Divorce to husband on ground of cruelty after wife creates her profile on matrimonial website, levels false allegations -Bombay High Court

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The Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court allowed a divorce plea by a husband on the ground of cruelty by wife after she levelled fake allegations against him and uploaded her profile on matrimonial websites during the pendency of divorce proceedings.

A Division Bench of Justices AS Chandurkar and GA Sanap held that the wife’s wild and unfounded allegations, as well as her conscious decision to remarry during the pendency of the divorce petition by uploading her profile on two matrimonial websites, were enough to prove that the appellant-husband suffered mental cruelty.

The High Court relied on the following judgments.

In Dr. (Mrs.) Malathi Ravi, M.D. vs. Dr. B. V. Ravi, M.D, it was held that if the wife has no intention to lead a normal life, then on the ground of mental cruelty the decree for divorce can be granted. It was further held that the false allegations by one spouse against the other amounts to mental cruelty.

In Vishwanath S/o. Sitaram Agrawal vs.Sarla Vishwanath Agrawal, the Supreme Court had held that mental torture caused by one spouse to the another by making wild and false allegations in a report lodged to the authority as well as in the electronic and print media constitute a mental cruelty and as such the ground for divorce.

In V Bhagat vs. Mrs. D. Bhagat, the Court found that mental cruelty in Section 131 (i-a) can broadly be defined as that conduct which inflicts upon the other party such mental pain and suffering as would make it impossible for that party to live with the other. It is held that the mental cruelty must be of such a nature that the parties cannot reasonably be expected to live together.

Not resisting at first time of sexual assault amounts to pre-consent - while acquitting rape accused: Madras High Court

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The Madras High Court recently acquitted a man accused of rape upon finding that the complainant had not resisted at the first time of the alleged sexual assault, which the Court opined, in this case, amounted to pre-consent (Chinnapandi v. State).

Evidence on record clearly shows that young girl was seduced to submit herself to carnal pleasures of accused on the promise of marriage. Had the appellant forcibly ravished PW1, she would have given a complaint either immediately or a little later, instead, the complaint in this case (Ex.P1) has been given only, after coming to know about the betrothal of the appellant with another girl. The conviction and sentence slapped on the appellant for the offence under Section 376 IPC is hereby set aside and the appellant is acquitted of the said charge. 

Being in live-in relationship sufficient to show that sexual relationship was consensual: Mumbai court grants bail to rape accused

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A live-in relationship by itself is sufficient to show that sexual relationship was consensual, said a Mumbai Court on Wednesday granting bail to a 30-year-old man booked for rape of his live-in partner.

Additional Sessions Judge SU Baghele added that irrespective of the no objection given by the informant, the factual matrix unveiled in the FIR revealed that the relationship was consensual based on the fact that the applicant and informant were living together without getting married.

"The said live­-in ­relationship, by itself is sufficient to show that the sexual relationship was consensual, due to which, the applicant is entitled to be enlarged on bail, dehors the no objection given by the informant, notwithstanding whether it is voluntarily or otherwise," 

Punjab & Haryana High Court to examine whether wife can lodge rape FIR against husband

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The Punjab and Haryana High Court, on August 23, decided to adjudicate on the legal validity of a first information report (FIR) under Section 376 (punishment for rape) of the Indian Penal Code registered by a wife against her husband (Anupam Mahajan vs. the State of Punjab).

The FIR was registered for offences under Sections 376 and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of IPC against the petitioner, his mother and sister.

Economic offenders have huge proceeds of crime, may use it to win over witnesses: Allahabad High Court denies anticipatory bail to accused

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Economic offenders are only concerned about personal gain at the cost of “irreparable” loss to the society, the Allahabad High Court observed on Thursday as it rejected the anticipatory bail plea of a man accused in a money laundering case [Pankaj Grover v. Directorate of Enforcement].

Madras High Court makes five-year bumper to bumper insurance mandatory for new vehicles

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The Madras High Court has made bumper to bumper insurance mandatory for all new vehicles for a period of five years to ensure the safety of the passengers, driver, and owner (The New India Assurance Co. Ltd. vs. K. Parvathi).

