A. Indian Penal Code, 1860—Sections 120B, 420 and 406—Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881—Section 138—Criminal Procedure Code, 1973—Section 482—Quashing of cognizance—Held: Where the allegations against the petitioner merely disclosed that the disputed transaction took place at his residence and no material indicated his participation in the alleged conspiracy, cheating, criminal breach of trust or issuance of the dishonoured cheque, the essential ingredients of the alleged offences were absent. A cognizance order passed without assigning reasons or demonstrating due application of judicial mind cannot be sustained. In the absence of a prima facie case, continuation of the criminal proceedings would amount to abuse of the process of Court and the cognizance order together with all consequential proce...

A. Indian Penal Code, 1860—Section 302 read with Section 34—Arms Act, 1959—Section 27—Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973—Section 313—Appreciation of evidence—Related witnesses—Conviction can be sustained on the basis of testimony of related witnesses if found reliable and trustworthy—Mere absence of independent witnesses is not fatal—Minor contradictions regarding place or manner of presence of witnesses do not affect core prosecution case—Interested witnesses cannot be discarded solely on ground of relationship. [Paras 46, 53, 65] B. Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973—Sections 174, 154, 156—Investigation—Inquest—Commencement prior to FIR—Proceedings under Section 174 CrPC (inquest) are distinct from investigation of cognizable offence&mdas...

Penal Code, 1860—Sections 302, 307, 120-B r/w Section 34—Arms Act, 1959—Section 27—Cr.P.C., 1973—Section 372—Murder—Appeal against acquittal—Interested witnesses—Absence of independent corroboration—Defective investigation—Inquest report not proved—Dismissal of appeal— First informant materially changed his version during trial and was unable to explain crucial facts relating to the occurrence, rendering him not a wholly reliable witness—His testimony, in absence of independent corroboration, was unsafe to form the sole basis of conviction—All prosecution witnesses were close relatives of the informant and deceased and were admittedly interested witnesses owing to an existing land dispute between the parties—Despite availability of independent ...

A. Civil Procedure (Mediation) Rules—Validity & Maintainability—Challenge to the Civil Procedure (Mediation) (Amendment) Rules, 2019 (Bihar) and related reliefs (fees, restructuring, administrative control, etc.) was rejected on the ground of non-impleadment of necessary parties—Petitioners failed to implead newly appointed mediators whose rights would be directly affected—The Court held that a writ under Article 226 cannot be adjudicated in the absence of such vitally affected persons—Petition dismissed. B. Natural Justice—Audi Alteram Partem—The Court reaffirmed the fundamental principle that no adverse order can be passed against a person without hearing them—Deciding a writ petition in the absence of necessary and affected parties amounts to violation of principles of natural just...

A. CrPC, 1973—Section 482—Quashing of Criminal Proceedings—High Court may exercise inherent powers to quash criminal proceedings arising from matrimonial disputes, even if offences are non-compoundable, where parties have genuinely and voluntarily settled the matter, the dispute is predominantly private, and continuation would amount to abuse of process. B. IPC, 1860 & Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961—Sections 498A, 323, 504/34 & Sections 3, 4—Where a matrimonial dispute has been amicably settled, and key accused (husband and father-in-law) have died, continuation of proceedings against remaining family members serves no purpose and constitutes abuse of judicial process. C. Criminal Law—Abuse of Process in Matrimonial Disputes—Continuing criminal proceedings after genuine settlement, part...

Penal Code, 1860 & Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961—Section 498A IPC, Sections 3 & 4 Dowry Prohibition Act—Quashing of Proceedings—Proceedings under Section 498A IPC and Sections 3 & 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act can be quashed where allegations are general, omnibus, or fail to make out a prima facie case, particularly against aged parents residing separately abroad (Paras 20–22)—Under Section 482 CrPC, courts may intervene to prevent abuse of process, especially in matrimonial disputes involving prior divorce by mutual consent, delays in FIR filing, or prior litigation between parties (Paras 13–18)—While divorce does not automatically extinguish criminal liability for acts during marriage, it is relevant for assessing the viability of prosecution (Paras 9, 11)—Allegations of cruelty...

A. Hindu Marriage Act, 1955—Section 13(1)(ib) & Section 13(1)(ia)—Divorce—Desertion and cruelty—Desertion requires factum of separation and animus deserendi for continuous statutory period—Long separation, refusal to cohabit, neglect and breakdown of marital relationship amount to cruelty—Irretrievable breakdown and prolonged separation justify dissolution—Ex parte decree upheld where evidence proves cruelty and desertion. [Paras 18 to 20, 23 and 24] B. Family Courts Act, 1984—Section 19—Appeal against ex parte divorce decree—Scope of interference—Appellate interference limited to cases of illegality, perversity or procedural irregularity—Proper service of summons and sufficient opportunity to contest—Non-appearance of husband justified ex parte proc...

Criminal Procedure Code, 1973—Section 482—Quashing of Complaint/Protest Petition—Magistrate's Cognizance—Landlord-Tenant Dispute—Petitioners sought quashing of an order taking cognizance of offences under Sections 448, 323, 379, and 504 IPC, arising from a landlord-tenant dispute—Petitioners contended that the police had filed a final report absolving them of liability and that the Magistrate erred in treating a subsequent protest petition as a complaint, relying on Surendra Pandit v. State of Bihar—The Court held that acceptance of a police final report does not bar the Magistrate from taking cognizance under Section 190 Cr.P.C. if a complaint satisfies the requirements—Evidence on record, including inquiry witness statements, disclosed prima facie commission of offences—Allegatio...

Compassionate Appointment—Rejection—Surviving Family Member as Breadwinner—Evidence and Affidavit—Petitioner sought compassionate appointment following the death of her father—The Appointment Committee rejected the application on the ground that the younger brother was already employed as an Inspector in ITBP—Petitioner contended that she and her brother were separated and relied on a later affidavit filed by him to support her claim—The Court held that the earlier affidavit filed in 2016, supporting joint family status, had been considered by the Committee, while the subsequent 2023 affidavit claiming separation was an afterthought, filed years after the rejection—The rejection was upheld, noting that the primary purpose of compassionate appointment is to provide relief to families facing s...

Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985—Sections 20(b)(ii)(c), 22(c), 23(c), 52A, 42, 55, 57—Conviction—Search, Seizure, Sampling, Procedural Safeguards—Under the NDPS Act, 1985, conviction for possession of contraband requires strict adherence to procedural safeguards, including search, seizure, sealing, labelling, and sampling—Section 52A mandates that inventories, photographs, and samples be certified by a Magistrate at the time of seizure; non-compliance or delayed compliance casts doubt on prosecution evidence—In the present case, contraband recovered from the roof of appellant’s house was not in conscious possession, and the prosecution failed to follow mandatory procedures, including certification by Magistrate and proper sampling—Discrepancies regarding place of recovery...