A. Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973—Section 482—Quashing of FIR on basis of compromise—Heinous offences—Inherent power under Section 482 is distinct from power of compounding under Section 320 and may extend to non-compoundable offences, but must be exercised sparingly to secure the ends of justice or prevent abuse of process—Prosecutions involving heinous and serious offences such as rape, murder and dacoity, having serious impact on society, cannot ordinarily be quashed merely on the basis of compromise between the victim and accused. [Paras 10–11]B. Indian Penal Code, 1860—Section 376—Rape—Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973—Section 482—Quashing of FIR on basis of compromise—Rape being a heinous offence and not a private dispute, compromise between the victim and accused cannot constitute a ground for quashing the ...

A. Code of Civil Procedure, 1908—Order VII Rule 11—Rejection of Plaint—Scope and test—Application under Order VII Rule 11 is to be decided on the averments contained in the plaint read as a whole and the documents relied upon by the plaintiff—Defendant's written statement, defence on merits and disputed questions of evidence are irrelevant at this stage—Where the plaint, even on its own averments, does not disclose a cause of action, the Court is bound to reject the plaint [Paras 14–15, 18].B. Code of Civil Procedure, 1908—Order VII Rule 11(a)—Cause of Action—Suit for cancellation of sale deed—Non-payment of sale consideration—Where the registered sale deed records payment of full consideration and the plaintiff's own case is founded upon alleged non-payment of the sale consideration, mere non-payment of the whole ...

A. Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973—Section 482—Quashing of Criminal Proceedings—Vague and absurd FIR—Where FIR contains no specific date, time, identity of persons allegedly making demands or sending staff and the allegations, even if taken at face value, do not disclose the ingredients of the alleged offences, continuation of criminal proceedings would amount to abuse of process and the same is liable to be quashed [Paras 10–14].B. Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973—Section 482—Inherent Powers—Mala fide prosecution—Where criminal proceedings are instituted in the backdrop of an existing civil/ancestral property dispute and the allegations are vague, absurd and apparently motivated by personal grudge, the High Court may examine the attending circumstances beyond the bare averments in the FIR and exercise inherent jurisdic...

A. Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023—Section 415(2)—Appeal against Conviction—Maintainability—Appeal against judgment of conviction and sentence passed by Special Court under the NDPS Act maintainable under Section 415(2) BNSS—Appellate Court examined legality of conviction under Sections 22(c) and 25 NDPS Act and reappreciated the evidence relating to search, seizure, sampling and custody of contraband. [Paras 2, 43]B. Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985—Sections 42 and 57—Search and Seizure—Chance Recovery—Where vehicle was intercepted during random checking without prior information regarding commission of an offence under the NDPS Act, Section 42(1) is not attracted—Information subsequently reduced into writing after recovery cannot be treated as prior information contemplated by Section 42�...

A. Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973—Section 156(3)—Direction for Registration of FIR—Complaint against Police/Other Public Authorities—Magistrate—Before invoking jurisdiction under Section 156(3) Cr.P.C., complainant is required to approach the In-charge of the concerned Police Station for registration of FIR and, where necessary, avail the remedy before the superior police authority—Failure to follow the prescribed course, coupled with absence of supporting affidavit, justifies dismissal of the application—Principle laid down in Priyanka Srivastava v. State of U.P., (2015) 6 SCC 287, reiterated. [Paras 2, 7, 11, 13–15]B. Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973—Section 156(3)—Affidavit—Mandatory Safeguard—Application seeking investigation under Section 156(3) Cr.P.C. must be supported by an affidavit—Object is to ensure...

A. Code of Civil Procedure, 1908—Order XLVII Rule 1—Review—Scope and Grounds—Review jurisdiction is confined to discovery of new and important matter or evidence which despite due diligence was not within the applicant’s knowledge or could not be produced earlier, mistake or error apparent on the face of the record, or any other sufficient reason analogous to the specified grounds—Review cannot be exercised merely because the earlier decision is erroneous on merits or another view is possible. [Paras 7, 10, 11]B. Code of Civil Procedure, 1908—Order XLVII Rule 1—Error Apparent on the Face of Record—An error apparent must be self-evident and patent, not an error which can be established only through a long process of reasoning—A mere erroneous decision or a conclusion capable of being reconsidered on merits does not cons...

A. Indian Penal Code, 1860—Sections 304 Part II and 324—Culpable Homicide Not Amounting to Murder—Intention—Where accused came to the house without any predetermined intention to assault and, only upon being questioned by deceased, picked up an axe and assaulted him, occurrence did not constitute murder—Conviction under Section 304 Part II IPC held justified as culpable homicide not amounting to murder—Conviction upheld. [Paras 16–17].B. Indian Evidence Act, 1872—Section 118—Child Witness—Evidentiary value—Evidence of child witness cannot be rejected merely on account of age or possibility of tutoring—Where child witness is competent, withstands cross-examination and testimony inspires confidence, conviction can be based upon such evidence—Corroboration is a rule of prudence and caution rather than an absolute ru...

A. Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881—Sections 138, 118 and 139—Dishonour of Cheque—Legally enforceable debt—Presumption under Sections 118 and 139 does not dispense with requirement of establishing legally enforceable debt—Where complainant failed to produce loan account statement or other material showing that Rs.48,515 was actually due on the date of issuance of cheque, and complainant was unable to state the exact amount repaid and outstanding, essential ingredient of Section 138 remained unproved—Acquittal upheld. [Paras 7, 10–12].B. Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881—Sections 138, 118 and 139—Cheque issued as security—Defence of misuse—Accused specifically pleaded that cheque was issued as security while availing loan and that part of loan had already been repaid—Complainant failed to produce counter-slip or othe...

A. Civil Procedure Code, 1908—Order XIV Rule 5—Framing of additional issues—Scope—Where the Supreme Court, while declining to interfere with re-impleadment of defendant, expressly kept open the issue whether such defendant was a necessary or proper party, the Trial Court was required to frame an additional issue to give effect to the Supreme Court’s direction—Additional issue regarding status of defendant as necessary or proper party, therefore, validly framed. [Paras 7–11]B. Civil Procedure Code, 1908—Order XIV Rule 5—Additional issues—Issues arising from subsequent pleadings and material circumstances—Additional issues relating to maintainability of claim in view of an order of a foreign court restraining commencement or continuation of proceedings, and applicability of res judicata on account of prior rejection of...

A. Penal Code, 1860—Sections 417, 376—Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989—Section 3(1)(w)(i)—Suspension of sentence pending appeal—Victim and accused both majors and educated—Evidence indicating love relationship and repeated physical relationship on several occasions—Victim and petitioner being neighbours and meeting voluntarily in eucalyptus grove—Foetus not preserved in condition enabling DNA examination—Petitioner's paternity could not be conclusively established—Court, at the stage of suspension of sentence, found the relationship prima facie consensual and held that arguable points arose in appeal—Substantive sentence accordingly suspended pending disposal of appeal and petitioner enlarged on bail. [Paras 6–10]B. Penal Code, 1860—Sections 417, 376—Suspension of sente...