“When a buyer is ready to pay a huge amount for purchase of a vehicle, it is really shocking as to why the buyer is not interested in spending a paltry sum to take a policy so as to safeguard himself/herself and others," the Court said.

Supreme Court explains scope and ambit of powers of court under Section 319 CrPC

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The judgment was delivered by a Bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and MR Shah in a plea under Section 319 CRPC for summoning certain persons as additional accused in a murder case.

The Supreme Court referred to various judgments on the scope of Section 319 CrPC and summarised the following as regards the ambit of the provision:

(i) That while exercising the powers under Section 319 CrPC and to summon the persons not charge-sheeted, the entire effort is not to allow the real perpetrator of an offence to get away unpunished;

(ii) It is for the empowerment of the courts to ensure that the criminal administration of justice works properly;

(iii) The law has been properly codified and modified by the legislature under the CrPC indicating how the courts should proceed to ultimately find out the truth so that the innocent does not get punished but at the same time, the guilty are brought to book under the law;

(iv) To discharge the duty of the court to find out the real truth and to ensure that the guilty do not go unpunished;

(v) Where the investigating agency for any reason does not array one of the real culprits as an accused, the court is not powerless in calling the said accused to face trial;

(vi) Section 319 CrPC allows the court to proceed against any person who is not an accused in a case before it;

(vii) The court is the sole repository of justice and a duty is cast upon it to uphold the rule of law and, therefore, it will be inappropriate to deny the existence of such powers with the courts in our criminal justice system where it is not uncommon that the real accused, at times, getaway by manipulating the investigating and/or the prosecuting agency;

(viii) Section 319 CrPC is an enabling provision empowering the court to take appropriate steps for proceeding against any person not being an accused for also having committed the offence under trial;

(ix) The power under Section 319(1) CrPC can be exercised at any stage after the charge-sheet is filed and before the pronouncement of judgment, except during the stage of Sections 207/208 CrPC, committal, etc. which is only a pretrial stage intended to put the process into motion;

(x) The court can exercise the power under Section 319 CrPC only after the trial proceeds and commences with the recording of the evidence;

(xi) The word “evidence” in Section 319 CrPC means only such evidence as is made before the court, in relation to statements, and was produced before the court, in relation to documents;

(xii) It is only such evidence that can be taken into account by the Magistrate or the court to decide whether the power under Section 319 CrPC is to be exercised and not on the basis of material collected during the investigation;

(xiii) If the Magistrate/court is convinced even on the basis of evidence appearing in examination-in-chief, it can exercise the power under Section 319 CrPC and can proceed against such other person(s);

(xiv) That the Magistrate/court is convinced even on the basis of evidence appearing in examination-in-chief, powers under Section 319 CrPC can be exercised;

(xv) That power under Section 319 CrPC can be exercised even at the stage of completion of examination-in-chief and the court need not has to wait till the said evidence is tested on cross-examination;

(xvi) Even in a case where the stage of giving an opportunity to the complainant to file a protest petition urging upon the trial court to summon other persons as well who were named in FIR but not implicated in the charge-sheet has gone, in that case also, the Court is still not powerless by virtue of Section 319 CrPC and even those persons named in FIR but not implicated in the charge-sheet can be summoned to face the trial, provided during the trial some evidence surfaces against the proposed accused (maybe in the form of examination-in-chief of the prosecution witnesses);

(xvii) while exercising the powers under Section 319 CrPC the Court is not required and/or justified in appreciating the deposition/evidence of the prosecution witnesses on merits which is required to be done during the trial.

Bombay High Court grants interim stay on criminal defamation proceedings against Alia Bhatt, producers of Gangubai Kathiawadi

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In relief to producers of the film Gangubai Kathiawadi, and actress Alia Bhatt, the Bombay High Court recently stayed the summons issued by a Magistrate Court in a criminal defamation complaint filed against them.

The Metropolitan Magistrate at Mazgaon, Mumbai had issued the summons in the defamation complaint filed by one Babuji Shah who claims to be the adopted son of Gangubai Kathiawadi.

