Penal Code, 1860—Section 304-B, 498-A, 302 r/w 34—Criminal Procedure Code, 1973—Section 372—Evidence Act, 1872—Section 106—Dowry death and matrimonial cruelty—Appeal against acquittal—Acquittal upheld—No proximate nexus between cruelty and death—Presumption u/s 106 Evidence Act inapplicable—Where the deceased died due to consumption of poison (aluminium phosphide) and the post-mortem revealed no external injuries or signs of strangulation, and the medical evidence was inconclusive regarding homicidal administration, the burden u/s 106 of the Evidence Act could not be shifted onto the accused merely on the basis of his presence in the house—Absent a proximate and cogent link between alleged matrimonial cruelty for dowry and the unnatural death and in light of the decea...

Guardians and Wards Act, 1980, S.47 | S.9 | S.10 | S.23 | S.17—Custody denied—The court, while deciding the custody battle between the father and the maternal relatives of the minor, prioritized the child’s welfare over the natural guardian’s right—Despite the father’s acquittal in the murder case of the child’s mother, the child had consistently deposed against him and expressed fear and unwillingness to stay with him—The court observed that the child had been in the care of the maternal relatives for over seven years, was admitted to a reputed school, and was emotionally stable and secure with them—Financial and emotional stability provided by the respondents, along with the child’s own clear and consistent preference, guided the court’s decision to deny custody to the fa...

(A) Air Force Act, 1950, Section 92(i)—Maintenance to wife through Air Force Act—By executing decree passed under Sections 2(f), 12 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005—Petitioner's name is not entered as wife of Respondent in the service records—Another person's name is entered as wife of Respondent in the service records—Petitioner has failed to show that the opposite party Nos.1 to 3 are statutorily bound in terms of Section 91 of the Air Force Act, 1950, to deduct amounts awarded by Domestic Violence Act Court (contrast with Central Government or or any prescribed officer) towards maintenance and house rent to be paid by the opposite party No.4 to the petitioner, no writ of mandamus is liable to be issued. (Para 9.1) (B) Protection of Women from Domestic Vi...

Permanent alimony. Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, Sections 13(1)(i-a) and 25—Appeal to impugn Alimony—Court decided Family Suit and decreed dissolution of the marriage—However, while allowing the suit, the Family Court directed the appellant to pay a sum of Rs.70 lakhs towards permanent alimony to the respondent-wife under Sec.25 of the Act—The appeal has been filed only to the extent that the Family Court directed payment of permanent alimony—Trial Court has specifically opined that neither of the parties were willing to disclose their income and resources though, documents on record suggested otherwise. The parties may be alive to the issue that in the event the Court was to order separation, some permanent alimony needed to be worked out as we have held in the earlier part of this judgement. Neithe...

Acquittal upheld. Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, Section 138—Appeal to impugn Acquittal—On minute appreciation of the evidence before the learned Trial Court as discussed above the learned Trial Court has appreciated that the accused has discharged his liability and successfully rebutted the presumption with the standard of preponderance of probability in the cross examination of the complainant and has raised a probable defence regarding the existence of a legally enforceable debt as per the judgment—The learned trial Court has appreciated the entire evidence in proper perspective and there does not appear to be any infirmity and illegality in the impugned judgment and order of acquittal—The learned Trial Court has appreciated all the evidence and this Court is of the considered opinion that the learned Tria...

Negotiable Instrument Act, 1881, Section 148 - Revision jurisdiction upon deposit of 20% - Whether the word "may" to be interpreted as "shall" - In Muskan Enterprises (supra), the Supreme Court has held that the word 'may' appearing in Section 148 of the N.I. Act, shall be read as 'may', not as 'shall' - Therefore, now the appellate court, before directing the appellant to deposit 20% of the compensation amount has to exercise judicial discretion - That means, the appellate court has to explain and to give reasons as to why it will be directing the appellant to deposit 20% of the compensation amount - The impugned order, directing the appellant to pay 20% of the compensation amount, is without any reasoning -  Therefore, the impugned order is bad in law - Accordingly, the prayer of the peti...

Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, Sections 138 and 142—Specific Relief Act, 1963, Section 7—Res-Subjudice, when not applicable—Cheque bounce criminal complaint and Recovery suit relying upon Promissory Note, maintainable— A bald plea was taken by the defendants in the written statement that the suit promissory note is a forged document—As noticed supra, the plaintiff discharged his burden by examining the sole attestor to Ex.A-1 as P.W.2—To rebut the said evidence, the defendants did not produce any evidence except examining the 1st defendant as D.W.1 and also did not take any steps to send Ex.A-1 promissory note to a handwriting expert—For the aforesaid reasons, on appreciation of the entire evidence on record, the learned trial Judge rightly decreed the suit and on re-appreciation of the en...

Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, Section 138—Criminal Procedure Code, 1973, Section 391—Revision petition by convict in cheque dishonour case—To impugn order of Sessions Court, which denied the right to produce further evidence—FIR etc—Allowing the introduction of this evidence would serve the interests of justice, ensuring that all relevant and material facts are comprehensively examined prior to the rendering of a final judgment—Such an approach would not only safeguard the appellant's right to a fair hearing but also enable the court to render a just and informed decision, based on a comprehensive evaluation of all the facts and evidence available—The judiciary possesses discretionary authority to evaluate such applications, and this discretion is grounded in principles of justice and fair...

Suit dismissed. Special Marriage Act, 1954, Section 31—Territorial Jurisdiction of the Court to which petition should be made—Concerned District Court within the local limits of whose Original Civil Jurisdiction, the marriage was solemnized, the defendant at the time of presentation of petition resides, parties to marriage last resided together or in the case of wife is the petitioner, where she residing on the date of presentation of plaint but in the present case, none of the criteria fulfills by the petitioner—The Jurisdictional District Court is only empowered to receive, try and adjudicate any suit, petition of the matrimonial proceedings—It is made clear that this Court has dismissed the suit filed by the plaintiff only on the ground of maintainability and this Court has not gone into the merit of the suit&m...

Negotiable Instrument Act, 1881, Section 138—Quashing petition by Accused in the Cheque dishonour case—Held: Considering the material on record, the documents adduced by the petitioner cannot be said to be of such sterling and unimpeachable quality that it merits the quashing of the summons and consequential proceedings thereof—This Court can exercise its jurisdiction only upon unimpeachable and uncontroverted evidence being placed on record, however, in the absence of such evidence, the fact whether the accused person is responsible for the affairs of the accused company becomes a factual dispute, which is to be seen during trial—Needless to say, it will be open to the petitioner to justify the arguments taken by him regarding his retirement from the accused firm and non-involvement in the transaction during the c...