Criminal law

The Narcotic Drugs & Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS Act) is a complete code of legal provisions, to control and regulate operation of Narcotic Drugs & Psychotropic substances in India. It has been formulated by consolidating the then existing Opium Act, 1878 and The Dangerous Drugs Act, 1930. It applies to all persons in India and outside, and on ships and aircrafts registered in India.

Police Custody means that police have the physical custody of the accused, while Judicial Custody means an accused is in the custody of the concerned Magistrate. In the former, the accused will be detained in police lockup while in latter, he will be detained in jail.

In Rehna Fatima v State of Kerala & Another, the High Court of Kerala quashed the charge of nudity and other ones levelled against the activist Ms Rehna Fatima under the penal code and other laws, for posting a video on internet depicting her minor children painting on her bare torso under the hashtag “Body art and Politics”.

Returning a criminal complaint filed by the wife of an accident victim, on the sole ground that it was filed by the wife and not by the actual victim, is illegal, says the Kerala High Court (HC) in Smitha w/o Thankachan v State of Kerala.

Investigation conducted by the informant / police officer, who is the complainant, is not vitiated because of the sole reason that the informant is the investigator, says the Supreme court (SC) in Mukesh Singh v State (Narcotic Branch of Delhi) .

Even if the High Court is not inclined to grant anticipatory bail while considering the application for anticipatory bail, it can grant protection from arrest for some time, says the Supreme Court (SC) in Nathu Singh and Another v State of UP and Others.

Summoning a person, without there being any crime registered against him and retaining him, would be violative of basic principles in criminal law, says the Supreme Court (SC) in Khaliq M A and others v Ashok Kumar and Another.

The Supreme Court (SC) declares, in a Constitutional Bench decision in Neeraj Dutta v State ( Govt of NCT, New Delhi) [2023(1) KLD 1 (SC), that the proof of demand and acceptance of illegal gratification by a Public Servant is a sine qua non to establish the guilt under Section 7 & 13(1) (d) (i) of the PCA.

A customer, who comes for engaging in sex in a brothel which is functioning in a notified as prohibited area, can be proceeded criminally and punished under Section 7 of the Immortal Traffic (prevention) Act, 1956 (IT Act), says Kerala High Court in Mathew v State of Kerala [ 2022(7) KHC 515].

A criminal court, suo motu or by application of a party, can inspect a place where crime has occurred during the course of trial, enquiry or other proceedings under Section 310 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC).

The conclusive test to prove whether a person consumed alcohol or not is the Alco Meter Test or Blood Analysis Test. The evidence of smell of alcohol present in breath is not a conclusive proof, says Kerala High Court in Biju @ Gopi v State.