He claimed that the chapters on Kathiawadi in the novel The Mafia Queens of Mumbai (on which the film is based) were defamatory, tarnished her reputation, and infringed upon her right to privacy.

Supreme Court dismisses Anil Deshmukh plea to quash CBI FIR in corruption case

The Supreme Court on 18/08/2021 dismissed a petition by former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh challenging a Bombay High Court judgment which refused to quash the Central Bureau of Investigation FIR in the corruption case registered over allegations of ex-Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh.

A Bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and MR Shah heard arguments by both Deshmukh and CBI at length before dismissing the plea observing that no case was made out for interference under Article 136 of the Constitution of India and there was no error in the judgment of the High Court.

"The Constitutional Court's powers are plenary. It decides its own jurisdiction and to say this power is limited in any way disregards the very nature of a constitutional court."

Granting police protection to married woman in live-in relationship may amount to giving consent for such illicit relation: Rajasthan High Court

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The High Court, therefore, refused to extend police protection to a couple in a live-in relationship since the woman in the relationship was already married.

Justice Satish Kumar Sharma relied on the recent judgment of the Allahabad High Court in Smt. Aneeta vs. State of UP observing that it is a well-settled legal position that a live-in relationship cannot be at the cost of the country’s social fabric.

"It is well settled legal position as expounded by the Division Bench of Hon’ble Allahabad High Court in Smt. Aneeta. v. State of UP that live-in relationship cannot be at the cost of the social fabric of this country, and directing the police to grant protection may indirectly give our assent to such illicit relations," the Court said in its order.

Genuineness of deed cannot be doubted because literate executant affixed thumb impression instead of signing it: Supreme Court

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A Bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Hrishikesh Roy ruled that the adverse inference cannot be drawn for affixing thumb impression instead of signing documents of the property transaction.

“The key characteristic of thumb impression is that every person has a unique thumb impression. Forgery of thumb impressions is nearly impossible. Therefore, the adverse conclusion should not be drawn for affixing thumb impression instead of signing documents of property transaction,” the Court ruled.

Kerala High Court grants interim stay on judicial inquiry ordered by State Govt to examine role of Enforcement Directorate

The Kerala High Court on 11/08/21 temporarily stayed the judicial inquiry ordered by the State Government for examining the alleged attempt by the ED and other Central agencies to implicate Chief Minister, Pinarayi Vijayan, in the UAE gold smuggling case (Deputy Director of Enforcement Directorate Vs State of Kerala and ors.)

Delhi Court grants bail to BJP leader advocate Ashwini Upadhyay in anti-muslim sloganeering case at Jantar Mantar

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Metropolitan Magistrate Udbhav Kumar Jain granted the relief to Upadhyay, noting as far as the allegation under Section 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony) of the Indian Penal Code goes, except for a "mere assertion" there was nothing on record to show that the alleged hate speech to promote enmity between different groups was done in the presence or at the behest of the applicant/accused.

Big win for Amazon as Supreme Court says arbitration restraining Future-Reliance deal enforceable

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In a major win for e-commerce giant Amazon, the Supreme Court on Friday said that arbitration restraining Future Group’s deal with Reliance Industries was valid and enforceable under Indian laws.
Last week, the apex court had reserved its judgment in the case about the ruling by a Singapore tribunal restraining Future from going ahead with its merger with Reliance.

A bench of Justices R F Nariman dealt with the larger question and held that an award of an EA of a foreign country is enforceable under the Indian Arbitration and Conciliation Act despite the fact that the term EA is not used in arbitration laws here.

Supreme Court orders no criminal cases against MP/ MLAs can be withdrawn without sanction of concerned High Court

On  10/08/21, the Supreme Court ordered that criminal cases against Members of Parliament (MPs) and Members of Legislative Assemblies (MLAs) cannot be withdrawn without prior sanction of the concerned High Court.

"The High Courts are requested to examine the withdrawal of cases against MP MLAs since September 16, 2020, about the Supreme Court judgment of State of Kerala vs K Ajith." 

Amicus Curiae Vijay Hansaria had submitted a report giving details regarding the status of trials against MP, MLAs.

The state governments had issued orders to end criminal cases against politicians by using their power under section 321 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).

State of Kerala vs K Ajith judgment which laid down the principles required for entertaining a request for withdrawal of prosecution under section 321 CrPC, saying that these principles be considered by the high court while considering requests for withdrawal of prosecution.

Sexual harassment at workplace - Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) report not sufficient- Karnataka High Court

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The procedure under Service Rules is indispensable, the Court underscored.

"On a coalesce of the provisions of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, and the Rules what would unmistakably emerge is, where the Service Rules exist, the report of the Internal Complaints Committee becomes a fact-finding report or a preliminary report, with regard to the allegation of sexual harassment and the employer becomes duty-bound to proceed under the Service Rules before imposing any major penalty,” Justice M Nagaprasanna of the High Court opined.

Bombay High Court seeks explanation from police officer in plea challenging illegal detention of Mumbai lawyer for 35 minutes

The Bombay High Court on Friday sought explanation from a police officer accused of illegally detaining a Mumbai lawyer who claimed to have visited the police station on behalf of his client.

A Bench of Justices SS Shinde and NJ Jamadar asked the Public Prosecutor to get instructions into the actions of the police inspector who was added as respondent in the plea.

The public prosecutor suggested that the concerned police officer could remain present in court for the next hearing. 

The Court agreed with the suggestion and passed a direction to ensure that the officer remains present for the next hearing.

The petition filed through advocates Aniesh Jadhav and Nikhil Maneshinde stated that he was representing his client, Narsamma Gudimella in a matter pertaining to their rights as slum dwellers.

The aggrieved often do not rush to police or keep medical records of abuse in Domestic Violence Case: Bombay High Court

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"in cases of domestic violence, it is often found that the aggrieved person, in this case,
the wife, does not immediately rush to the police when inflicted with physical, mental and physiological and economic abuse." - Justice Manish Pitale 

Order under Section 12 of Domestic Violence Act How to enforced ? Karnataka High Court (Section 12 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 (DV Act) )

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Order under Section 12 of the Domestic Violence Act can be enforced in the same manner as maintenance orders under CrPC. 

Section 12 of the DV Act says an application to be filed before a Magistrate by an aggrieved person or a Protection Officer or any other person on behalf of the aggrieved person seeking one or more reliefs under the Act. Incorporated in Section 125 of the CrPC, the Court observed. 

"It is very clear from the above provisions that for enforcement of order passed under Section 12 of the DV Act, the parties have to file an application before the jurisdictional Magistrate and the Magistrate may, for every breach of the order, issue a warrant for levying the amount due in the manner provided for levying fines and may sentence such person."

Ayurvedic, Allopathic doctors should not be discriminated - SC

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AYUSH doctors are entitled to enhanced retirement age.

The Supreme Court on 3/08/21 held that ayurvedic doctors covered under AYUSH are also entitled to the benefit of enhanced superannuation age of 65 years (raised from 60 years), at par with allopathic doctors and that "both render service to patients and on this core aspect and there is nothing to distinguish them." (North Delhi Municipal Corporation vs Dr Ram Naresh Sharma)

Bail granted to accused charged under Cow Slaughter Act - Allahabad High Court

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Rihan has made out a case for bail in view of the nature of evidence and other factors.

"Keeping in view the nature of the offence, evidence, complicity of the accused, the severity of punishment, and submissions of the learned counsel for the parties, I am of the view that the applicant has made out a case for bail. Let the applicant - Rihan be released on bail on furnishing a personal bond," -Justice Sadhna Rani (Thakur) 

No Place For Religious Fanaticism, Greed and Fear In Country-Allahabad HC

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HC Denies Bail To Man Accused Of Unlawfully Converting Woman To Islam

Stressing that there is no place for religious fanaticism, greed, and fear in our country, the Allahabad High Court recently observed that if a person from the majority community converts his/her religion after getting insulted, then the Country becomes weak and the destructive powers source benefits from it.

The Bench of Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav was dealing with the Bail plea of one Javed who has been accused of unlawfully converting a Hindu girl to Islam, fraudulently for the purpose of her marriage wit
h the accused.