'Absence Of Signs Of Resistance Not Ground To Disbelieve Rape Victim': Jharkhand High Court

The Jharkhand HC has held that the absence of signs of struggle or resistance on the body of a rape victim cannot, by itself, be a ground to disbelieve her testimony, particularly where the victim was a minor and the medical evidence corroborates the occurrence.A Division Bench of Justice Ananda Sen and Justice Pradeep Kumar Srivastava heard the appeal filed by the appellants challenging their conviction under Section 376(D) of the IPC and Sections 4, 8 and 12 of the POCSO Act, 2012.The...

Karnataka High Court Reserves Order On WinZO's Plea To Shift US Bank Funds Attached By ED

The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday (October 7) reserved its order on an interim plea moved by WinZO US Inc. and WinZO SG Pte. Ltd. seeking permission to shift funds lying in three US bank accounts to another account in the United States, while keeping the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) attachment intact.The ED opposed the plea, arguing that the attached funds could not be transferred to another banking partner. The two foreign subsidiaries of WinZO have challenged the provisional attachment...

Can't Invoke SC/ST Act Against 'Stranger' In Absence Of Specific Intent: Karnataka High Court Quashes Atrocity FIR Against Cameraman

The Karnataka High Court has held that the provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 cannot be invoked against a stranger who lacks any specific intent with regard to the offences under the Act. Justice V. Srishananda quashed the criminal proceedings against a cameraman working with a media agency, observing that filming a public...

POCSO Act | “Lethargic Attitude” Of Authorities In Serving Bail Notices Delays Hearings, Affects Liberty Of Accused: Rajasthan High Court

While hearing a bail application in a POCSO case, Rajasthan High Court observed that despite there being detailed guidelines, the manner of service regarding the intimation of bail application to the parents/guardians of the victim, continued to be improper, reflecting "lethargic attitude" of the authorities. The bench of Justice Sandeep Shah opined that due to non-sending of information to...

2016 Rohith Vemula Protest: Karnataka High Court Quashes Case Against 15 Students, Says Assembly Below 250 Persons Didn't Need Permission

The Karnataka High Court has recently quashed criminal proceedings against 15 students who were booked for allegedly assembling without permission and obstructing traffic in Bengaluru during a 2016 a protest over the suicide of student Rohith Vemula, who had ended his life over alleged caste discrimination. The single judge bench of Justice H.P. Sandesh, while allowing the quashing plea,...

S.69 BNS | Hiding Live-In Relationship, Child With Another Amount To 'Deceitful Means' To Have Sexual Intercourse With Woman: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court recently held that hiding live-in relationship with another woman and child born in it would amount to 'deceitful means' employed to have sexual intercourse with a woman as per Section 69 BNS. [2026 LiveLaw (Ker) 556]Justice A. Badharudeen made the observation while considering a plea for anticipatory bail under Section 18A of the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act.“At...

Kerala High Court Sets Aside BJP Councillor R Sugathan's Preventive Detention Under KAAPA, Says Illegible Material Supplied To Him

The Kerala High Court on Tuesday (October 6) has set aside the prevention detention of BJP Councillor from Thiruvananthapuram Sugathan R., who is presently detained in Viyyur Jail (Thrissur) as per the Kerala Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act, 2007 (KAAPA). [2026 LiveLaw (Ker) 554]The Division Bench of Justice Anil K. Narendran and Justice Muralee Krishna S. today delivered the verdict in...

Rithanya Dowry Death Case: Madras High Court Directs Return Of 100 Sovereigns Of Gold & Car To Deceased's Father

In the Rithanya dowry death case, the Madras High Court has directed the Deputy Superintendent of Police (Avinashi Sub Division – Tiruppur District) to hand over 100 sovereigns of gold and a Volvo car, which were given as dowry to be handed over to Rithanya's father. [2026 LiveLaw (Mad) 483] 27-year-old Rithanya had committed suicide in July last year, over alleged dowry harassment....

Acting Contrary To Departmental Expectation Not Misconduct If It Was A Bonafide Exercise Of Judgment: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court has held that an officer who acts in good faith, with no trace of corrupt intent or personal gain, is not guilty of misconduct merely because the stand he took ran contrary to what his department expected of him. Quashing the charge sheet issued to a senior officer who gave his “no objection” to a C.B.I. closure report before the Special (CBI) Court, Kolkata,...

Motor Accident Compensation Can't Be Based Solely On Basic Salary; Employment-Related Allowances Must Be Included: Rajasthan High Court

The Rajasthan High Court has held that employment-related allowances forming part of a deceased employee's regular earnings must be taken into account while assessing his income for computation of motor accident compensation, and cannot be excluded merely because they are described as allowances.The bench of Justice Sanjeet Purohit observed that the assessment of income cannot be confined to...

'Cooperation' With Drug Traffickers Not Enough For NDPS Conspiracy Charge Without Specific Overt Act: Rajasthan High Court

While discharging a man from an NDPS case, the Rajasthan High Court observed that a bare assertion that he had “cooperated” with persons allegedly involved in drug trafficking, without disclosing the nature, manner or occasion of such cooperation, could not by itself attract Section 29 of the NDPS Act, which deals with abetment and criminal conspiracy.The bench of Justice Farjand Ali...

NDPS Act Prosecution Can't Be Quashed On Sole Ground That Disclosure Of Co-Accused Was Relied Upon : Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has held that although a confession under Section 67 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (NDPS Act) or a disclosure statement under Section 53A cannot have evidentiary value to secure a conviction, the mere presence of such material cannot be a ground to quash a pending NDPS prosecution at the threshold. A bench of Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice...