's order allowing impleadment of third parties in a title suit under Order 1 Rule 10(2) CPC—The petitioners (plaintiffs) had not sought any relief against the proposed intervenors, and the suit was based on title and possession derived from an auction sale in 1939—The intervenors claimed title through a Hukumnama of 1941 but failed to show how they were either necessary or proper parties—Citing precedents including Mumbai International Airport (P) Ltd. v. Regency Convention Centre and Vidur Impex v. Tosh Apartments, the Court emphas...

Criminal Law—Indian Penal Code—Sections 376, 504, 506—False Promise of Marriage—Consent—Misconception of Fact—Quashing of Cognizance—Abuse of Process—Section 482 CrPC Jurisdiction—The High Court quashed the order dated 09.10.2023 taking cognizance against the petitioner under Sections 376, 504, and 506 IPC in Ahiyarpur P.S. Case No. 774/2023, holding that the FIR did not disclose a prima facie case of rape—The Court noted that the parties had been in a consensual relationship since 2014 during their medical studies, and the opposite party No. 2, a qualified MBBS doctor, alleged sexual relations on a false promise of marriage—However, records revealed contradictions, including a prior complaint under Section 498A IPC wherein she claimed to have solemnized marriage with the p...