HC can’t direct Police not to Arrest the Accused

19 January 2022Posted inCriminal law
The High Court (HC) cannot direct the investigation agency not to arrest the accused during the course of investigation or to ask the Trial Magistrate to admit the accused on bail while dismissing the application of the accused for quashing the Fist Information Report (FIR) under Section 482 Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC).

Family Court can declare extra judicial Muslim Divorce

17 January 2022Posted inFamily, Marriage & Divorce
Kerala High Court (HC) in Asbi K N v Hashim M U has formulated some guidelines for the Family Court to be followed when any party files a petition seeking its endorsement to an extrajudicial divorce duly concluded under Muslim Personal Law. The judgement was delivered on 12 October 2021. The HC declared the nature of enquiry and trial procedures to be made by the Family Court in such cases. The courts can declare such marital status under Section 7 of the Family Court Act, 1984.

Can a Video be treated as a Document?

16 January 2022Posted inCriminal law, Evidence law
The seminal question considered by the Supreme Court (SC) in P. Gopalkrishnan @ Dileep v The State Of Kerala filed against the Kerala High Court (HC) judgement is whether the contents of the memory card/pen drive in the form of video of an incident in question, submitted to the trial court along with the police report, can be treated as document as such or material object.

Opinion or Expert Evidence: Its Relevancy

16 January 2022Posted inEvidence law
The relevancy of opinion evidence is dealt with in Sections 45 to 51 of the Indian Evidence Act (IEA). Opinion evidence in general is inadmissible. But two kinds of opinion evidence have relevance and hence admissible in judicial proceedings: one is expert opinion and the other is opinion of non-experts in some exceptional cases, as specified in the IEA.

Commission for Local Investigation under CPC

14 January 2022Posted inCivil law
In a civil suit, if the court finds that a local investigation is required or proper the court can issue a commission to a person as it thinks fit and ask him to make an investigation and report the matter thereon to the court, under Section75(b) and Order 26 rule 9 of the Civil Procedure Code (CPC).

Medical Examination of an Accused under CrPC

10 January 2022Posted inCriminal law
When a person is arrested on the charge of an offence, the Police Officer not below the rank of a Sub Inspector or a person under his direction can ask a medical practitioner to make an examination of the person arrested as is reasonably necessary to ascertain the facts which may afford such evidence of commission of the offence.

What the Police Report u/s 173(2) must Contain

10 January 2022Posted inCriminal law
In every criminal case, on completion of the police investigation, the police have to file a final Police Report, under Section 173(2) of the CrPC. Police investigation starts with what we call First Information Statement (FIS) by some informant, then comes First Information Report (FIR) and ends with submission of final Police Report, stated as above, clearly denoting whether to proceed against the accused or not. The FIS leads to the recording of FIR.

Offence of Uttering Obscene words in Public Place

8 January 2022Posted inCriminal law
In order to attract Section 294(b) IPC, it is necessary for the prosecution to prove that the offence had been committed in the public place. Public place is one where the public go, no matter whether they have a right to go or not. The public place may vary from time to time and what the court has to consider is whether the particular place is a public place or not.

Second Marriage in India: Its Legal aspects

6 January 2022Posted inCriminal law
A person marrying for the second time while his first marriage is in subsistence is an offence. Such a marriage, called bigamy, does not hold any legal validity. Nevertheless, the victims of bigamy can still approach the court for claiming maintenance. In order to attract the offence of bigamy, it is necessary that essential ceremonies, rites or procedures constituting a marriage should have performed in both the marriages. In essence, a marriage means solemnisation with proper ceremonies appropriate under the custom or law followed by the party in marriage.

Withdrawal from Mutual Divorce after Settlement

5 January 2022Posted inFamily, Marriage & Divorce
Unilateral withdrawal of consent by the respondent, especially after the appellant has performed his part of the terms in the memorandum of agreement cannot be permitted or tolerated even for a moment, says the High Court of Kerala (HC) in a Matrimonial Appeal relating to Mutual Consent Divorce Such a unilateral withdrawal of consent by the respondent would shatter the faith of the litigants in the justice delivery system and make alternative dispute resolution mechanism a mockery. Such a practice is unsustainable in law.

No Prior Sanction required in Corruption Cases

1 January 2022Posted inCriminal law
No prior sanction of the government is required, under section 17A of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (PC Act), for offences like falsification of accounts, breach of trust and misappropriation of funds or acts which are ex facie criminal in nature. The Kerala High Court held this in Shankara Bhat v. State of Kerala & Ors, while deciding a few connected matters.