Digi - Legal Insights

Bail - Even in allegations of criminal conspiracy and contract killing, where electronic evidence like voice recordings is unverified and no proclamation under Section 82 CrPC is issued, applicant cannot be treated as absconder; bail may be granted with conditions.

Quashing of charge sheet - Accused possessing valid passport cannot be prosecuted for offence under Foreigners Act and Passport Rules - Charge sheet and proceedings quashed - Petition allowed.

Quashing of FIR - Where parties are married and complainant admits filing under misconception, continuation of proceedings for offence under Section 376(2)(n) IPC is unjust; FIR quashed.

Quashing of Criminal Case - Proceedings under IPC Sections 354, 376 and POCSO Act unsustainable where continuance would jeopardize welfare of victim and child born out of wedlock; Court justified in exercising inherent powers under Section 482 CrPC.

Impugned judgment passed by Tribunal is modified directing Appellant-insurance company to pay enhanced compensation of Rs.1,82,000/- to claimants along with interest @ 8% per annum from date of registration of claim petition till its realization.

Order of reinstatement along with other benefits shall be in exclusion of 50% back-wages, as employee officiated in public office during period in question.

Income Tax - Time-barred reassessment - Notice under Section 148 and consequent order invalid when issued beyond limitation prescribed under Section 149; timelines are mandatory and cannot be diluted by procedural interpretation of Section 148A.

Quashing of FIR and chargesheet - Vague and unsubstantiated allegations without specific role attributed to accused do not disclose prima facie case; continuation of proceedings amounts to abuse of process.

Legally enforceable debt is a matter of defence and cannot be decided at preliminary stage - Magistrate erred in treating Section 143A as mandatory - Matter remanded for reconsideration.

Formal amendments to a complaint to cure clerical errors are permissible under NI Act proceedings if no prejudice is caused, and such discretion of the trial court should not be interfered with.

Criminal Procedure - Under BNSS, 2023, notices under Section 35 must be served physically as prescribed; electronic service is not permissible, unlike court-issued summons under Sections 63, 64, and 71 which may be served electronically.

Quashing of FIR - Peaceful rally or dharna, even if during Model Code of Conduct, does not attract offences under IPC Sections 290, 341, 171F or Police Act Section 34 when no public obstruction or wrongful restraint is made out, warranting quashing of proceedings.

Central Excise - Criminal prosecution for excise duty evasion can proceed independently of departmental adjudication, and setting aside of adjudication orders on procedural grounds does not bar such prosecution.

Murder - Conviction for murder cannot rest solely on uncorroborated and doubtful testimony of interested witnesses when key witnesses turn hostile and medical evidence raises reasonable doubt, entitling accused to benefit of doubt.

Quashing of proceedings - Criminal proceedings arising from a civil property dispute, filed belatedly without ingredients of cheating or forgery, amount to abuse of process and should be quashed.

Quashing of FIR  - FIR cannot be quashed merely for procedural lapses or being successive when investigation is complete and chargesheet filed, if allegations disclose cheating, conspiracy, and inducement.

Atrocities Act - In offences under the SC/ST Act, notice to the victim before granting bail is mandatory, and bail granted without such notice or proper reasoning is liable to be cancelled.

Recruitment - Cancellation of LDC selection alone from common advertisement is arbitrary and discriminatory - State directed to resume process from stage of cancellation - Petition allowed.

Land Revenue - Sanad granting occupancy rights is a perpetual and heritable grant making holder an Occupant Class I under Section 29(2)(a) MLRC, and resumption of such land as lease expiry is illegal.

Under the Andhra Pradesh Land Grabbing (Prohibition) Act, once applicant proves prima facie ownership, burden shifts to alleged grabber, and unauthorised possession without lawful entitlement constitutes land grabbing.