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Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) — Sections 302, 449, 376, 394 — Appeal against High Court’s upholding of conviction and sentence — Case based on circumstantial evidence — Absence of direct evidence connecting appellant to offense — Falsely implicated — Prosecution failed to establish guilt beyond reasonable doubt — No scientific evidence linking appellant — Important witnesses not associated in investigation or produced in court — Appeal allowed, conviction and sentence set aside. Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 — Section 138 — Dishonour of cheque — Quashing of proceedings — Cheques issued as security and not for consideration — Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) clearly stated cheques were for security purposes to show banks and not for deposit — Complainant failed to read the complete terms of MOU in isolation and misinterpreted it to claim cheques were converted into debt — Court empowered to consider unimpeachable documents at pre-trial stage to prevent injustice — Complaints under Section 138 NI Act liable to be quashed. Insurance Law — Fire Insurance — Accidental Fire — Cause of fire is immaterial if the insured is not the instigator and there is no fraud. The objective of fire insurance is to indemnify the insured against loss by fire. Tender Conditions — Interpretation — Ambiguity — The terms of a tender must be clear and unambiguous — If a tendering authority intends for a specific document to be issued by a particular authority, it must be clearly stated in the tender conditions — Failure to do so may lead to rejection of the bid being deemed arbitrary and dehors the tender terms. Public Interest Litigation (PIL) — Environmental Protection — Monitoring Committee — Powers and Scope — A PIL was filed concerning environmental issues in Delhi, leading to the appointment of a Monitoring Committee. The Supreme Court clarified that the committee was appointed to prevent misuse of residential premises for commercial purposes and not to interfere with residential premises used as such. Their power was limited to making suggestions to a Special Task Force regarding encroachments on public land, not to summarily seal premises.

Narcotics—Burden of Proof—Mere registration of a case under the Act will not ipso facto shift the burden on to the accused from the very inception. Narcotics—Case Property—Mere fact of a FSL Report being available is no confirmation either of the seizure or that what was seized was contraband, in absence of the production of the seized item in Court as an exhibit.

(2018) 1 AllCrlRulings 14 : (2018) 2 JT 102 : (2018) 1 KerLJ 101 : (2017) 4 LawHerald(SC) 2947 : (2018) 1 RCR(Criminal) 108 : (2017) 6 RecentApexJudgments(RAJ) 339 : (2017) 14 Scale 90…

Service Matters

Service Law—Superannuation—Parity-Assistant Public Prosecutors are not entitled to be treated at par with Public Prosecutors and other officers whose age of superannuation is specified at 60 years— The fact that the nature of duties and functions of Assistant Public Prosecutors and Public Prosecutors are similar, per se, cannot be the basis to claim parity with Public Prosecutors in respect of age of superannuation.

    (2018) 2 LawHerald(SC) 605 : (2018) 7 SCALE 516 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA FULL BENCH KERALA ASSISTANT PUBLIC PROSECUTORS ASSOCIATION — Appellant Vs. STATE OF KERALA — Respondent ( Before : Dipak Misra,…

Anticipatory Bail—Question referred to larger bench whether – (i) Whether the protection granted to a person under Section 438 CrPC should be limited to a fixed period so as to enable the person to surrender before the Trial Court and seek regular bail. (ii) Whether the life of an anticipatory bail should end at the time and stage when the accused is summoned by the court.

  (2018) 5 JT 137 : (2018) 2 LawHerald(SC) 596 : (2018) 7 SCALE 549 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA FULL BENCH SUSHILA AGGARWAL — Appellant Vs. STATE (NCT OF DELHI) — Respondent…

Forgery—An offence of forgery cannot lie against a person who has not created it or signed it—Making of document is different than causing it to be made. Forgery—Evidence on record clearly reveals that power of attorney was not executed by the complainant and the beneficiary was the accused—Still the accused cannot be convicted as both the accused cannot be held as maker of forged documents.

(2018) AIR(SC) 2434 : (2018) CriLR 527 : (2018) 2 LawHerald(SC) 581 : (2018) 7 SCALE 362 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH SHEILA SEBASTIAN — Appellant Vs. R. JAWAHARAJ — Respondent…

Culpable Homicide—Acquittal—Navjot Singh Sidhu case—Accused gave a single fist blow on head of deceased in a road rage which proved fatal—Cause of death was bleeding/hemorrhage in brain—Medical evidence did not support the allegation that brain injury was due to head injury inflicted by accused—Accused acquitted u/s 304 Part I and convicted u/s 323 IPC.

  (2018) AIR(SC) 2395 : (2018) 5 JT 182 : (2018) 2 LawHerald(SC) 562 : (2018) 7 SCALE 402 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH RUPINDER SINGH SANDHU — Appellant Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB…

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