Dishonour of Cheques due to Stop Payment will Fall under 138 NI Act

13 November 2024Posted inNegotiable Instruments
Not only the cases of dishonour of cheques on account of insufficiency of funds or on account of exceeding of arrangement but the cases involving dishonour of cheques on account of "stop payment", "account closed" and "Signature Mismatch" also fall within the ambit of offence under the Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act (NI Act), states the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court Mohammad Shafi Wani v Noor Mohammad Khan.

Media Should Publish Nothing that Harms Individual Dignity

9 November 2024Posted inCriminal law
If there arises a conflict between the right of a media to freedom of speech and expression under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution, and the right of an individual to his/ her dignity/ reputation that is traceable to Article 21 of the Constitution, the former has to be seen as controlled by the latter, says Kerala High Court in Dejo Kappan V Deccan Herald & Connected Cases [2024:KER:82715].

Capturing a Woman’s Picture in Public is not Voyeurism

6 November 2024Posted inCriminal law
Kerala High Court, in Ajith Pillai v State of Kerala [2024:KER:78155], says taking a woman's photos while she was standing in front of her house without any secrecy will not attract the offence of voyeurism and the offence is attracted only upon watching or capturing images of a woman engaging in a 'private act' as mentioned under Section 354C of Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Accused must explain if Crime happens in the Privacy of Home

3 November 2024Posted inCriminal law
When the offence of murder was committed in the presence of the accused in the privacy of their house, then he has the duty to give an explanation and a failure to offer an explanation can be treated as an adverse circumstance against the accused, as per Section 106 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (IEA), says the Supreme Court (SC) in Uma & Another v The State Represented by the DySP [2024 INSC 809 ].