Prior Sanction Required If Cognizance Taken After 2018 PC Act Amendment, Even If Chargesheet Filed Earlier: Rajasthan High Court

The Rajasthan High Court has held that requirement of taking prior sanction under Section 19 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (the “Act”) gets attracted even in a case where the offence was committed before the relevant amendment in 2018, but cognizance was yet to be taken in the case. The bench of Justice Kuldeep Mathur observed that the amended Section 19 created a statutory...

Application Of BUDS Act Prima Facie Doubtful Where Accused Is Not Deposit Taker: AP High Court

The Andhra Pradesh High Court has observed that the application of offences under Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Act, 2019 is prima facie doubtful where the accused is not a deposit taker. In doing so the court granted anticipatory bail to a doctor booked for offence of Cheating under IPC and Section 21(1)(2)(3) BUDS Act which prescribes punishment for offences relating to the...

POCSO Act | Meghalaya High Court Denies Bail To Two Teachers Accused Of Sexually Assaulting 5-Year-Old

The Meghalaya High Court has refused to grant bail to two teachers accused of sexually assaulting a five-year-old student inside a school washroom, observing that allegations of sexual assault against children must be viewed seriously given their vulnerability and the trauma such acts can cause. The Court held that the survivor's statement prima facie made out a case of sexual assault against...

Advisory Board's Opinion Not Condition Precedent For Arrest Pursuant To Preventive Detention Order: AP High Court

Obtaining an Advisory Board's opinion is not a condition precedent for arresting/detaining a person pursuant to a prevention detention order, the Andhra Pradesh High Court has held while clarifying that the Board's report is required for the State Government to decide whether to confirm or revoke the detention order. [2026 LiveLaw (AP) 185]The Division Bench presided over by Justice Ravi...

NDPS Act | Accused Move Karnataka High Court Against Counting 'Non-Drug' Parts Of Cannabis Plant, Packaging In Ganja Quantity

The Karnataka High Court is considering pleas by persons booked under the NDPS Act challenging prosecutions concerning the manner in which seized cannabis was weighed and analysed, particularly wherein the weight allegedly included the stems, leaves, seeds of the plant as well the packaging of the contraband. The single judge bench of Justice M. Nagaprasanna, was hearing two petitions...

Patna High Court Directs CBI Probe Into Missing Man After Alleged Detention, Custodial Violence By Excise Officials, Slams Police Inaction

The Patna High Court has transferred to the CBI the investigation into the disappearance of a man who allegedly went missing after being detained and brutally assaulted by Excise Police officials in Bhojpur district.A Division Bench of Justice Rajeev Ranjan Prasad and Justice Alok Kumar Sinha said that the case presented “rare and exceptional” circumstances warranting transfer of the...

Mere Ownership Of Land Where Transformer Is Installed Insufficient To Prosecute For Electrocution Death: Karnataka High Court

Clarifying the criminal liability for electrocution deaths, the Karnataka High Court has quashed criminal proceedings against a doctor who was charge-sheeted for the death of a labourer due to electrocution on her agricultural land. [2026 LiveLaw (Kar) 289]The single judge bench of Justice Anant Ramanth Hegde held that mere ownership of property where a transformer is installed cannot...

'Hydroponic Weed' Is 'Ganja'; Growing Method Does Not Change Its Legal Status: Allahabad High Court Grants Bail In NDPS Case

Allahabad High Court observes that hydroponic weed is cannabis/ganja and its cultivation method does not change its legal status; the Court grants bail after noting that the 2.3 kg recovery was below commercial quantity.

Rajasthan High Court Grants Bail To 60-Year-Old Woman In NDPS Case Arrested Over Calls With Co-Accused Son-In-Law

Rajasthan High Court granted bail to a 60 year woman, accused in an NDPS Case solely based on the confessional statements of the co-accused, who was her son-in-law as well as their call details that revealed conversations between the two. The bench of Justice Anoop Kumar Dhand took note of the “special circumstances” of the relationship between the applicant and the co-accused. It opined...

S.101(2) JJ Act | Not Mandatory For Court Hearing Appeal Against JJB Order To Take Child Psychologist Assistance : Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has recently clarified that the mandate to seek the assistance of a child psychologist expert while undertaking a preliminary assessment of a child in conflict with law would not apply mutatis mutandis to Section 101(2) of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015. As per the proviso to Section 15(1), while deciding whether the child in conflict with...

Preventive Detention | Failure To Inform Right To Represent Fatal; It's Not Cured Even If Detenu Sends Representation: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has held that a preventive detention order would be rendered illegal if the detaining authority fails to inform the detenu of his right to make a representation before it, even if the detenu independently submitted such a representation. A bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta set aside the detention under the Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic...

AP High Court Upholds Preventive Detention Despite Invalidity Of One Ground, Cites Severability Clause U/S 6 PIT-NDPS Act

Relying on the severability clause under Section 6 of thePrevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (PIT NDPS) Act, the Andhra Pradesh High Court dismissed a habeas corpus petition holding that failure to satisfy the mandatory triple-test in respect of one of six grounds of detention does not invalidate the detention order as a whole. [2026 LiveLaw...